Expectation for Leaders - Part One

Understanding what the Army expects of leaders can better help church leaders significantly understand their role in the church.

Army leaders are expected to lead in peace to prepare for war.

In church terms, the way you train your leaders is the way they will respond to their activities. If you want them to become evangelistic in their work you have to be the example and give them the knowledge through proper training. I am guilty of teaching people what to do without giving them the real world opportunities to practice the training and give them real time feedback. In the middle of a battle is not the time to teach people new things.

I became a member of our M60 Machine Gun team because I wanted to have the chance to do something different. To be a part of the team actually became a rewarding experience because through the experience I became an expert for our company on the uses and techniques necessary for deploying this weapon. I was turned to by the leadership in our company to help provide additional training to others. By the time I had provided the training, most of the others could fire the weapon better than I could (and I was on the two-time state champion team). Teaching them to fire the weapon with accuracy during peacetime could only better their opportunities if a battle was to take place.

Proper training will do more than help your team succeed. Proper training will help the team and the organization win. The best way to avert problems in the future is to do the best you can to train your team today.

Army leaders are expected to develop individual leaders.

I know this all well to be true. Leadership schools can last two weeks up to several months depending on the school and level of leadership. To become an E-5 or sergeant, I went through a two week leadership program in order to get a foundation for leadership. Before I can even think of developing others in leadership I have to first develop my own skills. I have been through schools, conferences, and classes. I have read books, written papers, and given speeches about leadership. I have been in leadership positions in the military, in church, and on political campaigns. I probably can begin developing leaders (if I had not already, I would be selfish with the skills I have learned over the years).

There three areas that can quickly develop leadership – formal and informal schooling, experience, and self-development. As a leader, I need to take the responsibility to ensure my team has the opportunities to pursue these arenas of learning. Whether I have the means to send an employee to school or at least to a conference, my responsibility begins in how well I have developed as a leader.

Leadership development helps me develop more leaders. It multiplies the effectiveness of my organization. I say this because as I develop leaders my goal is for them to become leaders who develop leaders. I can only lead as effectively as I myself have grown in leadership. As John Maxwell says, a level 2 leader will not develop a level 5 leader but should look to an influence for all levels of leadership.

As I learn to develop other leaders, I will need to nurture trust in my leaders so they will also be willing to delegate and empower their subordinates. This teaches them to develop the judgment and the thinking skills they will need. How refreshing it is to watch a person take ownership of their decisions and, as they learn by doing, seeing them develop their own solutions.