Time To Grow

Taking professional and leadership development from “yuck!” to “yes!”

by Rick Franklin, Ph.D.

“Eat your veggies! They’re good for you!” As a kid, I hated peas. You know the kind: canned, boiled, lifeless. Yuck! And yet for some reason, my parents were convinced my growth as a kid and maturity into adulthood somehow depended on eating those slimy little spheres.

I was a stubborn kid though. My parents tried to cajole and even bribe me with ice cream for dessert if I’d eat my peas. “Just one spoonful, pleeeeze!” my mother begged. I didn’t budge. Then the consequences commenced. “You can’t get down from the table until you’ve finished your peas!” I didn’t budge. My mother finally relented. And I eventually matured into a grown man — without eating any peas.

I’ve found the terms leadership development and professional development can sometimes have that same visceral effect as our parents’ charge to “eat your veggies!” We hear these terms, and immediately there’s a sense of dread mixed with a vision of dry, lifeless material and being stuck in a drab, airless classroom for the day. Yuck!

On one level, we know pursuing growth and development is good for us. On another level, we simply avoid it. It turns out that knowing some-thing is “good for us” isn’t enough of a motivator to pursue it.

In a recent Harvard study that tracked 70,000 health professionals over two decades, only 4 percent of those people ate a healthy diet, engaged in moderate activity, avoided smoking, and kept their weight down, even though they knew those four factors could prevent up to 80 percent of coronary heart disease and 90 percent of type 2 diabetes. Only 4 percent! And these were health professionals!

So how can I persuade you that development as a leader is a good thing for you? Convince you with statistics? Cajole you with incentives? Threaten consequences of gloom and doom if you don’t grow as a leader? I don’t any of those will work. Instead, I think there’s a better way.

The better way

I like vegetables today. I eat a robust salad every day for lunch, and we have veggies with practically every meal. I like kale. I like broccoli. I even like peas — provided they’re fresh and not overcooked! What happened? No, I didn’t have a brain transplant. Rather, I shifted my conviction and motivation.

As the numbers on my life’s odometer kept growing, I began to do some research on nutrition and healthy aging. I came across a simple axiom: “You are what you eat.” The more I read, the more I realized it’s a metabolic fact. The body takes what we eat, metabolizes it, and converts it into energy and molecules that become the cells that comprise our bodies. I am literally what I eat. Eating good stuff leads to a healthier body and better aging. Eating bad stuff leads to, well, a variety of problems.

When leaders are humble, empowering, servant-oriented, and skilled, they give life to their teams and organizations. When leaders are insecure, micromanaging, demeaning, and demanding, they kill their teams and organizations.

So I shifted my thinking — my core beliefs and convictions about my health. It wasn’t simply enough to know vegetables are good for me. Instead, I began to realize they are absolutely crucial to my overall health and well-being, along with other things like exercise, monitoring my weight, etc.

Healthy, effective leadership is similar. Want to be an effective leader? A healthy leader who gives life to your team and organization? Then it’s time to convince yourself of the need to pursue whatever it takes to be healthy and effective.

I often say, “Leadership is like water — it flows downhill.” When water is clear, clean, cool, and refreshing, it gives life to what’s downstream. When water is dirty, polluted, and even toxic, it destroys and kills what’s downstream. What’s the difference between the clean and toxic waters? It is what is in the water.

The same is true of leaders. When leaders are humble, empowering, servant-oriented, and skilled, they give life to their teams and organizations. When leaders are insecure, micromanaging, demeaning, and demanding, they kill their teams and organizations.

Healthy, effective leadership flows from a secure identity, coupled with honed skills and the right convictions. How can we as leaders cultivate the identity, skills, and confidence we need in order to lead effectively? It begins with a shift in mindset and motivation.

Are we there yet?

Our family likes to take road trips. We’d bundle our four kids into the van and head off for a day’s long drive to our family cabin in Colorado. Sure enough, within about 30 to 40 minutes of leaving home, a little voice from the back seat would call out, “Are we there yet, Daddy?” “No, honey,” I’d respond, “we still have a long way to go.” In fact, we still had 13 hours of driving ahead of us!

