Bosses in the Bible: A Boss that Empowers
Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. – Genesis 14:14-16
Another good example we can learn from Abraham’s character is that he was an astute boss who believed in the development of his workers. He was a classic example of a boss who empowers his workers.
It is interesting that this unique ideology of human capital development was not lost to Abraham several thousand years ago, whereas many modern bosses seem to be oblivious of its importance and therefore do not subscribe to it. From the reference passage, when Abraham learned that his nephew had been captive he mobilized his men, all of them slaves born in his house, to go and battle the ravaging kings who took his brother captive.
It is curious that these men, the whole 318 of them, were born in Abraham’s house at a time when the number of slaves one had was one of the metrics for assets, because the more slaves one had, the more workers he would have working his farm.
Meanwhile, Abraham was different as a boss, he did not bask in the glory of cheap labor added to him, on the contrary, he was vested in the development and empowerment of his workers, a fact that was demonstrated in the way he trained them all in important life skills, one of which was fighting in battle.
Imagine if Abraham had not invested in training his workers and developing their capacity to do much more beyond plant cultivation and animal husbandry. Imagine if he had condemned all his workers to only till the land or rear livestock. For sure, he would not have been able to call on them for battle when he needed an army to advance and take on the kings who took his brother away.
As noted earlier, it is refreshing that Abraham knew and practised this desirable attribute in a principal. That was why he could call his workers when he needed them and rely on them to deliver at the battlefront, thus enhancing the success of his war campaign to free Lot. The workers you do not empower may not deliver.
Selah!
Also read:
- Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Pioneer Spirit
- Remembering God’s Unfailing Love
- Chattering
- I Am Free
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