Revolution

How Important Is Talent?

Recently I was doing a study on Moses' leadership. One of the most famous stories concerning his leadership is found in Exodus 18 when his father in law, Jethro, gives him the advice to appoint other potential leaders to places of service so that Moses can focus on his true mission: to be their representative before God & to teach them the ways of God. That's usually where the lesson stops. The principle we're taught is to learn how to delegate some of what we're doing so that we can focus on what only we can do. It's a great principle, & it's so true but that's not all that's going on in this passage. Check out the list of qualifications that Jethro throws out:

1) Capable
2) Men Who Fear God
3) Men of Truth
4) Men Who Hate Dishonest Gain

Notice anything about that list? That's right, only one characteristic that Moses is to look for has anything to do with a potential leader's ability or talent. However, many times that's exactly what we put the most stock in. It's easy to be blinded by talent. Talent is flashy & in our face. These other traits are behind the scenes qualities that have to actually be looked for. Next week I'm going to go into this in more detail as I continue to share what I'm learning from this passage. We'll look at all four traits: Ability, Wisdom, Integrity, & Character.

How important do you think talent is to leadership? How necessary is it to success as a leader in business or ministry?