Source: Maxwell, John C.. The Leader’s Greatest Return : Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders, HarperCollins Leadership, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=6656405.
While this post includes John Maxwell’s ideas, many of the ideas within this post, are my own ideas inspired by the source above.
Leadership Post #1
Identifying Leaders Requires Being Proactive.
Certainly, it is possible a great leader can be stumbled upon, it is rare. It requires having some degree of knowledge of what you are looking for.
There should be a difference between the idea stumbling upon & God leading you to a leader. The Bible has made clear that there are times when God ordains/anoints an individual to become a future leader. King David received an anointing by both God & by the people he ruled over as king.
The anointing by God set the foundation for everything else that was to come in David’s life. Yet, at least initially, David was not the first choice of his own family. He was the choice of God.
God also gives us criteria to select leaders from in 1 Timothy 3. This list includes: being trustworthy, faithful to family & spouse, self-controlled, respectful, a good reputation (with those inside the church & outside the church), hospitable to others, capable of teaching, not an addict, patient, not argumentative, and not in love with money. His family & children respect him. He is also not a new Christian.
Those you allow onto your team, will either make your team better or worse.
Am I A Member of My Team Making It Better Or Worse?
John Maxwell recommends taking an assessment of your actual needs when identifying leaders.
What is your organization’s mission? What are you actually trying to do? What is your organization’s target? The individuals in charge of hiring need clarity in this area. It is vital.
Selecting an individual with the wrong motivation or a history of deceit & no repentance & no willingness to change can be a disaster. If your organization is a high-growth industry that requires tons of learning, look for an individual who has demonstrated that a willingness to learn new skills & abilities. This can be formally or informally.
Where do you Look for Leaders?
Maxwell recommends looking inside your own team & organization for potential leaders. Their actual performance & strength can be measured. A resume from the outside may contain doctored information & reviews.
Since good leaders need to influence those on their team, you can look for individuals within your organization that demonstrate influence.
Maxwell believes the ability to influence others is critical to a leader’s ability to lead effectively.
Still, people can be transformed into good leaders with time & effort.
“Men are developed the same way gold is mined.
When gold is mined, several tons of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn’t go into the mine looking for dirt–one goes in looking for the gold.”
Maxwell recommends focusing your energy on those who have the potential to lead. Leaders seek knowledge & wisdom when making decisions. It can be wasteful & costly to a team or organization who spends valuable resources educating a fool.
Proverbs 17:16
(NLT): “It is senseless to pay to educate a fool, since he has no heart for learning.”
(NIV): “Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?”
(HCSB): “Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?”
Maxwell’s friend, pastor Chris Hodges, recommends using the volunteer environment to create a testing ground for identifying future leaders.
This testing ground is the environment that lets leaders rise out of. Additionally, Chris Hodges recommends speaking encouragement & growth into your volunteers throughout this process. He recommends to do this often.
Volunteering may not be an actuality in your organization, but some environment should be created for leaders to rise up from within.
Maxwell says, “Encouragement is oxygen to the soul for the leader, and if you’re a leader who wants to develop other leaders, you need to encourage them and help them breathe.”
Breathe Life Over Death
Proverbs 18:21
(NIV): “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
(NKJV): “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
(NLT): “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consquences.”
From the Outside
John Maxwell recognizes that there are times you will not find the leader you need from your own existing organization or team.
Maxwell recognizes a challenge that often exists from an outside hire is cultural compatibility.
To solve this puzzle of cultural compatibility, Maxwell points to four questions created by David Walker of Inc. magazine:
(1) How did the culture at your last company empower or disempower you?
(2) What were the characteristics of the best boss you’ve ever had?
(3) Describe how you handled a conflict with one of your coworkers.
(4) What kind of feedback do you expect to receive in this role and how often do you expect to receive it?
Maxwell recommends providing a list of qualities & characteristics that are expected of individuals who join your organization or team.
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines, recommends hiring for character/attitude & teaching aptitude/skills.
Ed Bastian believes hiring for attitude will help other members of the team mesh well with this outside organizational hire.
John Maxwell & Ed Bastian both believe that a willingness to learn, improve, & serve others are key attitudes & characteristics of a potential leadership hire.
This attitude is proven in action, but since the underlying character comes from the heart, it can be sensed from others. Character is seen in how we manage our own lives.
An individual with good character is more likely to be trusted as a leader by those within the team or organization. This trust is built over time with endurance & testing.
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