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I once heard someone say the two most important characteristics in a leader are courage and compassion.*  He illustrated this by looking at a time in the life of Moses, a person found in the Torah/Old Testament.  (It can be found in Numbers 27:12-17.)  If you don’t know the back story, Moses was called on to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt into the promised land, a land so rich it was said to be “flowing with milk and honey.”   But it wouldn’t be easy.  There’ll be deserts, a pursuing army, food and water shortages and some bad attitudes along the way.  Not only that, but due to those grumpy, unfaithful, often rebellious attitudes toward God, including some by Moses himself, this journey would last 40 years!  

Now, just as the journey is coming to an end, with the promised land in sight, Moses is reminded by God because of what he did, he wouldn’t be entering in.  This is when the quality of Moses’s character is revealed.  Instead of bemoaning or complaining about the personal loss of this blessing, Moses responds only with this amazing request.  He asks, “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

Moses’s response shows what great leadership is all about.  Moses was others-centered.  Great leaders value the lives of those they're leading above or at least on par with their own.  He saw the success of those he was leading as his number one success criteria.  This first response shows no concern for himself but those he was entrusted with.  With that as a foundation, Moses asks God that his successor possess the following two qualities.  He asks that they possess courage and compassion.  First, courage.  

Courage

Leading, by definition, means you’re the tip of the spear and therefore the one sticking your neck out first.  Therefore leadership is not for the faint of heart for it can be a dangerous place figuratively and sometimes even literally.  Now if you’ve been in the workforce long enough you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to leaders who have cowardly pushed you out front to “test the waters,” to let you make the mistakes, to let you incur the consequences and then and only then to see if it’s safe for them to enter in.  Moses on the other hand knew if his people were to become the kind of courageous people necessary to take the land ahead, he must “go out/lead out” before them.  If you want or expect your employees to push the boundaries, speak up, to take risks, to take new ground, if you want that to be the culture of your team and/or your company, you must model that kind of courage first, from the front, never asking anyone to do anything you’re not doing or haven’t done yourself.  

Compassion

Additionally, if you want or expect your people to push boundaries, take risks, speak up, to be in the battle, etc, etc,...know they’re going to get “hurt.” It's just part of the game.  They’ll work too many hours, make foolish or rookie mistakes, they’ll blow a relationship with a client, they’ll lose their temper, lose it emotionally, they’re going to get bludgeoned.  This is why the second characteristic a leader must possess is a shepherd’s heart of compassion and care.   People need leaders who lead from the front but will also lead them off the frontlines and back toward healing, rest, balance and nourishment of all kind.  Specifically, your people need to know you can be trusted to care for them, that you won’t hang them out to dry, that there is room for failure, that you’re not going to give up on them, you’re going to continue to develop/coach them, that you value their work/life balance, that you have their long-term, best interests in mind.  

Without these qualities in your leadership, your people won’t make it to the “promised land”.  They will leave or silently quit. They'll become a destructive force or source of discouragement to all. Bottom line, they won’t do well and neither will you.  Your career will be plagued by frustration and unmet expectations.  Ultimately, you’ll look back with regret, never having fulfilled your potential or the greater purpose your life could’ve known. Let's make a U-turn. The following are some questions to explore on your own or even with those you lead. Let's make it to the promised land...together.

Questions:

With courage and compassion in mind:

What are some ways you’ve led or can lead from the front in your space?  Where can or where are you modeling courage?  Where are you sacrificing for the sake of others?

What are some ways you are or can show those you lead, you care for them?  What are some ways you can assure them you have their long-term well-being and best interests in mind? 

*Note: Check out Jay Lorenzen and the "High Ground at Gettysburg" Leadership Conference.