The right mindset begins with a core recognition that we’re not there yet. As Christian leaders, we have a way to go in terms both of being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18) and of becoming as effective as we can be as leaders. Thus, in the same way that we’re committed to continuing to grow as disciples of Jesus, we need to be committed to pursuing growth and development as effective, healthy leaders.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Timothy 4:7–8, “Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” In the same way an athlete prepares and trains through an intentional, disciplined approach to improve strength and skill, we are to train — grow and develop — in an intentional, disciplined way. Improvement and change don’t happen by accident. They flow from a purposeful plan put into action over time.

Paul’s emphasis on self-training assumes we our training? Godliness. The ultimate destination are not passive players in our growth. Instead, of our transformation as Christian leaders is Paul is exhorting us to take on the primary Christ-likeness, for when we lead more like Jesus responsibility, initiative, and action related to — the Leader of leaders — we ultimately lead our our growth as Christian leaders. And the goal of teams and organizations more effectively.

In the same way that we’re committed to continuing to grow as disciples of Jesus, we need to be committed to pursuing growth and development as effective, healthy leaders.

Competing commitments

Later in this article, we’ll consider a purposeful plan for growing as Christian leaders, but first we need to deal with competing commitments. Have you ever made a resolution for the new year, only to abandon it within a few short weeks? If so, you’re not alone. In fact, University of Scranton research shows that only 8 percent of people actually experience success in keeping their resolutions.

Why is this? Harvard professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey believe the problem is rooted in competing commitments. As described in their book, Immunity to Change, competing commitments are beliefs or behaviors that work against a change we want. Competing commitments fight against change because they’re rooted in beliefs and assumptions that are deeper than our desire to grow and change.

To better understand competing commitments, let’s look to Jesus and his conversation with the rich young man in Mark 10, Luke 18, and Matthew 19. This young leader (Luke refers to him as a “ruler”) comes to Jesus asking, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). At first, Jesus outlines a series of commandments, which the young man affirms he’s obediently followed from his youth. Then something surprising happens: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go sell all that you have … and come, follow me’ ” (Mark 10:21 ESV).

Stemming from Jesus’ love for this young leader, Jesus identifies his underlying competing commitment — his possessions. The young man deeply desired eternal life. But he valued his possessions more, which is why he was “disheartened by the saying” and “went away sorrowful” (Mark 10:22 ESV).

What competing commitments will thwart your desire to grow and develop as a leader? What do you value more than becoming a more effective leader for your team and organization?

Is it time? Are you wary of investing time to grow in the midst of already having too much to do as a leader? Is it a need to protect your self-image and discomfort at admitting there are areas in your life and leadership that would benefit from an intentional investment? Is it fear that maybe you can’t change or become the leader you’d like to be?

To find out what your competing commitments might be, remember that Jesus sees you and loves you. Ask Him what might be holding you back from growing as a leader and becoming the leader that God wants you to be and that your team needs you to be.

A purposeful plan

Once you’ve shifted your mindset and bolstered your conviction to grow as a leader by identifying your competing commitments, you’re ready to intentionally implement a purposeful plan. In my nearly 40 years of experience, coupled with interacting with hundreds of ministry leaders each year across North America and around the world, I’ve identified three core areas I believe should be a part of every Christian leader’s development plan: self-leadership, spiritual leadership, and strategic leadership.

What competing commitments will thwart your desire to grow and develop as a leader? What do you value more than becoming a more effective leader for your team and organization?

Self-leadership

It’s impossible to lead others effectively if you don’t first lead yourself well. As Steve Brown, president of Arrow Leadership, emphasizes in his book, Leading Me:

Personal leadership is our first leadership responsibility. First and foremost, this means intentionally partnering with God and others to become the whole person he created and desires us to be. At its core, personal leadership isn’t about leading others or guiding organizations. It’s a personal focus to nurture a dynamic and intimate relationship with God. It’s about cultivating godly character that leads to long-term holiness and health.

It may come as a surprise, but the first priority in leading yourself well is focusing on your identity — who you are — because who you are defines how you lead. When your identity is firmly anchored in whose you are — a child of God, fully loved and accepted, abiding in Christ and empowered by His Spirit — then you are well grounded and able to lead with humility and a servant’s heart, empowering others. This is how Jesus led.

