Leadership is all the rage nowadays. Books, conferences and experts all purport to teach the key elements of leadership. Many people would like to learn what it takes to be a leader; perhaps that will be the key to their next bonus or raise? Maybe enhancing their leadership abilities will help land them a much coveted job? Others are simply resigned to the fact that they just don’t have it in them to be a leader.
Whichever category you fit into, read on because I will save you money, time and effort in this short - but insightful - message. (You can thank me later).
An excellent way of learning anything is by examining the methods of those who have successfully mastered a particular skill. When discussing leadership, the first person to come to mind is Moses. Think about it - he was an extremely influential leader in his time and not only that, the ideas that he taught are the foundation for civilization to this very day.
When we examine Moses’ life, we see two parts of his story. The first part is the description of what happened to him as a baby and young child, and then there is what he did when he grew up. The very first anecdote that the Torah shares about his life as an adult is profound and enlightening. In fact, in the very same verse that Torah informs us of his maturation, we are told about what defined this growing up: “Moses grew up and went out to his brothers.” (Exodus 2:11)
That’s it, that’s the key! He went out.
You see, until then he was being raised and lived in the safe and cocooned environment of Pharaoh's household. The first thing that we’re told about Moses as an adult is that “he went out”; he left his comfort zone.
That is the most important element of leadership, being able to leave your comfort zone. We all appreciate our comfort zone, it’s familiar and less risky; it’s predictable and stable.
Leaving it is scary.
But that’s the key quality of a leader, to be able to leave one’s comfort zone.
And here’s the deal - this is not just for some people. Everybody needs to be a leader. We may not be a leader of a big team or in some high profile leadership position. But we are, at least we need to be, leaders of our own life.
We can all be that leader, all it takes is one step. Out of our comfort zone.