Life-long learners constantly cycle through a developmental process to sharpen their leadership skills. It may be intuitive or it may be intentional. But the 6 steps they follow are real:
LEARN-EMPOWER-ASSESS-DECIDE-EVALUATE-REVIEW
Gary was struggling. He served as a small group leader with amazing results. But then he was asked to lead the small group ministry in his church. He was excited – but overwhelmed.
- How was he going to lead a number of small group leaders?
- Who were these people he was to lead?
- And most important, where was he supposed to start?
That’s when we met.
Too often, people are put into leadership positions without the tools, skills or understanding required to lead. What normally happens to these people is that they either pursue help OR they drop out! The death of a vision leads to the demise of a leader. Worse yet, the leader becomes so frustrated, apathetic and disinterested in everything to do with the “church”.
Back to Gary, after he brought me up to speed, I asked him some questions and as he reflected – he began to calm down. Gary shared his heart for the small group ministry.
- He had a vision.
- He had ideas of what he didn’t want – essentially he did NOT want to work alone!
- He DID want to become more effective at helping others lead their small groups.
As a leader, one thing you must ask is – Where do I begin?
Here are three questions I asked Gary:
- What are your strengths?
- What essential skills are necessary for this role?
- Who are you looking to for help?
Gary had recently completed a leadership assessment that the church staff and volunteers were asked to take. We discussed the strengths he brought to the ministry. And then identified some areas he did not enjoy, what he lacked and potential blind spots. Finally, we identified what it would take for his team to be successful.
Gary is in the process of:
- Learning who he is as a leader.
- Learning more about the team members he is now working with.
- Learning about the various roles he needs to fill.
- Learning who he could approach as potential future members of his team.
Learning is an important step in the Leadership Development Process. But Learning in itself is not enough. In fact, going to a workshop, listening to a podcast or even receiving a degree in leadership does not guarantee a person can lead. I’ve found that many people have knowledge but lack the experience of actually leading a team. Applying the knowledge and learning from success as well as failure is critical in the development process.
Questions for your reflection as a leader:
Who are you developing as future leaders?
- How are you helping them learn about themselves and the people they lead?
- What possibilities are there for them to take the next step forward?
The next step in the journey of developing a leader is – Empowering team members to help them clarify “what’s next”. I will address this in the next blog.
Colin is the Director of ResourceZone International. He has 30 years of ministry experience as a pastor, college lecturer and consultant/coach to consultants, denominational leaders and local church pastors. He can be reached at info@resourcezone.com.au
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