Speak to the Heart

Unveiling the Essence - The Power and Meaning Behind Speaking from the Heart

We often think people are motivated by the pocketbook. Some are. Yet, as Daniel Pink pointed out in his seminal book, Drive, most of us are also motivated by a desire to contribute, to realize our gifts and potential. We live not only from head or hand. We live from the heart.

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Match People to Their Strengths

Moses knows his own limitations. He also seems to know the strengths and weaknesses of the people he leads. When God asks him to build a portable tabernacle, Moses matches Israelites to their proper roles. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the people you lead is a fundamental aspect of effective leadership. 

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Know When to Take the Scenic Route

A traditional Jewish proverb says “It took four days to get Israel out of Egypt. It took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel.” The idea is that the

Israelites could not change overnight. They may have become physically free in four days. But it took them much longer to become mentally free. It took much longer to change their mindset.

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Delegate Wisely

As your business grows and takes on larger projects and clients, it's important to ensure you can manage them effectively. One of the keys to success is learning how to delegate responsibilities throughout your team. 

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Connect Through Authenticity Rather Than Conformity

It's natural to want to fit in and feel like we belong. We all have a need to be accepted and valued, and sometimes that can lead us to conform to certain norms or expectations. It's important to remember that it's okay to be true to ourselves and our own unique perspectives, even if that means straying from the crowd.

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Give Necessary Criticism

Giving constructive criticism effectively can be the secret ingredient for success. Instead of pointing out someone's faults, a respectful approach to giving feedback will allow you and your team members or colleagues to build trust in each other and tackle obstacles together.

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Invite Disagreement and Debate

Although conflict is often perceived as negative, a healthy amount of workplace conflict can be valuable to an organization’s growth. Healthy conflict allows for more creativity, stronger ideas, and more engaged employees. Debates, competition, and industry disruption are all examples of healthy conflict that can lead to fresh perspectives and growth for a business. 

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Do the Most Important Conversations Face to Face

Face-to-face conversation is a powerful tool for connecting with others. It involves the exchange of ideas, opinions and facts in an open dialogue while engaging in direct visual contact between two or more individuals. By maintaining eye contact throughout the discussion, people can better understand each other’s perspectives to find common ground and reach meaningful conclusions on any given topic.

For this reason, face-to-face conversations have been seen as fundamental communication tools since ancient times that still remain valid today when faced with complex issues demanding understanding beyond words written on paper alone.

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Never Coast

“Moses has a long career. He begins as a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian. He comes before Pharaoh and leads the Israelites across the Red Sea. Then he stands at their helm for 40 years as they wandered through the desert.

If anyone could have gotten away with resting on their laurels and position, it was Moses. His authority came directly from God. When he was challenged, God punished the perpetrators.

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How to Get the Right People on Board at the Beginning

Greatness doesn’t just happen or is a lucky coincidence it is an expected predetermined process. Having the right people doesn’t mean they all agree or come from the same background. It means they are great at what they do and believe in the system. They have the difficult conversations, hold each other accountable, and trust each other to do the right thing for the right reasons, always. 

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Be Transparent

One of the major surprises that Jim Collins and his Good to Great team found about true leaders was that ego-driven, charismatic, push-pull leaders rarely brought companies from good to great and if they did, it wasn’t sustainable. The traits of truly great leaders are gratitude, openness, honesty, sincerity, good communication, flexibility, unselfishness, responsible, intentionality, and transparency.

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Are You Using Symbols Effectively

Rabbi Evan Moffic wrote, “The Israelites that left Egypt were made up of 12 tribes. Each tribe had a unique culture and identity. Moses had to figure out ways to unify them.

One of the most effective strategies was using symbols. The Ark of the Covenant was the most memorable and powerful.

What symbols bring you and your co-workers together? What strategies do you use to overcome natural differences?”

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Know the Needs of Your Boss

What unique needs does your boss have? How do you meet them?

This comes back to being part of a team, even a team of one.

If the team looks good – you look good.

If you make the boss look good – you will look good.

(Even if that sometimes doesn’t happen, you will still know and feel that you did your best and no one can take that away from you – satisfaction in a job well done.)

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Find a Good Deputy

Rabbi Moffic writes, “Siblings in the Bible do not have a good track record. Cain murders Abel, Jacob manipulates Esau, Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery.

Moses and Aaron, however, get along. Even though he is the elder brother, Aaron becomes Moses’ deputy and mouthpiece. He speaks for Moses before Pharaoh. He fills in for Moses when Moses is called to speak to God. He is the peacemaker when Moses loses his temper.

Aaron helps make Moses Moses.”

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Meet People Where They Are

Moses receives the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Torah on Mount Sinai. He could have proclaimed it from the mountain as well. He could have lectured the Israelites from its comfortable perch.

Yet, Moses chooses another route. He goes amongst the people, teaching and embodying the law. He shows rather than tells.

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Know When to Take a Risk

Moses listens to God. Moses obeys God’s word. But Moses also challenges God at critical moments.

Moses does not challenge out of petulance. Moses questions God out of passion.

The seminal moment is atop Mount Sinai when God expresses anger at the Israelites for building a golden calf. God vows to destroy the people for their blasphemy.

Moses urges God to reconsider in effect, Moses tells God to “cool it.” Moses defends the people, saying they may have sinned, but they can repent.

It took courage for Moses to take that risk. In the end, however, God agrees with him. The people are saved. The covenant is sustained.

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What do you really stand for?

Rabbi Evan Moffic  (author, speaker, Rabbi) writes, “Moses is passionate about justice. It awakens him to empathy with his fellow Israelites. It leads him to act to defend them. It leads him to defend the helpless Midianite sisters at the well. It leaves him no choice but to accept God’s call to lead the Israelites to freedom.

Moses knows who he is. He knows what is important to him. He is not only called by God. He is also called by a vision of a world redeemed.

What motivates your leadership? What are your core values?”

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The Payoff of Persistence

Rabbi Evan Moffic writes, “When Moses first confronts Pharaoh and tells him to “Let my people go,” Pharaoh laughs. He brushes Moses off. This pattern repeats several times.

Moses could easily have given up. He faced difficult odds, to begin with. Who was this lowly shepherd to challenge the Pharaoh, the most powerful ruler on earth?

But Moses persists. Behind his persistence was faith. He knew the justness of his cause. He knew, as the Chicago Blues Brothers’ later put it, that he was “on a mission from God.””

Learn how to gain and develop persistence here

 Take a Stand

What does “taking a stand” mean?

Sounds easy, looks easy, but I think it is far from either of those. It means saying or doing something you really believe in and standing firm. Believing in it and doing something about it, is the key – words devoid of action are only empty words. There are many people out there that have opinions and sometimes extraordinarily strong opinions on everything under the sun but do precious little to support those opinions. 

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