In Parshas Shemos (3:10), Hashem asks Moshe Rabbeinu to become the leader of Klal Yisrael. What are some of the character traits that made Moshe worthy of this position? The Torah describes Moshe's first encounter with the Jewish people after leaving the palace. "Moshe grew up and went out to his brothers and he saw their burdens - vayar b'sivlosam" (2:11). Rashi explains that the word b'sivlosam (especially the beis) implies that Moshe didn't just see their oppression in a detached, dispassionate way. Rather, he entered their world. He empathized with them. He focused his attention and his heart to commiserate with their plight. He shared their burden.
But what's even more noteworthy than Moshe's emotional reaction to what he saw is the very fact that he took an interest in the first place. After all, Moshe was living a life of luxury in the palace of Paroh. He did not suffer the same fate as his brothers. And yet, he took it upon himself to share the pain of his fellow Jews. That is the first mark of a leader - to be sensitive to the challenges of his people.
The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 2, 2) relates that once when Moshe was caring for Yisro's sheep, one of the sheep ran away, and Moshe followed it until it came to a spring and started drinking, whereupon Moshe said to the sheep, "I didn't realize you were thirsty; you must be tired." And he carried the sheep on his shoulders back to the flock. Hashem told Moshe that since he showed compassion for the sheep, he is worthy of leading the Jewish people. What distinguished Moshe was not just the fact that he carried the sheep back, but that he realized that the sheep was tired. He evaluated the situation and understood what the sheep needed. It was this ability to sense what others need that made Moshe worthy of leadership.
But a leader has to do more than just see a need. He must have the strength and the courage to take action. When Moshe sees an Egyptian hitting a Jew, Moshe turns this way and that "and he saw there was no man," so he killed the Egyptian (2:12). How could it be that there was no one else there? The Ksav V'hakabalah explains that there were other Jews around, but no one else had the courage to protest the injustice they were seeing. No one was prepared to step up and try to intervene. So Moshe got involved. A leader is someone who doesn't just see a need, but is ready to take on responsibility. He is prepared to act no matter what the consequences.
Later, after running away from Paroh, Moshe comes to Midian, and he finds that shepherds are mistreating the daughters of Yisro. Once again, Moshe takes initiative and saves the daughters of Yisro from the shepherds (2:17). Moshe would have preferred to mind his own business. What fugitive gets involved in a dispute that has nothing to do with him? But Moshe was the kind of person who could not sit back when he saw injustice being perpetrated. He just had to take responsibility.
It is not surprising that when Hashem tells Moshe after forty years in the desert that it is time to appoint his successor, Moshe asks that the new leader be one "who shall go out before them" (Pinchas 27:17). Rashi explains that Moshe meant to say that the chosen leader should be someone who will lead the Jewish people in battle, just like he and later David did, as opposed to the non-Jewish kings who sit back in their palaces and send their troops into battle from afar. A good leader is one who is prepared to roll up his sleeves and lead by example. He is ready to take action and stand up for his principles when that is necessary.
A third quality that Moshe demonstrated that made him worthy of leadership was humility. When Hashem first asks Moshe to take the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim, Moshe resists. He says, "Who am I that I should go to Paroh and that I should take the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim" (3:11). Hashem responds, "For I shall be with you, and this is the sign that I have sent you, when you take the people out of Mitzrayim, you will serve G-d on this mountain (Har Sinai)" (3:12).
The Meshech Chochmah suggests that Hashem was telling Moshe that his humility was precisely the quality that made him worthy of leading the Jewish people. Hashem was saying that he rests His Shechina only on the humble (Nedarim 38a), and that is why Moshe who was the most humble of men (Beha'aloscha 12, 3) was the perfect choice to lead the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim and to serve as Hashem's emissary to present the Torah to the Jewish people on Har Sinai, the smallest of the mountains (see Megillah 29a). Rather than being a disadvantage, Moshe's humility was exactly the quality that made him worthy of leadership.
All too often, leaders and managers use their positions of authority to take advantage of those below them. They abuse their power and they tyrannize those they are charged to lead. They care only about themselves. True leadership is not about self-promotion. It is about identifying the needs of the enterprise and one's subordinates, taking initiative to fulfill the mission at hand, while serving as an example of self-sacrifice and humility. Moshe Rabbeinu had all these qualities. He serves as an enduring model of the ultimate leader.