Like his father before him, King Mosiah makes a point in the records to note that he "did till the earth, that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people..." (v. 7)
Both Benjamin, Mosiah, and (later) Alma make this point, which leads me to believe that they were the exception rather than the rule in their community's governmental history.
What is a burdensome leader? I've been in situations of leadership from time to time in church, work, or school. At church, my preoccupation with avoiding burdensome leadership often caused me to lead (and therefore do) little. I was afraid the activities or processes I implemented would be a burden to those whom I temporarily looked after.
But I don't think that's the message here.
At work, I've learned a little more about burdensome leadership. There are some leaders who simply delegate everything. They sit back and watch as each gear performs its task, confident that they are expert examples of managerial leadership since the mechanism runs so well. What happens, though, is that they learn little by watching others work. They lose knowledge; they lose the edge of expertise that placed them in a position of leadership in the first place. Those they lead begin to resent this leader who asks his team to perform relatively easy tasks that should really be done by the leader. The leader becomes more and more useless, the team members more and more disenchanted, and dysfunction is born.
Other leaders, non-burdensome leaders, take a different approach. They see themselves as an integral part of the team. They may not master every task, but they become well-acquainted with it. They take on new, visionary tasks; sometimes keeping them, sometimes delegating them to a team member who can or will learn to perform them better than the leader could. The non-burdensome leader makes sure that if there's something she can do to make her team members' lives a little easier, she's doing it. And more than anything else, this kind of leader always makes sure she's doing something to help further the team's goals and well-being.
There are opportunities I have to be a non-burdensome leader at work and in church, but I think the most important opportunity is at home. I would like to become a less burdensome husband. I'm sure the Mrs. has a nice list of ways I could jump in and "till the earth." And hopefully, that experience will prepare me to become that rare breed--a non-burdensome father.
Both Benjamin, Mosiah, and (later) Alma make this point, which leads me to believe that they were the exception rather than the rule in their community's governmental history.
What is a burdensome leader? I've been in situations of leadership from time to time in church, work, or school. At church, my preoccupation with avoiding burdensome leadership often caused me to lead (and therefore do) little. I was afraid the activities or processes I implemented would be a burden to those whom I temporarily looked after.
But I don't think that's the message here.
At work, I've learned a little more about burdensome leadership. There are some leaders who simply delegate everything. They sit back and watch as each gear performs its task, confident that they are expert examples of managerial leadership since the mechanism runs so well. What happens, though, is that they learn little by watching others work. They lose knowledge; they lose the edge of expertise that placed them in a position of leadership in the first place. Those they lead begin to resent this leader who asks his team to perform relatively easy tasks that should really be done by the leader. The leader becomes more and more useless, the team members more and more disenchanted, and dysfunction is born.
Other leaders, non-burdensome leaders, take a different approach. They see themselves as an integral part of the team. They may not master every task, but they become well-acquainted with it. They take on new, visionary tasks; sometimes keeping them, sometimes delegating them to a team member who can or will learn to perform them better than the leader could. The non-burdensome leader makes sure that if there's something she can do to make her team members' lives a little easier, she's doing it. And more than anything else, this kind of leader always makes sure she's doing something to help further the team's goals and well-being.
There are opportunities I have to be a non-burdensome leader at work and in church, but I think the most important opportunity is at home. I would like to become a less burdensome husband. I'm sure the Mrs. has a nice list of ways I could jump in and "till the earth." And hopefully, that experience will prepare me to become that rare breed--a non-burdensome father.
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