The Natural Flow of Leadership Development

by: Mac Lake

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I’m finding more and more pastors who are getting discouraged with the lack of leaders in their leadership pipeline.  The problem is serious because if there’s a lack of leaders then the growth of the church will be hindered.  Not just numerical growth but spiritual depth as well.  How you as a leader respond to this crisis is crucial.

Some leaders will complain but take no action. There’s a deceptive sense of hope that somehow in time things will magically get better.  Or they hope a leadership development program, idea or person will come along and turn everything around.  But hope is not a strategy.  The end result…nothing changes.

Other leaders acknowledge the problem and assign a task force to figure out how to populate their undersupplied pipeline.  This is a positive step but typically the leader removes himself from the process.  After a series of meetings the team tells him about their plan, projections and promise of a leadership revolution.  He blesses it and tells them to put it into action.  Then six to twelve months later the efforts have faded and they’re none the better for the efforts.

Finally there is a road less traveled…the senior leader integrates himself as part of the solution.  This doesn’t mean he is the brainchild of the leadership development strategy.  It doesn’t mean he is the point person.  Nor does it mean that he turns himself into a leadership development superman cranking out dozens of new leaders.  But it does mean he understands, believes in and is personally engaged in the leaderships development strategy.  The primary leader doesn’t have to create the system, but he must use it. Only then will you begin to see signs of your pipeline being replenished.

Why is this true? There is a guiding principle that every senior leader must pay close attention to if they are serious about building a culture of leadership development.  Here it is:  Leadership development flows down not up.  When your senior leadership team gets it then your staff will get it.  When your staff gets it your directors will get it.  When your directors get it your volunteer leaders will get it. Leadership development flows down.  And when it flows down you will see leaders grow up through your pipeline.

Read more from Mac here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Mac Lake, Staff Development

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Asking These 20 Questions of Others Will Help You Become a Better Leader

by: Philip Nation

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A leader needs to be a learner.

And, the learning needs to be constant. It proves itself to be true over and over again that you can learn from anyone in any leadership position. In fact, some of the greatest leadership lessons I have gained have been from those who felt they were in “lower” positions. The idea of this was driven home for me when LifeWay Research (which I was a part of for three years) did the study for Transformational Church. Many of the pastors that we interviewed based on the health of their church would ask, “Why me? Why are you interviewing a pastor like me in a normal church like this?” What they did not know is just how important their leadership was to the life a church that we needed to learn from.

Leaders, as a group, look for the superstars among our particular type of organization and learn from that perceived top echelon. Pastors are no different. So, my encouragement is that no matter what work you do, learn from everyone you can.

As I’ve been mulling over how I can more intentionally learn from others, I began putting together a list of questions that I hope to pose to more and more people. When I meet other leaders, here’s what I want to know. Please feel free to add in your ideas in the comments section.

1. What book has had the greatest impact on your understanding of leadership?

2. What are the most important “nuts and bolts” lesson that you can give me?

3. What are your reading habits?

4. What blogs do you read on a regular basis?

5. Who are the historical figures who have influenced you the most?

6. What other arenas of leadership to look to learn from?

7. Tell me about the pieces of technology, apps, and software that helps you the most.

8. Did anyone put you through an intentional plan for leadership development? What was the plan?

9. Do you have a plan to intentionally develop yourself as a leader?

10. Do you have a plan to intentionally develop others into leaders?

11. How do you separate yourself effectively from work to rest?

12. What are your main goals in leadership?

13. Describe your process for developing a vision and mission for your organization.

14. What is your daily schedule of work?

15. How do you design and hold a great meeting?

16. Do brainstorming meetings really work? If so, how do you one well?

17. What do you do with a team members who has bad chemistry with the rest of the team?

18. What offenses require you to immediately terminate someone’s employment?

19. What are the best hiring practices and processes you’ve used or seen?

20. How do you admit and fix a problem in your leadership?

20. What do you want to go back and change?

Tags: 20 Questions, Leadership Development, Learning, Philip Nation

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Moses and the Temporary Nature of Leadership

by: Eric Geiger

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Leadership is always a temporary assignment—always. It is a temporary assignment because leaders do not ultimately own the teams, ministries, or organizations that they lead. They simply steward what the Lord has entrusted to their care for a season. Wise leaders embrace the temporal reality of leading, and they prepare the ministry for the future. Because the assignment is fleeting, developing others for leadership is an essential responsibility of a leader.

