Leadership Development Plans

Incomplete buildings are a stark billboard warning,

“count the cost before you build, to make sure you have enough to complete the project.” Luke 14:28)

Leadership Development Pathway

Recently I had a church executive say to me, “Stan you are too focused on leadership development,” to which I responded, “it is called ‘discipleship.’ That is what the church is supposed to be about, developing leaders.” However, many in the church, like this executive, see the church’s purpose as hosting strong events instead of developing strong leaders.Joel Comiskey understands the strategic nature of leadership development when he writes,

“Churches do not reap the harvest because they have small gorups. They reap the harvest because they have harvest workers. Churches that have no plan to develop leaders have, by default, planned to lose the harvest.” (Leadership Explosion, Page 16)

Start with the Why!When you know the “why” the “what” and the “how” are easy to develop. Why do we want more and better leaders? Every organization rises and falls based on the quality and quantity of the leaders. This is true of the church, but also of every organization/business. The bigger your dream the bigger your team and the kind of leaders being developed will make all the difference in the long haul.

Begin with the end in mind

Ask, “what kind of leaders/team members do we want to develop? What does the end of the process look like in the lives of those who have completed the equipping process? What do we want them to know? What do we want them to be passionate about? What skills and character qualities should be developed?When considering leadership development, the Bible gives us insight into one of the greatest leader developers in history, King David. The national flag of Israel still displays the star of "David," an indication of the glory days in history when Israel was at its best under an amazing leader. How does the Bible describe David's leadership?

Psalms 78:72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (NIV)

The Psalmist describes King David as a man who operated like a shepherd caring for his weak, defenceless sheep, a man of character and skill. As David met with God and witnessed God’s power and faithfulness in his personal life, when he was alone and no one was around, this laid the foundation for his leadership in public. Self leadership preceded his public leadership. His character was being formed by God long before his character was revealed in facing a giant and the enemies of Israel. God used David to build a loyal band of brothers, the “mighty men of valor” who reigned with David in the longest period of freedom in Israel’s history. David could never have pulled that off by himself.

“Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone. Look below the surface and you will find that all seemingly solo acts are really team efforts.” John Maxwell (The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, pg 3)

As the leaders go, so goes every organization. Character counts! It becomes an important decision in every organization, “how are we going to build strong leaders of character, competence and capacity?Who helped you develop the character and competence that you possess today? Why don’t you send them a note and thank them?