I just finished meeting with a great friend and leader to talk about ministry and leadership. We reflected on a leader we have in common who has impacted both of our lives. He is well known, well-respected, and has impacted hundreds of other leaders. We discussed how effective he has been but also acknowledged that he has stood on the shoulders of others. That is true of a successful or effective leader. They do not get to where they are on their own. You may never know the members of their team, but you can trust that many hours were spent with a team who made them better as he or she poured into them.
Effective leaders equip others in several ways. Like a rising tide lifts all ships, the elevation of the leadership skills of their team members lifts the entire organization including that of the key leader themselves.
- They purposefully invest informal time in other leaders on their team. It may sound contradictory to be purposeful and informal. However, the cliché is true that some things are better caught than taught. While there may be no agenda, the gathering may be recreational or casual on its face, and the time may be either spontaneous or planned, the ideas exchanged, the conversations had, the problems discussed, the laughter shared, and the subtle lessons learned serve to equip and strengthen both the leader and the team member. Effective leaders understand and take advantage of this dynamic with individuals where appropriate and meet purposefully and frequently.
- They encourage the personal growth of their team. Effective leaders will allow time away, sabbaticals, conference time, subscriptions, formal educational pursuits, and visits to other effective comparable organizations, even at a cost financially or at the expense of time from the ministry, business, or organization served. Why? Because effective leaders understand the principle of sowing and reaping. You do not lose when you allow team members’ freedom for such pursuits. You are investing by sacrificing time that technically belongs to you.
- They bring in others to say what they have been saying. Effective leaders do not fear the exposure of their team to other effective leaders. They embrace it and leverage it to equip their team to be better. No one knows it all and sometimes the team needs to hear the message in a fresh way to help it sink in and take hold in their own lives and work.
- They incorporate training into their structured gatherings. What are structured gatherings? It could be the weekly worship service in a church. It could be the weekly staff meeting in an organization. It could be the monthly business meeting. It is those gatherings that are necessary, calendared, and regular in occurrence. Ordinarily the structured gatherings are administrative in nature. However, the effective leaders take advantage of having key leaders together and pours a measure of leadership training into the staff, team, or meeting of the volunteers at every opportunity.
- They plan leadership training opportunities for their team. This last item may be the most obvious, but you will find that it is often neglected. Whenever you build your leaders they build your organization. It is true of a business, a ministry, a church, or an organization of any size. Do you want to grow and/or strengthen it? If so, be purposeful in growing your leaders. An effective leader develops a plan to do so. What is your plan to grow the skills of your team? What is next?
If you neglect any of these you will limit the potential of whatever and whomever it is that you are called to lead. Equip your leaders formally and informally and you will be on the way to maximizing your leadership!