Thank you for checking out this blog. Today begins the first entry in a series offering leadership insight drawn from influential figures throughout history.
We start with one of the most remarkable leaders the world has ever known: Moses. The Herculean task of leading an entire nation through a desert toward an unknown land fell squarely on his shoulders. Over the coming weeks, we will learn valuable leadership lessons by watching over his shoulder—seeing both his victories and his failures.
Before we begin, allow me a brief disclaimer. While many of my leadership lessons are drawn from Scripture, this series is written for all readers, regardless of spiritual background. You do not need to share my faith to benefit from these insights.
Leadership is leadership. Whether it comes from a person grounded in faith or from a purely secular source, strong leadership principles remain universally relevant. My hope is that these lessons will encourage you to grow—personally and professionally—as a leader.
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi once said:
“Leaders are made, they are not born; and they are made just like anything else has ever been made in this country—by hard effort. And that is the price that we all have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”
Moses was no exception. He learned leadership the hard way. At times, he shined brilliantly; at other times, he failed spectacularly. And that is exactly what makes his story so valuable.
Lesson One: Leadership Preparation Begins Long Before the Title
The first leadership lesson comes from Moses’ early life. His birth itself was unremarkable, but the timing of his arrival—and the cruelty of Pharaoh—placed his life in grave danger. Fearing the growing Israelite population, Pharaoh issued a horrific decree: all Hebrew baby boys were to be drowned in the Nile.
Scripture records this account in Exodus 2:1–10.
Desperate to save their son, Moses’ parents placed him in a basket and set it afloat on the Nile, while his sister watched nearby. Against all odds, Pharaoh’s own daughter discovered the child, felt compassion for him, and took him into her household.
In a remarkable twist, Moses was nursed and cared for by his own mother before being raised in Pharaoh’s palace as part of the royal household. This unique combination—grounding in his Hebrew heritage alongside elite Egyptian education—would later prove essential.
There were no accidents here. Moses was being prepared for leadership long before he ever stepped into it.
The Leadership Takeaway
The lesson is simple but powerful: leaders are shaped over time, often long before they realize it.
Your beginning may not have involved a basket in the Nile, but your life is no accident. Your experiences—education, challenges, successes, and failures—have all played a role in shaping who you are today.
If you are currently leading people, or if leadership is in your future, you are not there by coincidence. Events in your life have been preparing you, even when the purpose was not obvious at the time.
You do not sit in the leader’s chair by accident.
I invite you to continue with me next week as we explore additional lessons that can help us become better leaders.
Will you commit to growing?
As educator and philosopher Mortimer Adler once said:
“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”
