As most of you know, I’m all about developing leaders. A number of years ago I made a decision to spend the majority of my time and energy in pouring into leaders who would multiply and finish their race well. That being said, I’m always on the hunt for good ideas to help me do this better. I believe with all my heart that the main responsibility of a leader is not to recruit more followers but to develop more leaders. Every leader should be investing in future leaders getting them ready to lead, and lead well.
Earlier this year (2020) I met Henry Clay, a Navigator staff representative Navigators who, together with another Navigator staff, Terry Cook, have been working on some ideas to help leaders develop other leaders. As you may know, I was on staff of the Navigators for 37 years and have a great affinity for Navigators as we share similar values and philosophies.
I met Henry at a conference in Texas and he introduced me to Terry. It turns out that 15 years ago these two guys created an organization that is working all over the world doing what is at the heart of what I’ve also been doing for a good many years. I immediately felt a kinship with them and their ideas and have been in close contact with them ever since.
Their organization, www.LDNGlobal.com (Leader Development Network Global) has trained leaders in 75 countries, has conducted 250 Training Symposiums for 3,000 participants and has certified 30 leaders who have joined them in their calling and ministry.
For the last few months I have been using their ideas with my coaching clients. Lord willing, I will attend certification training in December of this year so I can become more of an integral part of what they do.
For the remainder of this post, I will share “The three primary responsibilities” of every leader which is at the core of what Terry and Henry write and teach, and to which I also subscribe one hundred percent. We believe that everything a good leader does fits into one of these three categories.
- Lead – A leader leads, plain and simple. A direction is set to which the leader and those taking the journey with the leader are headed. To get to that desired future, that vision the leader has, there needs to be alignment of thinking , activities, people and resources. Those being led need to stay motivated and there should be systems and processes in place to evaluate how everyone is doing. It was Marcus Buckingham who said that “A leader is a person with the ability to rally people to a better future.”
- Develop – As leaders lead the people toward this better future, they invest in those on the team. They intentionally strengthen everyone’s capacity to grow personally and make their best contribution. This is done through teaching, modeling and coaching.
- Care – As leaders lead and develop their team members, they also genuinely care for them. The leader seeks to care for the people they lead, not just focus on their contribution. The leader also connects with them regularly to understand how they’re doing and feeling. The leader provides what is essential for team members to be successful in their responsibilities and protects them from things which can curtail their future effectiveness and fruitfulness.
As I have studied leaders in the Bible (how Jesus, led, developed and cared for example ), in business, in sports, in government and in Christian ministry, it seems to me that everything a leader does which is essential and critical is encompassed in these three primary responsibilities. All three are necessary and none can be overlooked. Terry wrote a helpful and relevant book Lead Develop Care for which there is a book note on my website Dave’s Book Note.
Read my book note to get a overview and sense of what Terry’s book entails, but please buy his book on Amazon, because included are tools, exercises and resources not mentioned in my book note.
The Lead, Develop, Care concepts give me, and other leaders, a framework, an incredible tool box of proven ideas, which help us chart the path forward in developing leaders for the glory and honor of God!
If you have questions or would like to discuss with me how these ideas can be incorporated into what you do as a leader, please email me at davekraft763@gmail.com.
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