Moses understood the temporary nature of leadership and the necessity of succession. He personally selected and invested in leaders. He modeled leadership by replicating leaders.

This pattern of divesting and replicating leadership began not long after the exodus from Egypt. Moses led a group of millions literally by himself. At one point in his ministry, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, arrived for a visit and asked, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” (Ex.18:14). Moses tried to explain his role as arbiter of millions, but his answers fell short. Jethro, always quick to correct, said, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (Ex.18:17-18).

Jethro encouraged Moses to select honorable, wise, and godly men who could be taught basic interpretation of God’s laws and instruction. It was a defined leadership system designed not only to alleviate stress immediately from Moses but also to sustain the young nation for the long haul. Ultimately Moses listened to Jethro, leaders emerged, his stress lessened, and his father-in-law went home.

This pattern of multiplication in Moses’ life and leadership reached its pinnacle with his selection of Joshua as his successor.

Joshua is first mentioned in the Scripture when Moses chose him to lead the Israelite army in battle against the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16). From that moment forward, we observe Moses intentionally developing Joshua.

As you read through the Scripture, you see Moses pouring into Joshua. Moses brought Joshua up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God (Ex. 24:13). Joshua observed Moses’ righteous indignation when Moses smashed the two tablets (Ex. 32:17-19), and Joshua was witness to the holy communion Moses shared with the Lord as he guarded the tent of meeting (Ex. 33:11).

Through all these critical moments in the life of God’s people, Joshua was there with Moses. Moses helped ensure the following generation would love and fear God. He served his people by pouring his life into another. And immediately after Moses’ death, Joshua was ready to lead Israel.

Moses’ behavior is a model for modern-day leadership. We can see the priority he placed on the future by how he empowered younger leaders like Joshua. Simply put, leaders are responsible for future leadership.

A leader who is not developing future leaders is not serving the organization well. The leader is either being shortsighted or selfish—shortsighted in that the future is not being considered or selfish in that the leader thinks only about himself/herself.

The leadership legacy of Joshua, sadly, is very different, as we find in the Book of Judges. After Joshua’s death, Israel drifted from the Lord and lived in chaos:

“Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110…That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel” (Judges 2:8,10, HCSB).

Why the stark contrast?

There is no record of Joshua investing in anyone. We don’t see him intentionally developing leaders. We don’t read of him pouring into others. And the generation after his leadership didn’t know the Lord.

A soul-searching question: If you were to hand your temporary leadership assignments over today, would a statement about your leadership sound more like Moses or more like Joshua?

Moses proactively and intentionally invested his life in Joshua. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel enjoyed great prosperity and victory. But Joshua failed to see the value of investing in younger leaders.

Will you be like Moses or like Joshua? Will you invest in others who will ensure the following generations know of the Lord and His gracious works?

> Read more from Eric.

Tags: Eric Geiger, Joshua, Leadership Development, Moses, temporary leadership

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3 Ways to Develop Your Church Leaders Without Having More Events

by: Will Mancini

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Leadership has become the hottest topic among growing church leaders these days. And I think for good reason. There is a healthy and ever-increasing awakening to the reality that programs don’t grow people, people do. And the more you are in the business of really making disciples, the more leadership development moves from periphery to central; it becomes a real need AND a felt need issue!

But the first problem in execution is again the over-reliance on events and programming. Churches quickly start leadership development classes or events only to overwhelm further, the busiest people they serve. Many first takes at leadership development become a recipe for insanity!

What then are some alternative solutions? What are ways to develop leaders IN church without creating more events AT church?

SOLUTION #1: Use a special story-telling technique to help leaders teach other leaders in realtime

I learned this teaching-via-story tool from Noel Tichy which he introduces in his book, Leadership Engine as a  “Teachable Point of View.” It takes some effort to get going but can become a powerful part of a leadership development culture. One of the most significant steps I have ever taken as a leader is to write down ten, 2-minute testimonies of my life’s most significant leadership lessons. Try it and learn more in the download below.

SOLUTION #2: Implement self-led venues for people to learn at any time, any place and any pace

With access to digital content today, its easier than ever to provide learning and development opportunities virtually. One caution: Don’t let leadership development drift into a information-transfer opportunity only. Watching a video doesn’t make you a better leader. But watching a video can be a significant step in a relational development pathway. Aubrey Malphurs and I wrote a chapter in Building Leaders about 16 different venues including this self-led type. Also, check out the Ministry Grid for a great online tool for church leaders.

