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What Can Moses Teach Organizations’ Leaders About Fatherly Love

Author

Listed:
  • Moshe Banai

    (Baruch College)

  • Claude-Hélène Mayer

    (University of Johannesburg)

Abstract

This study proposes that Moses’ agape and storge love of his people was the motivation for his adoption of fatherly leadership style. The study relies on a direct reading of Hebrew language version of the relevant books of the Old Testament. We provide examples that anchor Moses fatherly leadership style in biblical texts, and reference it to modern leadership thoughts and practical wisdom. Moses’ traits, such as humility, gratitude, forgiveness, and altruism, and his unparalleled grit provided him with the capabilities required to perform as a father leader. This leadership style is characterized by availability (awareness), building community, commitment to the growth of people, disciplining, foresight, healing, involvement, listening, persuasion, providing, relinquishing control, role modeling, showing empathy, stewardship (serving), supporting, and teaching. We provide leaders with a list of fatherly leadership behaviors that lacks the authoritarian component of eastern paternalistic leadership style, and that may be well practiced in the health care, social work, education, sport management and other people service industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Moshe Banai & Claude-Hélène Mayer, 2024. "What Can Moses Teach Organizations’ Leaders About Fatherly Love," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 75-93, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:humman:v:9:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s41463-023-00167-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s41463-023-00167-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Harry Hummels & Matthew T. Lee & Patrick Nullens & Renato Ruffini & Jennifer Hancock, 2021. "The Future on Love and Business Organizing. An Agenda for Growth and Affirmation of People and the Environment (AGAPE)," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 329-353, December.
    2. Kathleen Patterson, 2010. "Servant Leadership and Love," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Dirk van Dierendonck & Kathleen Patterson (ed.), Servant Leadership, chapter 6, pages 67-76, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Jonathan Keir, 2017. "A World Ethos for Humanistic Management: Love Story or Dialogue Platform?," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 7-14, October.
    4. Dirk Dierendonck & Kathleen Patterson, 2015. "Compassionate Love as a Cornerstone of Servant Leadership: An Integration of Previous Theorizing and Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 119-131, April.
    5. David G. Rand & Joshua D. Greene & Martin A. Nowak, 2012. "Spontaneous giving and calculated greed," Nature, Nature, vol. 489(7416), pages 427-430, September.
    6. Tim Brouns & Kai Externbrink & Pablo Salvador Blesa Aledo, 2020. "Leadership beyond Narcissism: On the Role of Compassionate Love as Individual Antecedent of Servant Leadership," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-10, March.
    7. Michael Pirson & Cinzia Dessi & Michela Floris & Ernestina Giudici, 2021. "Humanistic Management: What Has Love Got to Do with it?," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-4, April.
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