Developing Leaders
I just got back from California yesterday evening. I was there for nearly 2 weeks and was with the Cityteam organization and other groups who are being mentored and helped by Cityteam. Cityteam is an organization that has recovery ministries in the United States and is facilitating Disciple Making Movements around the world. Our Work in Honduras has been mentored from the beginning by the leaders from Cityteam. The 2 videos on our blog from Jim Yost and David Watson are from 2 such leaders.
For the past couple of years there has been a consultation of DMM leaders from around the world in California. This was the meeting I just returned from and it was a time of fellowship, reports of what God is doing, digging out key principles from the Word of God together, worshiping and praying together, discussing problems that are being faced worldwide, and putting our heads together to help find solutions. Leaders gathered who are involved in church planting movements and disciple making movements from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. I called home one night and told Patty, my wife, that I had gleaned enough to keep me busy for the next 6 months! I guess that is the sign of a successful meeting.
I am a bookworm and before I boarded my first flight from San Jose, CA to Denver, CO yesterday morning, I picked up a book at one of the airport bookstores. It was a quick read. Of its over 280 pages, I read 230 of them on the trip home and finished it today. I'd like to recommend it as a help to leadership development. It is called "The 5 Levels of Leadership" and it is written by John Maxwell.
Maxwell is a well known writer on the subject of Leadership. Years ago, when I was pastoring, we used a lot of his material in leadership development in the church. To be honest, I got burned out on Maxwell's material. His insistence that everything rises or falls on leadership is, I think, a bit unbalanced. I am pretty sure that everything rises or falls on God! I also disagree with his simplistic definition of leadership. He says, even in this book, that Leadership is Influence, nothing more, nothing less. I don't want to be too negative here, but by that definition, the flu virus is a leader. If it touches you, you will be influenced in your behavior for a week or 2! Instead I would say that influence is a major component of leadership. The other component is, I believe, actually acomplishing something and leading others in doing it. The old adage that if you are leading and no one is following you are only taking a walk, relates to the idea of leadership as influence. But if you are gathering followers but not actually going anywhere, you are not leading either. That is the accomplishment function of leadership.
The best book on leadership, in the business management area, is Good to Great, by Jim Collins. Only 1 chapter in the book is about leadership, but I think it is the most profound statement of leadership I have ever read, outside the Bible. Interestingly enough, Collins also talks about 5 Levels of Leadership, but if you truly study them, you will find that they have nothing to do with the Levels that Maxwell teaches about. Collins' 5 Levels are Levels of Leadership as relates to Motivation and Performance, what I was previously calling Accomplishment. I highly recommend that every leader read and study "Good to Great" as a whole, and the chapter on Level 5 Leadership especially.
So you might ask, am I recommending Maxwell's book or not. The answer is that I am. In fact, I think this is perhaps his very best and most helpful book! Just remember that he is writing about the Influence part, not the accomplishment part of Leadership. With that caveat, I highly recommend this work. The reason is that it is not only inspiring (like all of his books!) but extremenly practical. One of the things we must do if we are going to help start Disciple making Movements, is increase the number of leaders and those who we influence. We must become Leaders of Leaders, and Developers of Developers, and in this book, Maxwell gives a well thought out action plan of how to do that. He relates all these principles to the 21 Laws of Leadership that he has previously written about, tells how to develop a team, and gives practical action steps on each Leadership Level. Anyone in any kind of Leadership environment, be it business, church leadership, Missions, DMM etc. could benefit from meditating on the principles and action plans that Maxwell develops in "The 5 Levels of Leadership". In fact, if you read this book along with "Good to Great" by Collins, you will get a well rounded picture of the Leadership Influence, Development, and Performance that can enhance almost anything that you do.
For the past couple of years there has been a consultation of DMM leaders from around the world in California. This was the meeting I just returned from and it was a time of fellowship, reports of what God is doing, digging out key principles from the Word of God together, worshiping and praying together, discussing problems that are being faced worldwide, and putting our heads together to help find solutions. Leaders gathered who are involved in church planting movements and disciple making movements from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. I called home one night and told Patty, my wife, that I had gleaned enough to keep me busy for the next 6 months! I guess that is the sign of a successful meeting.
I am a bookworm and before I boarded my first flight from San Jose, CA to Denver, CO yesterday morning, I picked up a book at one of the airport bookstores. It was a quick read. Of its over 280 pages, I read 230 of them on the trip home and finished it today. I'd like to recommend it as a help to leadership development. It is called "The 5 Levels of Leadership" and it is written by John Maxwell.
Maxwell is a well known writer on the subject of Leadership. Years ago, when I was pastoring, we used a lot of his material in leadership development in the church. To be honest, I got burned out on Maxwell's material. His insistence that everything rises or falls on leadership is, I think, a bit unbalanced. I am pretty sure that everything rises or falls on God! I also disagree with his simplistic definition of leadership. He says, even in this book, that Leadership is Influence, nothing more, nothing less. I don't want to be too negative here, but by that definition, the flu virus is a leader. If it touches you, you will be influenced in your behavior for a week or 2! Instead I would say that influence is a major component of leadership. The other component is, I believe, actually acomplishing something and leading others in doing it. The old adage that if you are leading and no one is following you are only taking a walk, relates to the idea of leadership as influence. But if you are gathering followers but not actually going anywhere, you are not leading either. That is the accomplishment function of leadership.
The best book on leadership, in the business management area, is Good to Great, by Jim Collins. Only 1 chapter in the book is about leadership, but I think it is the most profound statement of leadership I have ever read, outside the Bible. Interestingly enough, Collins also talks about 5 Levels of Leadership, but if you truly study them, you will find that they have nothing to do with the Levels that Maxwell teaches about. Collins' 5 Levels are Levels of Leadership as relates to Motivation and Performance, what I was previously calling Accomplishment. I highly recommend that every leader read and study "Good to Great" as a whole, and the chapter on Level 5 Leadership especially.
So you might ask, am I recommending Maxwell's book or not. The answer is that I am. In fact, I think this is perhaps his very best and most helpful book! Just remember that he is writing about the Influence part, not the accomplishment part of Leadership. With that caveat, I highly recommend this work. The reason is that it is not only inspiring (like all of his books!) but extremenly practical. One of the things we must do if we are going to help start Disciple making Movements, is increase the number of leaders and those who we influence. We must become Leaders of Leaders, and Developers of Developers, and in this book, Maxwell gives a well thought out action plan of how to do that. He relates all these principles to the 21 Laws of Leadership that he has previously written about, tells how to develop a team, and gives practical action steps on each Leadership Level. Anyone in any kind of Leadership environment, be it business, church leadership, Missions, DMM etc. could benefit from meditating on the principles and action plans that Maxwell develops in "The 5 Levels of Leadership". In fact, if you read this book along with "Good to Great" by Collins, you will get a well rounded picture of the Leadership Influence, Development, and Performance that can enhance almost anything that you do.
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