SOLUTION #3: Embed apprenticeship as a norm in ministry environments

While many people have written on apprenticeship, few have practiced it as well as Dave and Jon Ferguson. Check out their thoughts in the download below. One huge and obvious benefit  of apprenticing is that you don’t have to recreate a training environment because every ministry environment is a training environment. Apprenticing can be challenging but it is doable. It is the primary method Auxano uses for training Navigators.

Download the SUMS Remix 12-page PDF, on Leadership Development

In our first issue of our SUMS reMix we tackled this post’s problem. SUMS  reMix is a brand new tool that brings you three simple solutions to practical challenges for church leaders. Each solution comes via book summary of a book relevant to church leadership. Learn more about SUMS Remix and subscribe here.

>> Read more from Will.

Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Engine, SUMS Remix, Will Mancini

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Three Ways to Bring Out the Best in Others and Release Creative Leaders for Ministry

by: Rick Warren

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It’s impossible to have a healthy church that experiences multi-dimensional growth without trusting people enough to delegate leadership to them. Having said that, this remains one of the greatest bottlenecks to growth for thousands of churches. And delegation remains one of the hardest challenges for Pastors and church staff members.

One of the reasons we fail to delegate leadership is our fear of wildfire. We’re afraid things will get out of control – and indeed they will – but limiting control is actually what often fuels growth. We often encumber leaders with too much red tape. Policies and procedures have their place, but we can easily add so much structure that people don’t feel free to lead and make decisions.

The key to motivating creative people to lead ministry effectively is granting ownership. At Saddleback, as much as possible, each ministry makes its own decisions without a lot of oversight from the staff. We believe that the implementers should be the decision makers. When everything has to be passed by a committee or board, we tend to ask why? about every decision. But our initial response to the ideas of creative people should actually be why not?

There are three ways to bring out the best in others and release creative leaders for ministry.

> Give Them a Challenge

People love to live up to a big challenge. Jesus demonstrated this with the Great Commission. He took a dozen average guys and challenged them to go tell the gospel to the entire world. He knew they couldn’t do it alone and they couldn’t do it quickly, but He knew they could do it over time as the church expanded under their leadership.

> Give Them Control

People need permission. I often say that you can have control or growth, but you can’t have both. At least you can’t have a lot of both. You must have some control, obviously, but there’s always a trade-off. Growth happens in an atmosphere of freedom where leaders are encouraged to dream, to try, to experiment, and even to fail and move forward. Burnout happens when we squash every new idea with a skeptical attitude.

> Give Them Credit

It’s extremely important to affirm and encourage those who serve. Pointing out successes, providing guidance and comfort through failure, and reminding people of their calling and giftedness in Christ matters greatly to the accomplishment of the church’s mission. We are wired to respond positively to encouragement and we’re usually motivated to keep going even when things get difficult if we know that our labor is appreciated.

Would you like your church to be stronger and healthier and to grow multi-dimensionally? You must die to self, give away ministry, and empower leaders with permission. And if you’re reading this as a non-Pastor, you absolutely must give your Pastor and staff the freedom to lead and feed by taking the responsibility of ministry.

>> Read more from Rick.

Tags: Creative leaders, Leadership Development, Rick Warren

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Four Leadership Failures That Will Help Move Your Leadership Development Forward

by: Mac Lake

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When you come across a young leader who shows great potential, it’s easy to see them for what they could be.  We imagine what a great communicator they’re going to be, we envision the influence they’re going to have with our team, we anticipate how they’re going to take on significant responsibility.

But the key phrase is “going to.”  While they show great leadership potential, they’re not there yet.

They’ll fail to communicate the right thing at the right time, they’ll fail to gain early credibility with your team, or they’ll fail to follow through with an assigned task.

The key phrase is “they will fail.”  I want you to think about something: It may be your failure to tolerate failure that’s causing the failure of your leadership development efforts.

Our response to these young leaders failures may be one of the greatest determining factors in their future leadership.    It has a dramatic impact on them when we take the messiness of their mistakes and use it to develop their leadership insight and ability.

But that only happens when we’re able to remove our negative emotional reaction to  their failure and see if for what it could and should be: A leadership development opportunity.

• Failure may be a step backward toward an outcome, but it can be a step forward in personal development.
• Failure may do short-term damage to their leadership credibility, but their response to failure can be the very thing that establishes a long-term credible authority.
• Failure may briefly wound their leadership confidence, but coached proper, failure can inspire them to face the next risk with bold faith.
• Failure may momentarily make them look foolish, but it will ultimately increase their leadership wisdom.

