How do you constantly develop as a leader?
This is the question that I have been pondering for the past three years. When I stepped into my new role at my current church, I knew that it was going to be a learning curve. I have worked with students for 10 years. I have been to many different youth ministry conferences, and have been mentored by seasoned youth ministry veterans. But, nothing prepared me for leading a staff team.
Leading a team isn’t about just getting a task done. It’s about doing something together. It’s about leveraging our strengths to do something we could never do on our own.
If I am honest, I was afraid that the people who work for me wouldn’t enjoy it, and would want to move onto something better, or follow a better leader. I didn’t know how to build the best team, or lead it. My training had failed me. It didn’t prepare me for being a ministry entrepreneur. My ministry training helped me to disciple, preach and counsel people. It didn’t equip me to be a next level leader.
I began looking outside of the common ministry training grounds for developing as a leader, and I stumbled across the like of Andy Stanley and Craig Groschel. These are exceptional leaders, and I have learned a ton from time. Last year, I attended a leadership conference called: Catalyst West Coast. All these experiences was like getting a drink from a firehose. It was overwhelming.
This past fall I stumbled across a book called, “H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle.” This book has revolutionized my leadership. Brad Lomenick has written one of the best books on leadership I have ever read (part of my Masters is in church leadership). This is the book you need to read this year. Once you read it, add it to your yearly rereading list. H3 Leadership is an awesome book that anyone who is leading in any capacity can learn from.
Here are some awesome quote from H3 Leadership:
- Work to change the dynamics of your current assignment or being looking for a new one.
- A habit of assignment is about doing, not dreaming.
- Don’t ever lose that sense of curiosity, wonder, and excitement for the calling on and in your life.
- Good leaders develop through constant learning about their personalities, relationships and careers, not to mention the kind of leader they want to become.
- Leaders should be as passionate about their life’s work as their are their top sports team or favourite pastime.
- We feed off of passionate and contagious leaders.
- Your team feeds off your energy, for better or worse.
- Vision always centres on people, never projects, programs, properties, or profits.
- If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll for for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.
- Inspiring leaders create a vision, mission, and a cause way bigger than themselves that others can own, follow, be inspired by, and be a part of.
- More than one customer has been surprised when my primary advise consists of only three words: “stop being average.”
What is your plan to develop as a leader? I hope that you have some plan. Great leaders don’t just happen. If you don’t have a plan, go and check out Brad Lomenick’s book,”H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle.” It’s really the best book on leadership out there. Once you read it, you will want to buy cases of them for all your friends.
