Passing It On: Growing Your Future Leaders (13 page)

Remember that any power that you have is a gift. If you received something, it was not yours originally. You were not born
with authority. You are given authority. If you take authority, you are illegitimate. True leaders emerge. They do not conquer.
When a leader emerges naturally, that is legitimate power. True leaders do not decide to be leaders. They are victims of destiny.
Just as children who have not had effective parents often fail to be good parents, leaders who have not had good mentors will
have difficulty mentoring and preparing future leaders.

This book is designed to break that pattern. Let us examine some of the ways we can provide a model to mentor and train others
to replicate good leadership.

Understand leadership
. As “servant leaders,” we lead without controlling, managing, or oppressing people. Our leadership has very little to do
with other people. It has more to do with self-discovery. It involves finding our personal sense of purpose, discovering our
true gift, and cultivating and developing our gift to pursue that purpose. It is sacrifice, paying the price to fulfill that
purpose and vision. When we discover our purpose and our gift, we develop the confidence, security, self-worth, self-esteem,
and self-significance that protect us from threat of competition, comparison, and jealousy. These strengths allow us to develop
other successful leaders. True leadership creates the environment for others to discover themselves.

Reject the poor leadership habits of our predecessors
. Even if no one trained us, we must train others. As true leaders reproducing leaders, we must be the model. Others will
replicate what they see in us. If our boss held key information close to the vest, failed to delegate, and pushed out potential
rivals, we should do the opposite. If our boss or pastor did not mentor and encourage new leadership, we must do those things.
It is time to break
the cycle. Someone has to stop this. We should not do to others what people did to us. Those who did not have formal mentoring
must take the lead to mentor others. Identify potential leaders and set up a program to train them. Tell someone, “I am going
to mentor you. I am going to make you great! I’m going to develop you and make you better than I am! I am going to help you.
I’ll train you. I will be an example to you.” Why not?

Seek good models and mentors
. If you have a leader who is a good role model, you can become one. We have to look for ways to be good models for someone
else. We have to break the cycle. This is why fathering is so important. A good father will produce a good son, who will produce
another good son. Your models become your life lessons that you can teach other people. Produce leaders by setting an example.
When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He modeled the behavior for them. He did not just tell the disciples what to
do. He usually demonstrated and let them watch. It is more important for the leader to show than it is for the leader to say
something. The mentor will do things and then ask if you learned anything from it. “Did you see what I did? Did you see how
I handled that situation?” You are supposed to learn from the experience. Jesus says in essence, “I am your master, and I
washed your feet. Therefore, from now on you should wash each other’s feet.”

He was not establishing a church ritual; He was saying whenever there is a need, fill it. If you are present and you are capable,
then you do it. Leadership needs to be modeled. He could have fussed at them, attacked them, and told them how disappointed
He was that they had not already washed one another’s feet when they found no servant available. These are grown men. But
He did not say a word. He just picked up a basin. In some cases, it is more important to
do
as a leader, than to speak as a leader. I would prefer you talk about what I did than about what I said. In that way, I model
behavior I would like to see in you. That is what a role model does.

Provide formal training
. We should not leave others to learn on the job just because we might have had to do that. Leaders must be trained to train.
That is the reason my organization exists and why I share this information in my books—so you can train others to use their
resources, money, and time with precision and skill. We need to be trained so that we can train. If I train you, you are going
to be better than I am, and I expect that. That is what I want because if I train you properly, you will train other people
better.
Leadership reproduces leadership. We cannot leave leadership to chance. Many leaders are not products of formal training,
and they think on-the-job training is good enough for others. Somehow they have stumbled their way into the positions they
hold. Circumstances opened a door for them, or history destined them for a position. They happened to be there when the person
above them left or died, and no one else volunteered or was available. Maybe they had some haphazard training to do a specific
job, but no formal training in the principles of leadership. To reproduce leaders, they have to provide that training for
others.

Have the confidence to delegate
. Summon the courage to share authority, influence, and knowledge. Learn to trust others by sharing control and information.
Delegating presents risks. You may feel that if others learn what you know, they might not need you. Each time you delegate
a task, you have to teach a little bit of what you know. You have to share wisdom and power. Give others opportunities to
exercise their gifts and to grow as leaders. Good leaders reproduce leaders. The successes of those coming behind are not
a threat to them. They are not jealous of the gifts others have, and they do not try to suppress or oppress future leaders.
Leadership is about sharing power. In other words, true leaders empower. They do not hog the power. The only way you can share
power is to be confident in yourself. You are unique. No one can steal you. So give yourself away.

Find the power to let go
. Adopt the attitude that you are in the business of being a chief maker. Surround yourself with potential leaders. Your value
does not come from your position. Your sense of worth does not come from your title. Your sense of self-esteem does not come
from how much authority you have. You cannot be the chief and have everyone else be your subjects. If you feel that way, it
is time to let go. Those of us who have made our positions synonymous with our value should understand that is akin to suicide.
If you are strapped to your seat, it is time to take off the seat belt. Rid yourself of any sense of entitlement—one of the
greatest weaknesses of leadership. Often we think, “This position belongs to me. I’ve been here for forty years. How dare
you come and take my position? I’ve been the director of this department for years. I’ve been the prayer-warrior leader for
decades. I’ve been the deacon. I’ve been in charge of the ushers.” Let it go. It is time to let go. We are not entitled to
these things. Wise leaders are happy to train people so they can move on to the
next spot. They are not afraid to let go. Reproduce leaders who can take your place.

