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to his own conclusions, but he finally realized that ‘‘the only way you’re
going to create a significant company is to make your role into one
where youguidethings as opposed to do things.’’^27
But to be able to delegate, you have to trust your team members to
know what their roles are and to be able to perform them (perhaps with
a little coaching). Nehemiah knew he couldn’t rebuild the Jerusalem
wall by himself, so he selected capable leaders (‘‘delegations of trustwor-
thy men’’) to manage each part of the job: ‘‘The Fish Gate was rebuilt
by the sons of Hassenaah... The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun
... The Fountain Gate was repaired by Shallun son of Col-Hozeh.’’
(Neh. 3) And once the job was done, Nehemiah also made sure that his
trusted brother, Hanani, was there to protect the gates and the wall
along with the commander of the citadel. (Neh. 7)
Perhaps the most skilled biblical delegator was Jesus. He chose his
twelve disciples carefully, and sent them out with specific instructions.
A good delegator chooses the right person for the task and is very spe-
cific about the task and what that team member is authorized to do:
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and
authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases... He told them,
‘‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money... Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome
you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a
testimony against them.’’ (Luke 9:1–5)
Jesus subsequently sent out seventy-two more delegates with similar
instructions. And he sent them out in teams of two for mutual support.
And we all know how dramatically and exponentially his followers in-
creased from this original small group.
On the other hand, Dennis Holt, founder of Western International
Media, was the ‘‘man who couldn’t delegate.’’ Holt’s single-minded
tenacity intimidated his competitors. He was a workaholic who refused
to give up any part of the task, and his rivals saw his car parked in front
of his office seven days a week. And it wasn’t just a ‘‘plant’’; he was