Developing the Leaders Around You: Week One

Pastor Ashley Evans   -   December 2, 2024

Understanding Leadership Development

“The single biggest way to impact any organization is to focus on developing people. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders, and continually develops them.”

Jesus is the great model. The entirety of Jesus’ success depended on his team. From choosing his team, to training his team, to helping them understand the vision and the mission, to equipping them for the mission, and making sure they were ready to do it without him.

24% of the Gospel of John is devoted to Jesus’ team meeting.

Families are the original team.

We are so self-centered that we don’t understand that our future is not determined by us but by those in our teams.

 

  1. Do You Know What You Are Building And Why?

Vision cast the vision of Futures.

Look at Futures.  How are we going to get to 200 campuses that have 10-20 staff each?  

  • 20 HUB leaders who are apostolic in nature 
  • 400 pastors 
  • 200 youth pastors
  • 200 kids pastors 
  • Finance people 
  • 200 administrators 

How are we going to get there?  Developing leaders who develop leaders. 

1 Tim 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

This verse outlines a four-generation leadership development model:

  1. Paul (First generation)
  2. Timothy (Second generation)
  3. Reliable people (Third generation)
  4. Others (Fourth generation)

We have to be phenomenal at leadership development to reach our target. But the cool thing is you won’t get bottlenecked or have a lid placed over you at Futures.  

 

  1. The Personal Reward Of Development. 

Personal Impact

  • Multiplies your effectiveness
  • Creates a lasting legacy
  • Ensures organizational continuity
  • Builds strong relationships

 

  1. An Organization’s Growth Potential Is Directly Related To Its Leadership Potential.

THE GAP BETWEEN 500 AND 800 IS THE WORD CHANGE.  We have to all change.  We have to increase the number of leaders and leadership teams.  

  • Grow a leader and you grow your organization.
  • Understanding organizational capacity
    • Organizations can only grow to the level of their people’s collective ability.
  • The people-growth connection
    • When people grow, the organization naturally expands
  • Identifying current limitations
    • Recognizing where personnel gaps are limiting organizational growth

 

  1. Those Closest To The Leader Will Determine The Success Level Of That Leader

Who are the 5 closest people to you on your team?  

Note: You have to keep them loyal and in good standing.

Exercise

  • Map your inner circle influence
  • Identify key relationships and their impact on your leadership

 

  1. Potential Leaders Help Carry The Load
  • Shared responsibility concept – Developing leaders means distributing responsibility effectively
  • Delegation effectiveness – Strong leaders reduce your burden while maintaining quality
  • Building support systems – Creating networks of capable leaders who can handle increasing responsibility

 

The greatest skill you can learn is to lead teams.

 

  1. Leaders Attract Potential Leaders
  • The Law of Magnetism – You naturally attract leaders who are similar to your leadership level
  • THE LAW OF THE LID 
  • Understanding the 1-10 scale – Every leader operates at a certain level of effectiveness
  • Why level 5 leaders don’t attract level 8s – Leaders typically attract those slightly below their level
  • 5 LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP
    • Level 1: Position (people follow because they have to)
    • Level 2: Permission (people follow because they want to)
    • Level 3: Production (people follow due to results)
    • Level 4: People Development (people follow because of what you’ve done for them)
    • Level 5: Pinnacle (people follow because of who you are)

 

  1. Leaders Who Mentor Potential Leaders Multiply Their Effectiveness
  • The mentoring advantage – One-on-one development creates deeper, lasting GROWTH.  
  • Lots of people manage people but don’t develop them.  

The power of the debrief.  

You need to have 3 different people in your life 

  • People above you who you are learning from
  • People alongside who are colleagues 
  • People below you who you are developing

 

  1. Developed Leaders Expand And Exchange The Future Of The Organization
  • Future-proofing leadership – Building a pipeline of capable leaders for future challenges

Are you planning for the future after 10-15 years from now?  Are you planning to leave?  

 

  1. The More People You Lead, The More Leaders You Need
  • Span of control concept – Effective leadership has natural limits
  • A leader’s effectiveness diminishes as their direct reports increase 
    • Optimum level 5-8
    • Max level 8-12 

How many direct reports do you have?  

How do you create leadership pipelines?  

Discover/Develop/Deploy

 

  1. Leaders Must Have Environmental Change Agents
  • Creating positive change culture
  • Establishing an environment that embraces growth
  • There needs to be a culture of safety in change. 
    • Fail forward and try to change. 
    • Transparent decision making 
    • Regular feedback loops
  • Understanding momentum
    • The importance of momentum
    • Progress creates energy for more progress
  •  How to create momentum
    • Quick wins
    • New initiatives 
    • Team building events 
    • More resources 
    • Remove obstacles 
  • Signs of losing momentum 
    • Recognizing when enthusiasm and progress are waning

  

  1. Leaders Must Model The Leadership They Desire

This is my model

  • High Standards
  • Radical ownership
  • Relentless Learning 
  • Loads of encouragement 

 

  1. Look For The Leader Within The Person

Identifying leadership qualities that may not be obvious

  • Quiet influence 
  • Learn to feel others
  • Don’t just look for doers

 

  1. Place Emphasis On Production, Not Position and Title

Results matter more than organizational hierarchy

 

  1. Provide Growth Opportunities

Creating chances for practical leadership experience

Take people with you.  Paul and Barnabus.  

 

  1. Lead (Don’t Manage) With Vision”

– Inspiring through clear direction rather than just oversight

This is a big one:  Vision casting and clarity of roles instead of micromanagement. 

 

  1. DO BIG THINGS

Challenge people beyond their comfort zones

 

  1. Spend More Effort On The Farm Team Than On The Free Agents

Develop internal talent rather than always seeking external solutions

 

  1. Make Difficult Decisions

Leadership requires courage to make tough choices

 

  1. Pay The Price That Attracts Leaders

Invest in what’s necessary to develop and retain strong leaders

 

COMMITMENT TO GROWTH

Questions for Personal Reflection:

  • What price are you willing to pay for growth?
  • How committed are you to developing others?
  • What changes must you make to attract better leaders?
  • How will you create a development environment?
  • What specific actions will you take this week?