Developing Kingdom Leaders – Tom Yeakley

Developing More Leaders – REPRODUCE

We continue to reflect upon a good way to organize our understanding of the complex subject of leadership.  Using the simple outline of Know – Be – Do – Reproduce we can categorize the important functions of this vast subject called leadership.  Today we will address the category of “Reproduce – Developing More Leaders.”

An essential part of your leadership is to multiply more leaders.  Yes, we must accomplish mission and task, but don’t overlook the very important task of leaving behind more leaders.  Be intentional about developing those leaders on your team to ensure the are reaching their potential for contribution.

Some leaders are so personally insecure that they avoid developing those on their team.  They see their team member’s development as a threat to their leadership, thinking, “If they reach their potential, they could take my role and then what would I do?”

The reality is that all leadership is temporary.  We lead for a while and then transition our leadership to another.  We can make this transition healthy and positive by intentionally planning our transition.  Or we can ignore it and wait until a crisis occurs and then leave the work ill-prepared for the next leader.

Here’s some practical reminders about developing the leaders on your team.

1. You don’t personally have to do the development of your team members, just lead your team in their development
2. Be intentional about your team’s development as a whole and as individual members
3. Model intentional, individual leader development for your team; set the pace
4. Make leader development fun and interesting, not a duty!
5. Make sure that the Scriptures are central in your team’s leader development
6. Reading a book or and article on leadership together as a team and then discussing how it might be applied in your context is an easy way to lead your team in development
7. Bring in outside resources (people and tools) to help your team grow and develop
8. Development is a part of your regular team meetings, but can become a focus for an extended team retreat
9. Have your team members set 6-month personal development goals related to their development as a leader and then hold them accountable for them
10. Remember to keep this question before your team – “Development for what?”  Their personal leader development and the development of your team is to help you all accomplish your God-given mission or task.

Are you being intentional about your personal leader development?  Are you leading your team in development?