One of the things that I’ve found to be true in leadership is that leaders need to believe in people.
I think most people are willing to follow a leader when they know just how much that leader believes in them. As John Maxwell often says, “Leadership is influence.” I’ve found that I build influence with people when they are convinced that I believe in them.
Here are four things that I’ve discovered to be true in this area:
I’m sitting here in a Starbucks, waiting for our fifth child to get here. The hospital told us they don’t need us there right now, but not to leave town. So Heather and I have been walking a lot, trying to get this delivery to progress.
In the meantime, we’re sitting in a Starbucks, and I’m reviewing the past twelve months, as well as looking ahead.
It’s been a crazy year. Heather’s pregnancy, Dad’s sickness, and a busy life with four kids, almost five.
One of the most critical aspects of developing leadership is mentoring. No leader has achieved what he has without the help and support of others. And most often, successful leaders can point to a person who was instrumental to their success. That’s called mentoring.
Mentoring is crucial because leaders who develop more leaders are mores successful that leaders who simply attract followers. It’s simply math: leaders add followers; mentoring leaders multiply new leaders.
But there are a few things that hinder a leader from developing a mentoring mindset.
This week I read Wayne Cordeiro’s Leading On Empty: Refilling Your Tank And Renewing Your Passion. It was a very interesting book. Cordeiro stresses the importance of continually refueling and refreshing yourself, so that you can continue to minister within your strengths and passions.
Cordeiro speaks from experience. He describes a point in his life where he hit the wall. He had poured himself out so much and so often that he had nothing left to give. He was burnt out, stressed, and depressed, and in danger of seriously impacting his health and life if he didn’t make some serious and immediate changes.
Leading On Empty describes those changes. It is also a plea to others to put safeguards into effect before reaching the point of burnout.
While I don’t feel that I’m to that point, I do have seasons of life and ministry that tend to drain me. And so, Cordeiro’s advice hit pretty close to home, in many ways. There are several things I’ve decided to implement in my life as a result of reading Leading On Empty.
Leaders are committed to continual growth. Without a consistent habit of learning, a leader cannot expect to stay in that position for very long. The simple truth is this: people unwilling to change will never reach their potential. And there is nothing more effective when it comes to reaching potential than a solid commitment to personal growth.
There are several things that you can do to help develop you into a person dedicated to personal growth. These are not hard and fast rules, but they are principles that you can use and apply to your specific life situation.
Make a choice to grow.
Leaders are committed to the continual process of self-improvement. Make the choice to grow. Studies indicate that an overwhelming majority of people never read another book once they have completed schooling, at whatever level. Continual growth doesn’t necessarily mean more school, it could come in the form of books. In order to improve yourself, you have to choose to grow.
One of my favorite areas of study is the idea of leadership. I’ve read a significant number of “great authors” in this area. And I’ve learned a few things after twenty years of leadership study and reading, and twenty years of experience in ministry striving to do things better and better for God’s glory. One of them is this: Leaders develop leaders.
Now, before you leave, let me explain a little further.
I’ve discovered that leaders develop two kinds of people.
There are the leaders who develop followers.
And then there are the leaders who develop more leaders.
And the two are drastically different.