Reproductive Skills of Great Leaders

If two fruit trees are presented to us, yet one produces fruit and the other does not, we would most likely choose the one that produces fruit. Well, I guess it depends on if you like fruit or even want to deal with maintaining the tree. But I think you know what I mean. The same can be said about leadership.

Leadership and Great Leadership are not synonymous. My guess is that you have worked for or with one or the other before. Similar to the fruit-bearing trees, great leaders create more great leaders.

Producing great leaders takes work, and more work than we would like to do. But great leaders do it anyway. We recognize that it is our responsibility to teach others how to fish. But, due to various reasons, sometimes we take the easy way out and look for those who already know how to fish. Some may say that the latter is wisdom, and I get that. However, I believe that Jesus used those with potential and invested into them.

I am so glad that there is leadership potential in many people. We have the opportunity and privilege to invest in them. To do so, I recommend three strategies: INVEST, INVEST, and RETREAT.

“Invest in your leaders. Invest in your flock. Retreat to invest in yourself.”

Invest in Your Leaders
That should go without saying, but you would be surprised how many leaders expect their leaders to lead themselves. I call it Lazy Leadership — those who let the cream rise to the top, but don’t want to take the time to make cream.

Let’s not fall into that trap. I admit that it sounds good. “I’ll have more time and energy, if I find people I don’t have to worry about.” We are such a busy people that any free time is a blessing. But I’m glad that Jesus did not look for free time. His intentional investment into the disciples should challenge us to do the same.

“Some of the best leaders were made. They did not make themselves.”

Invest in Your Flock
We typically invest in our leaders so they can then invest in the flock — customers, audience, followers, members, etc. That is a great practice. However, let’s not remove ourselves from the flock completely. Being among the flock ensures an accurate understanding and perception of them.

Investing in our flocks allows us to easily identify our next leaders, as our current leaders transition to other roles. Passing on our skills and knowledge to a few individuals can have an endless ripple effect. Find a few and go! Some of the best leaders were made. They did not make themselves.

Retreat to Invest in Yourself
Vacations are great and definitely needed. But just as you are investing in someone, someone needs to invest in you. Identify mentors and connect with them regularly. Being self-made is not our goal.

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Human connection is essential for reproduction. There. I said it. And I had to say it, because human connection is essential to passing on great leadership.

Face-to-face interaction is my recommendation for all of these investments. Conferences, books and such should be supplemental not primary. Let’s not settle for third-party investors. Let’s get out there and connect with our leaders, flocks, and other leaders to ensure we reproduce great leaders for generations to come.

Until next time…