Remember leadership development is a slow, messy process.  While you may feel the pressure of needing leaders “overnight,” you can’t produce leaders “overnight,” no matter how much potential they have.  So wisely partner with time and failure to do their work in the development of your potential leaders.

How well are you helping your young leaders steward failure?

>> Read more from Mac here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Failure, Mac Lake

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4 Ways to Hit Your Rhythm This Fall

by: Steve Caton

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With the beginning of fall, ministry at most churches kicks into high gear. This is a common rhythm of church life. In fact, all of life is full of rhythm — but too often the competing needs of ministry, personal and family life can create a discordant tune. Finding the right rhythm can prevent burnout and lead to effective ministry.

A life out of rhythm leads to burnout. This is a full-blown epidemic in the church today. According to a study conducted by Dr. Richard J. Krejcir,² being a pastor is difficult work — as shown by the following statistics:

• 90% of pastors stated they are frequently fatigued and worn out on a weekly or even daily basis.
• 77% of the pastors surveyed felt they did not have a good marriage.
• 75% of the pastors surveyed felt they were unqualified and/or poorly trained by their seminaries to lead and manage the church or to counsel others. This left them disheartened in their ability to pastor.

(Find out more about the challenges of ministry here.)

Healthy rhythms lead to happy and effective people. Most people spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else. If you are not engaged and fulfilled in your role, then your whole life suffers. As a leader, you conduct the orchestra. Not only do you need to find your rhythm, you need to help those around you stay in sync with one another and the mission of the church. Creating a connection to the mission and clearing roadblocks for others can be your conductor’s baton that keep everyone’s timing in sync.

Getting in rhythm is important, but how do we find that rhythm? In full disclosure, I am the farthest thing from a musician; in fact, my kids won’t even let me sing in the car. Despite that, I believe there are four great lessons we can learn from music.

1. Find your tempo.  Tempo is a measurement of beats per minute. If you fail to pay attention to the tempo, your song falls apart. Knowing when to speed up and when to slow down is the key. Often the most difficult — but most important — word church leaders can utter is ‘no’. There are constant demands on your time, but ‘doing ministry’ isn’t more important than your personal journey with Christ, your marriage, your family, or your sanity. Happy, well-balanced church leaders are far more effective than stressed-out, disillusioned church leaders. Don’t think for a second that your work won’t suffer if your life outside of work takes a back seat. In ministry, your job is not to do it all, which is why Ephesians 4 tells us to equip others.

>> Question to consider: How can your equipping strategy help you set a healthy tempo?

2. The Power of Silence. The pace of life often leaves little space for contemplation and reflection, which are central to a healthy Christian walk. Without well-timed silence, music would just be buzzing. There are two types of ‘space’ that I try to build into my life. The first is the margin in my daily life to adjust, alter, or pause my plans as things develop. When the sales clerk unexpectedly shares with me her story of divorce, do I have time to engage, or can I only offer her the obligatory ‘I’m really sorry to hear that’? Or, if my son wants to play catch, can I say yes more often than I say no? Secondly, I try to intentionally build in time for reflection. I call this think/read/write/review time, and I put this on my schedule as a planned activity. In this time I hear from God, reflect on my priorities, and focus for the week.

>> Question to consider: How are you building silence into your life, and are you making the most of it?

3. Pitch perfect. We increasingly live in a world of shrill voices and fevered pitch.  Beautiful music has high notes, low notes, and everything in between. As a leader, people are often pulling on you to engage in the crisis of the day, but we know that not every battle is worth fighting and you cannot be the hero in every story. In contrast, as a leader, your voice is often the one that is needed to provide context and vision into matters. In what areas could you release control to others who are ready to get off the bench and into the game? God is not depending on you alone to get things done. Knowing when to speak and when to be silent can not only keep your blood pressure in a healthy place, but also prevent you from being distracted from the main focus of your ministry.

>> Question to consider: Is this issue you’re facing a distraction, or can you provide direction to the discussion that points back to Christ? 

4. Everything in its time. Music is all about timing. You can have the right notes and perfect pitch, but if the timing is off, the song is terrible. Ever heard a comedian with bad timing? Painful.  Ministry is no different. Implementing a good idea at the wrong time can have disastrous consequences. Making good decisions requires more than gut instincts; it requires good information. In order to strike while the iron is hot, you need good data to act upon. This will save you time and heartache.

