NCD on leadership

Leadership

As part of our evaluation we’ve identified two areas that we want to work on in the second half of the year: leadership and Sunday Services.

I’ve just finished a book on leadership from the Natural Church Development group. Here is a summary of the book.

Today leadership is defined as success. In fact, they are seen as synonymous. This is not true.

Leadership is about leadership and influence.

Now leadership is about moving people from A to B, but it matters how you do this. The quadrants below show the different methods you can use

Some people feel comfortable about working alongside people, others like to decide the direction.

Leadership is a good mix of both, because it not only shows the direction but empowers them to lead others there too.

Now in leadership we are taught to focus on the results. But we can confuse what the results are with the measures to achieve results. Let me show you what I mean

Measure Results

No. of attenders Mature follower of the Lord Jesus Christ

Amount of money collected

No of ministries run

The measures assist in promoting the result, but they are not the final goal.

So to summarise, we need direct and empower, knowing what result we desire and the means of measuring progress.

The rest of the book is dedicated to what he describes as the 6 wing traits. These are the traits that will produce results and develop other leaders.

The traits are

1) Vision

a) You need to cast a vision that helps people see beyond the task to what is achieved by their contribution.

b) You also need to release the vision of others.

2) Experimentation

a) You need to allow for mistakes. In fact you should expect them. It’s only through trial and error that you find the best path.

b) You also need to learn from mistakes instead of repeating them.

3) Capacity

a) Focus on your strengths

b) Assess your weaknesses

4) Strategy

a) Set goals which are qualitative and can be monitored

b) Analyse your present situation (what is essential, your strengths and what do you need to stop)

5) Training

a) Teach the principles

b) Model the principles

6) Progression

a) Advocate bold moves

b) Nurture steady progress