I see leaders across this country that have benefited from maximizing their own leadership skills, but are failing to pass those skills along to their staff and other emerging leaders. I hear the excuses. “I can’t find the time,” or “I’m still evaluating their potential.”
If we could just get honest with ourselves, we might see that our reluctance is often based in fear. We never vocalize it, but internally, we are afraid that if we invest in developing other leaders, bad things might happen. We won’t admit our fear that if we mentor someone:
- I won’t be indispensable any more.
- My authority might be challenged some day.
- Others might prefer the emerging leader over me.
- Their influence could surpass my own.
- They might receive credit due to me.
Simply writing these fears down helps us see they are all rooted in our own insecurity. As long as we allow these petty anxieties to shackle us, we’ll never achieve the greatest satisfaction of a leader – the legacy of multiple leaders achieving far more than we ever dreamed of accomplishing ourselves. Here are some things to consider that can help you crush those insecurities.
Remember that someone invested in you.
The recent movie “Pay it Forward” told the story of a boy who believed he could change the world if he could perform three big acts of kindness for others; they would, in turn, perform three big acts of kindness for others. While the story came from Hollywood, the principle comes from life. All of us who lead are the beneficiaries of someone else’s investment in us. If you don’t “pay it forward,” the greatest loss will be yours.
Decide to trust and be willing to be burned.
If you mentor enough emerging leaders, you will probably be disappointed, hurt, even betrayed by some along the way. Do it anyway. It’s a small price to pay in exchange for the privilege of watching others you’ve invested in overcome challenges and literally change the world.
Deal with past disappointments in your life.
In the last edition of “Leadership Wired,” I talked about eliminating emotional clutter from your life. This is a good example of what I mean. Until you forgive those who have disappointed you and move on from your past, you’ll be ineffective at shaping the future through others.
Become more convinced of the future.
Some leaders live as though they expect to be around forever. My heart attack a few years ago reminded me that we’re all just a heartbeat away from vacating our office. Who is coming along ready to take your place? If you won’t mentor someone to take your organization into the future, you can bet that your adversaries will.
Be willing to experience something greater.
Leading people is gratifying. But watching the leaders that you have developed lead, is even more gratifying. Face your insecurities and your irrational fears today, so that tomorrow you can begin planting for a harvest that will yield for generations to come.
monthly e-newsletter: Leadership Wired available at www.INJOY.com.
John Maxwell grew up in the 1950s in the small Midwestern city of Circleville, Ohio. John's earliest childhood memory is of knowing that he would someday be a pastor. He professed faith in Christ at the age of three, and reaffirmed that commitment when he was 13. At age 17, John began preparing for the ministry. He attended Circleville Bible College, earning his bachelor's degree in 1969. In June of that same year, he married his sweetheart, Margaret, and moved to tiny Hillham, Indiana, where he began his first pastorate.
While serving in his second church, Maxwell began to study the correlation between leadership effectiveness and ministry effectiveness. On July 4, 1976, while preaching at a service commemorating America's bicentennial, John sensed that God was calling him into a ministry to pastors. Within days after that event, pastors began to contact him, asking for his assistance in nurturing their churches. Over the next four years, on an informal basis, John helped scores of fellow pastors. Then, in 1980, he was asked to become Executive Director of Evangelism for the Wesleyan denomination.
Though his time at Wesleyan headquarters was productive, John soon realized that his deeper desire was to help pastors from numerous denominations. He knew that desire would be unfulfilled if he were to stay at denominational headquarters. As a result, in 1981 John accepted the call to return to the pastorate, this time at Skyline Wesleyan Church in the San Diego, California area. But he did so with the church's blessing to pursue his vision. The Skyline congregation allowed him to continue mentoring and assisting pastors even as he led them to new levels.
In 1985, as he continued to equip and encourage other pastors, John took the next crucial step in leadership development. He founded a new company called INJOY and created the INJOY Life Club, featuring a monthly tape for leaders. The fledging operation, established in the corner of a garage, was soon bursting at the seams. The INJOY Life Club tapes were received with great enthusiasm, and the number of subscriptions quickly increased from hundreds to thousands. Simultaneously, the demand for other resources and seminars exploded. Pastors from coast to coast were responding, and their desire for help was even greater than John had anticipated.
As the years passed, INJOY began demanding more and more of John's time. In 1995, he resigned from his position as senior pastor at Skyline following a very fruitful 14-year tenure. The church had tripled in size and its lay ministry involvement had increased ten-fold. Dr. Maxwell is in great demand today as a speaker. Through his bestselling books, audio and video resources, and major conferences, he communicates directly with more than one million people every year. He is frequently asked to speak for organizations such as Promise Keepers and Focus on the Family, but his greatest joy and desire is to help pastors become better leaders.
Because the need for leadership development knows no borders, John established EQUIP, a non-profit organization which trains leaders in urban communities, academic institutions, and within international organizations. EQUIP is also spearheading a movement which has enlisted more than one million pastoral prayer partners who covenant to pray specifically for those who shepherd God's flock.
John continues to seek new opportunities to help churches and church leaders. He knows that one thing is constant: the only hope for the world is salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives life abundantly.