>> Question to consider: How are you making your ministry decisions — on intuition or on data?

Few people have had better rhythm than John Coltrane. He said, “My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being.” Finding your rhythm requires setting the appropriate tempo, leaving space between the notes, hitting the right pitch, and good timing. Finding your rhythm helps you live a song worth playing.

In what ways are you modeling a healthy rhythm in your life?

Read more from Steve here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Ministry Rhythm, Steve Caton

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Achieving Excellence in Ministry Begins by Looking in the Mirror

by: VRcurator

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So you want to claim the title of “excellence” in your personal and professional life?

Or are you a leader of an organization or manager of a department and you want to be seen as best of class, at the top of your game? In short, you desire a score of a ten out of ten in all that you do. Neither the silver nor bronze will do.

If you fall into any of the categories above, then this is your wake-up call. What many call excellence is actually average incognito. So the first step to obtaining your title is to remove the veils of mediocrity and come to know what this elusive term called excellence really is. Once you view excellence in its purest form, then you can set your course—or your organization’s course—with a compass that clearly shows if you are on the right path.

In the 80’s, many began their search for excellence. Over three decades later, the search still continues for many of us and, for others, the search has just begun.

We were intrigued by the concept of excellence in both the professional and organizational domains and began on a journey to understand excellence, but soon found that a significant barrier exists.

A commitment to excellence is a commitment to evaluate your current environment, circumstances, challenges, issues, opportunities and contracts and to rise above the base foundation and lowest common denominator, to perform and behave in a manner that reflects your best.

It’s time to take an honest assessment of your personal and professional life. Have you settled, compromised, given up, or given in?

Authors John Britt and Harry Paul have worked with Ken Blanchard in creating classic leadership books like Who Killed Change, Revved! and Fish. Their most recent book, Who Kidnapped Excellence? is excerpted in a PDF entitled Finding Excellence.

>> Download Finding Excellence here.

Tags: Finding Excellence, Harry Paul, John Britt, Leadership Characteristics, Leadership Development

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11 Disciplines that Deliver Energy to Your Team

by: Carey Nieuwhof

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I completely agree with Bill Hybels.

The best thing you can bring to your team as a leader is your energy.

This is true not just for your team, but for your family for your friends…for life.

Great leaders seems to have a reservoir of emotional, spiritual and relational energy that’s contagious.

And yet, if you’re like me, you struggle with your energy level on a regular basis.

I think everyone does. I’m not sure there are exceptions.

So how do you become one of those leaders who has energy on more days than you don’t?

A few simple disciplines can turn the situation around for you quickly…starting today.

To really bring your best every day, try these 11 things:

1. Get 7-9 hours of sleep a night

Most of us need far more sleep than we’re getting. You will be tempted to sleep less because you have so much to do. Do the opposite. Get to bed on time, and you will wake up refreshed.

Something that would have taken you 3 hours to do in a dazed state might only take you an hour when you’re fully alert. You’ve actually saved time by sleeping more.

Not convinced? Michael Hyatt even makes an incredible case for the utility of naps in leadership here.

2. Exercise regularly

Yep. I fought this for years too. But not anymore.

The summer, I’m doing an average of 5-6 hours a week cycling. I realize that’s just over half a work day…cycling.

But it makes me a better thinker, and the ideas I generate on those rides are often far better than the ideas I generate watching a blinking cursor behind a screen. Since a big part of my job is generating content and thinking, I find exercise directly makes me a better leader.

Plus I’m down 30 pounds from 6 years ago. That alone makes me attack life with more vigour.

3. Eat better

I resisted this for years too, but I’ve made big changes in my diet.

For me and for many others, what I eat has a direct impact on my energy level.

I recently cut added sugar out of my diet and experienced a direct energy boost. No more sugar crashes. I’ve also cut out grains and other high glycemic carbs. (If you want to know what regimen I followed, it’s the Whole 30 plan.)

4. Start your day with God

Your first hour or two matters so much. I start my day with the Bible and prayer…and cultivate a closeness with God that is with me throughout the day.

When I miss it, I feel it.

I realize the night hawks will struggle with this, but to me starting a day with Christ anchors it in Christ. So personally, this is a real help.

5. Have some fun

Fun is work for me. It is for many leaders. But you need to pull yourself away from the keyboard or office and enjoy life.

