Many of you are familiar with a leadership pipeline. A leadership pipeline is one where an organization can develop leaders by training someone to do a task, collaborating on the task, leading a team to do the task, and leading leaders to do the task. This is an over-simplistic idea of a leadership pipeline, but the goal is to move from an individual churning away at a to-do list to leading leaders who eventually lead leaders themselves.
I live and lead by the idea that who we are is more important than what we do. Since this is the case, I try to see everyone through the lens of being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). Because of this, my pipeline looks a little different. One of the ways I develop a pipeline is to see how my team leads themselves before I invite them to lead others.
I want to create a culture of healthy self-leadership encompassing self-awareness, holistic health, meaningful collaboration, and intentionality in and with God’s mission. This culture can be created in an office, a church, or in your home. The culture is intentionally coached and modeled for the person. If the person is growing in the Lord, humbly becoming like Christ, can articulate self-awareness at the level of discovery, and can communicate authentically, then I begin equipping them in decision-making. That’s right! Decision-making. Leaders make healthy, hard, and holistic decisions. This means I have to get through my stuff: What if they are a better leader than me? What if this overshadows my accomplishments? What if I am replaced? What if I lose control? What if…
These are good questions to work through. I am not belittling these questions or ideas. These questions are a reality and something Six2 Ministries would be honored to work with you on for your leadership development.
Equipping a teammate does not begin immediately. I typically practice with a trusted team member by letting them share in the decision-making process. I mention to them that I am responsible for the outcome.
Then, I watch for these 5 areas of growth (below) to release them to lead and ultimately scale leadership impact through team numerical growth and personal development. Each of these areas takes time, coaching, and attention. Don’t rush these. They are part of personal development and vital leadership lessons for the journey ahead.
Make a decision
Eventually, I entrust and empower the person to make a decision. At this point, I still own the outcome, even if they fail. I want to see how the person decides and if it is a good decision.
Do the decision
If the person makes several good decisions, next I want to assess follow-through. It is one thing to make a decision. It is another to follow up, follow through, and enact the decision. Tenacity is a key trait of a leader. So is grit.
Own the decision
This is the turning point. Eventually, I want the person to own the decision. This means that they now take ownership of the decision rather than me. This is a huge deal! This means they value their decision and trust themselves to make the decision, even if it leads to failure.
Learn from the decision
Success and failure are good teachers. Regarding success as self-worth can lead to pride. Regarding failure as personal will stop a leader from leading effectively and in healthy ways.
My hope is that a future leader will learn from their successes and failures in decision-making to continue to grow, mature, and become like Christ. There is always something to learn.
Develop others in decision-making
Finally, I hope to see the leader begin developing other leaders. Creating a culture of healthy decision-making throughout the team, organization, or home. Ultimately, creating a culture of who we are is more important than what we do.
As you can see, this is a process. It is slow, small, and messy. It takes time and intentionality. It focuses on the person and leadership development. Ultimately, this can look like disciple-making, passing the baton, and sharing the load (Galatians 6:2).
There is a pipeline to lead leaders of leaders. There is also a pipeline of personal development and growth into leadership. What step are you on? What step are you inviting others to?
