Succession in the wilderness

In my last reflection, Moses drew God’s ire for the way in which he and Aaron handled a thirsty Israel at the waters of Meribah. But leading the Isrealites has been no easy task. Not only have they guided them through hunger, thirst, plagues, and numerous battles in the wilderness, Moses and Aaron have interceded with God on Israel’s behalf numerous times, while enduring constant grumbling and quarelling and a continual second guessing of the choice to flee slavery in Egypt.

As the Israelites approach the end of their time in the wilderness, God reminds Moses that he will not live in the promised land, and the conversation turns toward future leadership:

The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Numbers 27:12-17)

Moses gets an opportunity to see the promised land, but after all he has endured, knows he will not live there. Instead of bargaining for a chance to live in “a land flowing with milk and honey,” Moses turns toward leadership succession. He asks God to appoint someone to lead the Isrealites, to be their “shepherd” as they realize God’s promise to give them a land of their own.

It’s hard to imagine working toward something for 40 years, knowing you won’t see the fruition of your labor, knowing you won’t experience the big party at your destination. It seems especially hard if the 40 years was spent in a biblical version of the worst hard time, or in our own personal or family business wilderness experience of anxiety, economic difficulty, fear, family conflict, doubt, uncertainty, depression, or anger.

What’s remarkable is that Moses thinks not of himself, or of his disappointment in not exiting the wilderness, or of his sadness of not reaching the promised land. He thinks about leadership. Who will carry on? He knows the next generation will need to fulfill the vision he’s held for generations.

Have you had a conversation about the future leadership of your family business? What stands in the way of succession planning in your organization — a fear of death, an inability to let go, an expected arrival, an undeveloped vision, family conflict, your current wilderness experience, or something else?