Want to make a difference in your effectiveness this year? Develop your folks! If you’re leading others, developing your team members is a priority, and it doesn’t have to be complicated.
“A leader who produces other leaders multiplies their influences.” ― John C. Maxwell
Lots of leaders don’t see themselves as leader developers; yet when you ask them when they were most developed, you will hear these five practices mentioned pretty consistently. They served under leaders who….
1. Affirm their strengths – someone believed in them and they knew it! I don’t think we realize how much encouragement means to people. Whether it’s a straightforward “You can do it!” or a more sophisticated expression of vision of potential, what’s important is that you communicate it to your team members. Tell them specifically what talents and strengths you see in them.
2. Acknowledge their weaknesses– one of the best recommendations a mentor ever made was that I get lots of experience in an area of weakness. Her direct statement of it without judgment went something like this, “I made this recommendation, because when you get to this leadership position, you’re going to need to have grown in this area…” She saw me as I was and was committed to helping me grow. And that takes me to the next point.
3. Envision their potential – “You’d make a great ______!” Fill in the blank with what you can see that person doing in the future. Consider all the ways they current influence and imagine that 10x greater. As in points 1 & 2, you need to be able to connect the dots with their strengths and weaknesses and help work out a development plan that moves them toward that vision.
4. Pay attention– more development can happen in the teachable, unplanned moments than you might expect. A well-placed word or conversation in the midst of the action can be extremely beneficial. Catch someone doing something right and let them know. Catch someone when they’re in the midst of something going wrong and wow! it’s prime opportunity for lasting learning.
5. Give them opportunities– nothing says, “You can do it!” more than an assignment that calls out the best in a person. People grow when they step out of their comfort zone. There needs to be a good connection with their current capabilities and character, but enough stretch to provide good learning and development.
These are 5 to get you started. The key is to do them. When will you start?
AB Reflections 
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Realistic, helpful. Thank you for putting your effort to develop ours.
Thanks very much! glad it’s helpful. Which of the five will you try first?
This is a great write-up and very practical as well. I may have some trouble acknowledging the leaders’ weaknesses as they may easily think I am being critical of who they are especially in my Cameroonian context. Can I have some help about going about this?
Sorry for the delay. I had some computer problems! Offering feedback in different cultures requires a good understanding of how to give it in a way that it can be received. You are wise to be cautious. One simple way might be to encourage someone in the behaviors you want to see more of. “You are so effective when you….” Another way is to ask permission to share some feedback. “May I offer your some feedback?” Often when I am working with someone, I will ask them ahead of time something like this, “If I have something difficult to share with you, how would you like me to handle it?” That question acknowledges that we may have some differences from time to time, but it also allows me to know the best way to handle it with this specific person. For more on giving feedback, see the post on “speaking the truth in love.”
Thanks a lot for the answer and ideas to my question. This is really helpful and I am putting my hands to it this week with some of my leaders as well as some disciples. God bless you richly. Silas
On Tue, Mar 1, 2016 at 12:55 AM, AB Reflections wrote:
> Andrea Buczynski commented: “Sorry for the delay. I had some computer > problems! Offering feedback in different cultures requires a good > understanding of how to give it in a way that it can be received. You are > wise to be cautious. One simple way might be to encourage someone in th” >