Too often though, I encounter leaders whose identity is tied to their performance and people’s opinions. This leads to insecurity as a leader, which in turn often drives a leader to exert power, micromanage others and strive to continually draw attention to him- or herself. My guess is that you know what I’m talking about. You’ve had a team leader like this. Or maybe this is the type of leader you see when you look in the mirror. Ouch! If that’s the case, perhaps it’s time to focus on cultivating a rich, dynamic, growing relationship with Jesus that securely anchors your identity in Him.

The second priority in leading yourself well focuses on character. Tragically, too many Christian leaders today are running off the rails, hurting themselves, disrupting their teams, destroying their impact, and demeaning the Lord. No leader intends to fail. Failure creeps in through small cracks in one’s character.

Intentionally invest in strengthening your character — pursuing holiness accompanied with accountability. Be proactive in overcoming the dark, shadowy side of your leadership. Embrace challenges to cultivate self-control, discipline, and perseverance. Invite others to give you feedback about your character, helping identify where you are strong and where you need to improve.

As you lead yourself well, bolstering your integrity and anchoring your identity in Jesus, you’ll be transformed, and your leadership will transform the people you have the privilege of leading.

Spiritual leadership

Leadership is ultimately a relationship of influence. How you lead influences others, for better (which is what we hope) or for worse (which is what we hope to avoid). Therefore, the second area you need to intentionally invest in developing is your spiritual leadership.

When your identity is firmly anchored in whose you are — a child of God, fully loved and accepted, abiding in Christ and empowered by His Spirit — then you are well grounded and able to lead with humility and a servant’s heart, empowering others. This is how Jesus led.

At Arrow Leadership, we focus on developing Jesus-centered leaders. The core of Jesus-centered leadership is being led more by Jesus so that we can lead more like Jesus and lead more people to Jesus. This is the essence of spiritual leadership.

Every leader is a follower first, influenced by someone or something. As Jesus-centered leaders, we want to follow Jesus first and foremost, being led by Him more fully day in and day out. This entails intentionally caring for and cultivating our souls — spending time with God and seeking His transformative work in our lives.

How are you cultivating your soul? How are you being led more by Jesus so you can lead more like Jesus and lead more to Jesus?

The strategic leader invests in learning how to deepen trust, communicate effectively, and resolve conflict redemptively because these are the keys to developing people and cultivating effective teams.

Strategic leadership

The final area of intentional growth and development relates to strategic leadership. More than ever, teams and organizations need strategic leaders who know how to build highly effective teams and to lead their organization toward increasingly greater impact, especially in the midst of challenge and change. The continual upheaval and disruption from our current context of uncertainty and increasing complexity calls for leaders who can think and lead strategically.

The strategic leader invests in learning how to deepen trust, communicate effectively, and resolve conflict redemptively because these are the keys to developing people and cultivating effective teams. The strategic leader has a clear purpose, mission, and vision, and is able to communicate these to their team and organization in a way that moves and motivates team members to action.

How are you doing in developing others and building teams? Are your purpose and mission clear? Is your vision compelling? What steps would help you to grow and develop your strategic leadership?

Next steps

What type of leader will you be? What type of leader do you want to be? Think back to the idea of leadership being like water, flowing downhill, impacting those downstream. Becoming the type of leader who gives life to a team and organization requires more than desire. It entails more than simply knowing it’s a good idea to pursue training and development.

Instead, it calls for conviction — a core commitment to intentionally pursue growth and development because that’s the only way you can be transformed by God for His glory and His purposes. And if you’re committed to growing, you’ll work to manage your competing commitments and pursue a purposeful plan.

But don’t go at it alone. Engage others in your journey of growth and development, whether that’s a coach, a mentor, a colleague, or a cohort. We at Arrow Leadership are here for you — to journey with you so you can become the leader God wants you to be and the leader your team needs you to be.

Rick serves as vice president of Arrow Leadership Ministries, overseeing growth and development. For 30 years, Arrow Leadership has developed Jesuscentered leaders through a variety of transformational programs, exceptional services, and practical resources. Arrow Leadership is a ministry partner with Citygate Network, and Rick is a frequent workshop presenter at Citygate gatherings. To learn more about how you can grow as a leader and how Arrow can sharpen your leadership, visit www.arrowleadership.org.

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