In the next verse Moshe requests that the leader be someone who will go out before the nation and come in before them. He should also have the ability to take the people out and bring them in. Moshe concludes his request by imploring Hashem that Bnei Yisrael should not be like a flock of sheep without a shepherd.
In essence, Moshe is asking for a leader who has the ability to provide a vision, and then communicate and implement it. This leader must obviously be a role model. This necessity is captured when Moshe asks for a leader who will go out and come in before the people. He must be the first one to do things and never ask his people to do something that he himself is not prepared to do. When Moshe asks for someone who will bring the people out and take them back in, he is referring to the need to provide a vision. Without a vision and a destination, the people will not have whom to follow. If the Torah is describing a leader who will be able to take out and bring in his people, then by definition such a leader must be providing a vision.
When Moshe asks for a person who can deal with each person on his or her own level he is referring to the ability to communicate the vision. People may be inspired by a grand vision, but they need to understand how it relates to them as individuals. They need to have buy-in. Only a leader who is a gifted communicator can accomplish this.
Finally, Moshe asks for a leader who knows how to implement the vision, similar to a shepherd who knows how to lead his flock to water and green pastures. A shepherd succeeds only when he gets his flock to where it needs to go safely and in one piece.
All too often, leaders, and especially those men and women running for the presidency, focus on the more lofty aspects of the job, such as vision formulation and communication. Sadly, history is full of examples of how bad things can become when they forget that part of their responsibly includes implementation. It is at those times we resemble an aimlessly traveling flock of sheep. Leaders must never forget that at the end of the day they are simple shepherds.
