In the Bible, you discover that leaders were most often trained ‘on the job’. A leadership expert writes: ‘It takes secure leaders at the top to let the leaders working for them be full participants in the organisation’s leadership process. If [mid-level] leaders…question them, they don’t take it personally. When they share ideas, the leaders cannot afford to feel threatened. When people lower than they are…want to take risks, they need to be willing to give them room to succeed or fail. Leadership by its very nature challenges out-of-date ideas…old ways of doing things…[and] the status quo…The secret to developing new leaders is [to] remain secure and let them find new ways of doing things – ways that are better than yours. Instead of trying to be Mr Answerman or Ms Fix-it, when your leaders start coming into their own, move more into the background. Try taking on the role of wise counsellor and chief encourager. Welcome the desire of your best leaders to innovate and improve the organisation. After all…a win for the organisation is a win for you. So what role are you playing in your organisation? Are you “the expert”, or are you more of an advisor and advocate? Ask yourself, “Am I providing an environment where people can ask questions, share ideas, and take risks?”’ If your goal is to build God’s kingdom and not your own, you know that the answer to that question can be found in these words of Paul: ‘Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent’ (vv. 5-6 NIV).

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.