Several of us had a great conversation the other day related to the launch of our Greenville campus. We were talking about the importance of leadership development. After our conversation, these realities have been challenging my thinking:

  • Leaders can’t be recruited from the platform. We have to challenge them one-on-one.
  • Leaders won’t be fulfilled performing tasks. We need to give them responsibility.
  • Leaders don’t follow doers. We need to make sure they’re connected to another strong leader.
  • Leaders don’t want to be micromanaged. We have to eliminate the tendency to control the process and, instead, hold people accountable for the outcomes.
  • Leaders won’t commit to ambiguity. We need to offer a clear vision. (And, it better be big.)
  • Leaders don’t just show up. We have to be intentional about leadership development.

John Maxwell challenged us in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership with this statement:

“When a leader can’t or won’t empower others, he creates barriers within the organization that people cannot overcome. If the barriers remain long enough, then the people give up, or they move on to another organization where they can maximize their potential.”

He went on to explain, “Only secure leaders give power to others.” In other words, failure to empower other leaders is a sign of insecurity.

This stuff is smacking me in the face. Where are my insecurities limiting the leaders around me? What changes do I need to make to empower new leaders? How does our ministry need to change in order to improve leadership development?