Growing as a Leader!

I’ve mentioned before that I lead an organization and every day, I’m striving to lead well and help those with whom God has entrusted me.  Every day I think I’m inadequate to hold the position I do. Yes, I’ve been leading for a long time. Yes, I have degrees and experience, but I don’t know everything nor will I ever. I am constantly reminded of my inadequacy with emergencies and situations I’ve never experienced before arise. 

Yes, I lean on my past experience of dealing with similar issues and my knowledge of protocol and procedures, but more than that I lean on the Holy Spirit to direct me. I trust His guidance in speaking with my staff or speaking with my supervisors and senior leaders at work. I have done the work, but He is still working on me. Sometimes I make mistakes, but I don’t try to hide them from my staff – I own them. None of us are perfect and we all need some grace.  

As I strive to be more like Jesus, I strive to lead like Him. To that end, I’ve attended conferences and classes and studied devotionals to teach me how Jesus led. Of course, Jesus loved the disciples and gave them identity as His followers. He spoke into them and called out those things that were not consistent with the character He was building in them. From my reading scripture, there are a few things I’d like to note. 

Out of all the people who followed Jesus, He had a specific group to whom He entrusted the work of ministry. He had an even smaller group who went into the intimate places with Him – Peter, James and John (Matt 17:1; Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51). Much like Him, I have an inner circle. My inner circle advises and provides feedback and experience things first hand with me. They are first ones I send out so that instructions and guidance flow out to everyone else. 

Another thing of note is that Jesus delegated. He gave the disciples authority to do the work and then He delegated assignments to them. He taught and directed and then He sent. He modeled the behavior He wanted to see in them and then He sent them out to do the work (Luke 9:1-2; Mark 6:7). Delegation is something with which I struggle. I am a working manager. There are some things I know I do well. There are things I really like to do. However, I have to remember that as a leader, my job is to develop skills in the people I lead. In order to do that, I sometimes have to give up somethings I like doing. That is painful, but the rewards are great. It builds confidence in the staff. It shows that I trust them. It gives them the ability to learn while having a safety net. It ensures the skills are passed on so they can be amplified. As more people learn skills, synergy is created – you can get more done through others. 

Are you a leader? How are you growing as a leader? Are you intentional? Are you uncomfortable? Are you striving for excellence? Are you self-reflective? Growth is a process and it’s never really easy, but it is so worth it.