RAISING UP EMERGING LEADERS
1. If you want a future – you must recognize, raise up, and release emerging leaders. As leaders we need to make decisions based on long-term impact, not short-term gain. We always have to think of the future. “She did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding…” (Lam 1:9 NIV). Toyota has a 500-year business plan that goes through to the year 2,500. As a result of this, Toyota creates long term partnerships with employees, suppliers, and leaders.
We must become partners with the Lord Jesus Christ and one another for a corporate destiny that goes beyond the limitations of time and resources in this world. Our aim must be to win souls and make disciples who will work together for the ongoing expansion of God’s kingdom (Acts 26:16-19).
2. As Senior Leaders we need to help co-create our emerging leader’s futures.Senior leaders need to be aware of the emerging leader’s real talents, their hunger for growth, and the opportunities for them to serve. Failing to take advantage of the emerging leader’s desire for growth and purpose is like leaving money on the table.
It’s not that hard to take someone from a place of boredom and dissatisfaction to a place of being fully engaged and working to build a bigger future, both for the church and for his or her career. What makes the difference? Many times all it takes is just a simple conversation about the emerging leader’s future. No hope for the future means no power in the present. When developmental opportunities are matched up with what the emerging leader wants to create, then you end up with an unstoppable force instead of a bored worker with one eye on the “Help-Wanted” ads.
3. The gift of opportunity is the greatest gift we can give emerging leaders. I don’t promise anything to anybody except opportunity. Many of our pastors used to say, “God loves you and Pastor George has a wonderful plan for your life.” I laughed when I first heard it, but when I thought about it, I realized that it was true. I’m interested enough in people to think about them and their future and consider how I can help them to fulfill it.
Disney World spends incredible amounts of money, time, and other resources training their people. Someone asked: “What happens if you train people, and they leave?” Disney’s response: “What happens if we don’t train them and they stay?”
As senior leaders we must help emerging leaders create a SMART plan for their future: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. The Finishing Edge course, along with sponsorships for those who qualify, is one of the avenues we use to discover how developed and ready a person is for the position they are seeking after. Then we try to create the opportunity they need.
4. Reward initiative rather than punishing mistakes. Google encourages their employees to spend up to 20% of their working day on projects they initiate, because they say you never know where the next big idea will come from. We need to create the kind of atmosphere where people are not afraid to try new things and fail, knowing they will not be cast away. Most of the best ideas come from a team environment. We call it Creative Collaboration!
Yours for developing an army of great leaders building strong teams of emerging leaders,
~ Dr. George Hill ~