Put “people work” before paperwork
. Prioritize people over policies, projects, and paper. Instead of producing memos, reports, five-year projections, and spreadsheets,
produce leaders. Mentoring is about people, not memos. “I have a lot of work to do today. I cannot see anyone.” Have you ever
said that? Do not look now, but that is you. To reproduce leaders, you must spend time with people. Paperwork has its place.
For me, it is from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. That is what I do. The days belong to people. The greatest work of a leader is developing
people, not hiding from them. The leader does not spend his days behind closed doors in an office on the tenth floor, eight
to nine hours alone with a landline, “smart” phone, computer, fax machine, and remote control for the big-screen television.
To reproduce leaders, you have to get out and work with the raw materials, the people who work with you. I walk around my
entire organization very often. I go into every department, and I touch base with everybody. Why do I do this? The ivory tower
lifestyle is demonic. Take time to train people. Training happens when you come down from the tower and get with the people.
You touch and you talk. “How’s your family? How are you doing? What’s your challenge right now?” When I do this, I see things
that need doing that no one else sees. “Oh, that needs changing. Why is this like this?” Get away from paper and find the
people. Leadership is about serving people. Instead of leaving behind an excellent final report, leave us a good person to
follow you. Make some changes now. Restructure your priorities from this day forward. Let this be the year that you become
a people developer. Be a true leader.

Affirm others
. When you affirm people, it builds their confidence. “That was a good job you did. You are so good at this. You have really
found your calling.” We must learn to affirm others. It is not hard to do. Affirmation produces functional humans. We all
need affirmation to develop healthy selfconcepts, self-esteem, self-worth, and a sense of value and significance. Learn to
say positive and encouraging things to those around you. To mentor, you have to affirm, praise, and lift them up. We need
to say, “That was great. I want you to do this again for me. Actually, why don’t you take over the entire project and run
with it because you are very good at what you do. I am so proud of you.” Say that to the people who work for you. Walk through
the entire company and affirm people. Secure leaders affirm everybody. They do
not need to threaten or scare people. They are not afraid someone will take their job or think they are soft. Confident people
affirm others. I challenge you to be leaders who produce leaders. Affirm people and then let go. Get rid of the attitude that
says, “No one helped me, so why should I help you? I am not going to mentor you. No one mentored me. I had to work hard to
get what I have.” That is the wrong spirit. We should want to mentor so that the next person does not have to work so hard
to get ahead. Mentor to prevent the other person from going through the stress you encountered and to grow leaders who will
be better than you were. Help them start where you left off and take your dream to the next level.

Make room for mavericks
. Resist the urge to discourage and smother them. Allow the maverick to develop. Stifle the temptation to fire him, discredit
him, or ship him off to another department. If you tolerate the maverick, you can produce leaders. You know what a maverick
is, right? It is somebody who is full of energy, new ideas, and big dreams. That should energize you too, not irritate you
or make your feel old, dumb, and inadequate. Mavericks will question outmoded systems and methods that no longer work. The
maverick will offer new facts and innovative theories. This rebel comes bearing new ideas to break up your old traditions.
You, of course, feel protected by those traditions. A maverick challenges the old thinking. When this happens, stop clinging
to traditions and shed those preconceived notions about how to do things. New ideas are not a threat. Break away from the
familiar. Do not cling to programs, projects, policies, and people just because they feel familiar and make you feel secure.
When a new breed of individuals enters that circle pushing fresh ideas or untested concepts, we should not be resentful. “Who
do they think they are?” They are mavericks. Embrace them. A leader who accepts and encourages those young, fresh, aspiring
leaders and gives them opportunities to grow will guarantee his legacy. Welcome the mavericks.

Share decision making, rather than dictate
. Give opportunities to explore new ideas instead of just giving instructions. Learn to achieve consensus, not merely give
directions. We need to trust the collective vision of the people around us instead of relying only on our own judgments. Encourage
debate, give consent, and share ideas. Allow people to solve problems by themselves as part of an organization of leaders.
The dictator says, “You listen to what I say. I’m the boss here. Do as I say. I am the bishop. I am God’s
anointed. I am the pastor. Do you know how long I have been chairman of the board?” The courageous mentor says, “What do you
think? Use your own judgment. Come back to me with your ideas, or work it out among yourselves. I trust you to come up with
a solution. I like the creative and innovative concepts you have brought to the organization.” As courageous leaders, we are
secure and self-confident enough to withstand those who might question our authority. The traditional concept of leaders is
that we have an organization with
a
leader. That is not God’s concept. God wants an organization
of
leaders. Dictatorships are outmoded and unworkable. Allow people to make decisions. As mentors we must look beyond our own
perspectives to embrace the multiplicity of good decisions that can come from our team. Leadership is not dictatorship. Release
people. Reproduce them.

In the United States, President Barack Obama is a good example of a leader who has welcomed debate. He encouraged discussion.
I think one of his greatest strengths is the ability to listen. Perhaps Winston Churchill may serve as an inspiring model
of a leader who was able not only to galvanize the resilience of the British people against the dictatorial regime of Hitler’s
Germany, but he was also able to unify the Western allies in a successful military front to defeat the fascists. Churchill’s
ability, through his effective communication skills and his willingness to listen and value the aspirations of others, contributed
to his success as a leader.

The willingness to listen is a sign that you are secure where you are. You are not afraid of challenges and questions, even
disagreements. You are comfortable in your capacity to navigate through all of that and make good decisions in which everyone
shares.

True leaders open the doors for people to walk through, create opportunities for people to develop, and give incentives for
others to achieve their own greatness. They provide a model.