Parashat Yitro: You Can’t Do It All

Moses is drowning in work. He’s sitting from morning until night acting as the sole judge for all the people. His father-in-law, Yitro (Jethro), watches this and gives him a blunt reality check: “The thing you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out” (Exodus 18:17–18). Yitro convinces Moses to delegate, creating a system of “middle management” to handle the smaller cases. Only after Moses fixes his broken workflow is he ready to head up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments: the ultimate “Big Picture” vision.

The “Yitro Moment” is the transition from a chaotic, bottleneck, overwhelming mess to a sustainable organization. Moses felt that he was the best person for the job, so he he had to be the one to do it. But leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room; it’s about making sure the room can function when you aren’t there. By delegating, Moses didn’t just save his own sanity; he empowered hundreds of other people to step into leadership roles. It turns out that the best way to prepare for a “Mountain Top” moment of strategy is to clear the clutter from your calendar first. You can’t hear the “Big Vision” if you’re too busy answering 500 “Small Questions.”