LEADERS ARE PARTNERSFor a ministry or an organization to grow, the leader must constantly grow.
For the leader to grow and the ministry to grow - the partners must grow.
For those relationships to grow, the trust level between the leader and
the followers must also constantly grow. Every leader must remember
that he cannot build a ministry larger than himself. If a ministry outgrows
the leader, then his leadership is over. Either his ministry will plateau
until he catches up and moves back out in front; or the group will look for
a new leader who can take them to another level of growth. Followers
generally do not outgrow their leader.
Once again we see the importance of leadership growth. A growing leader
is a going leader. However, when he stops growing, he stops going! He loses
momentum. He is no longer “on the move.” He plateaus. When the leader
stops growing and going, the same thing happens to the followers. For his
followers to grow, the leader must grow first. Oftentimes, the leader not only
has to grow first – he also has to grow fast! Leadership by its very nature
means being at least one step ahead of the group. If the leader is not “out
front” then he is not leading, he’s just taking a walk! To keep his followers
growing, the leader must first of all live on the growing edge. Effective
leaders are lifelong learners. True learners have an insatiable curiosity...
an inquiring mind...a longing to know...a desire to understand...a
drive to figure things out. Learners ask questions...listen to different
opinions...write down answers...store up information. True learners
and leaders like to associate with people who are smarter...wiser...more
educated...more experienced...more exposed than themselves. They like
to associate with those who are higher achievers and more successful
than they are so they can learn from them. They are not afraid to be s-t-r-
e-t-c-h-e-d by associating with people who are different from them – who
think differently...believe differently...act differently...do it differently.
Leaders who are growing are not afraid to move out of their little
world...their surroundings...their comfort zone...their group...their
church...their denomination...their organization their methodology...their
theology...their experiences...their paradigm. All of this is a part of
their growth process. It helps keep a leader on a positive learning curve. As
a result, good leaders do not develop in a day – they develop daily!
Because good leaders are always visionaries who focus on the “BIG Picture,”
they need people around them who will focus on the “little details!”
Wise leaders surround themselves with good managers – detail people