Have a picnic. Hang out with great friends. Do something active. Cycling is fun for me, so is taking pictures, going for hikes, travel and being around family and other fun people.

You need to figure out what’s fun for you.

6. Develop a hobby

This is a close cousin of fun. Many people who lack energy lack a hobby. You need something to turn your attention away from work so you can go back to work refreshed.

I write this blog as a hobby and cycle.

7. Spend time with people who energize you

Be honest, some people energize you and some people drain you. The challenge with leadership (and especially ministry) is that you can end up around a lot of people whose needs leave you drained at the end of the day.

It’s a good idea to make even a short list of people who energize you and then make sure you get around them regularly, whether that’s for coffee, breakfast, or even a phone call.

Only spending time with people or issues that drain you leaves you feeling drained.

8. Schedule white space

I realize I write about creating white space a lot. White space is simply space on your calendar with nothing but time to think and work on your ministry, not in it.

But I write about it because so few leaders set aside time to think.

When I have white space, I can run back into the every day of leadership again with renewed energy and passion.

9. Confess your sins

Bet you didn’t expect to see this on the list. But it should be.

Often I can get upset with other people which interferes with my ability to relate to them. Often, I discover I was part of the problem (surprise). If I confess my sins regularly, I am more able to step into the day with a fresh, generous and open perspective.

Surprisingly, the bible makes a direct link between unconfessed sin and a lack of physical energy.

10. Do your most important work first

One of the reasons you get agitated later in the day is because people knock on your door needing something, and all you can think of is “but I have to get X project done”.

Well what if you did X project first thing in the morning?

If you get the most important tasks for the day done first, then the interruptions that come later will feel less like burdens and more like opportunities.

11. Take a quick break

Get up and walk around. Go for a quick ride at lunch. Go for a walk. Grab a coffee.

I find that when I have a day of meetings, breaks like this (even if they’re only 90 seconds or 5 minutes) allow me to tackle what’s next with renewed energy.

I’m still learning about how to bring my best energy, but I do know this: when these 11 things are present in my life, I bring much better energy to whatever I’m doing.

>>Here’s a challenge. Why not implement three changes starting today, and see if you notice a change within 48 hours. Maybe it’s just going to bed earlier, or ditching the soft drink, or getting out for a walk or getting up earlier to have some time with God.

But watch what happens to your energy as a result.

Go ahead. Pick three and try them out.

In the meantime, some of you have ideas too.

How about you?  What fuels your energy?

Read more from Carey here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Leadership Practices, Leadership Productivity, Personal Leadership

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Develop Your Leadership Skills While You Advance the Mission of Your Church – 4 Tips for Experiential Learning

by: Center for Creative Leadership

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Want to learn what it takes to lead and develop a team? Or steer change? Persuade your peers? Manage a problem employee?

“Then do it,” says CCL’s Cindy McCauley. “You will broaden and deepen your leadership capabilities as you do leadership work.”

Learning from experience is the No. 1 way that leader development happens, according to McCauley.

McCauley is a senior fellow with the Center for Creative Leadership. Much of her work focuses on learning: boosting our ability to learn, identifying what is important to learn, and what experiences teach which lessons. She is coeditor of the new book, Experience-Driven Leader Development: Models, Tools, Best Practices, and Advice for On-the-Job Development (Wiley, 2013).

Research in the field of leadership development supports the value of experience-driven leadership. Most executives cite on-the-job experiences as the key events that shaped them as leaders and taught them important skills, behaviors or mindsets. And the formula 70-20-10 is well-known in HR circles: 70 percent of development happens on the job, 20 percent from relationships, and 10 percent in formal or classroom training.

Even so, most of us aren’t given the information or tools to help us maximize or seek out learning opportunities. On-the-job learning is often hit-or-miss. If you want to boost your development, there are many experience-based strategies you can take. According to McCauley, one of the best things you can do is to embrace the idea of development in place.

Development in place is defined as “adding challenges to current work and non-work pursuits in ways that broaden your portfolio of leadership experiences.” While promotions and big job changes are powerful opportunities for learning and growth, you don’t want to wait around for those moments, says McCauley.

You can learn important, new skills by doing work that gives you practice. For example, you can learn to handle external pressure by taking calls on a customer hotline; gain experience handling high-stakes work by doing a tight-deadline assignment for your boss; or tackle unfamiliar challenges by asking your boss to delegate one of his or her responsibilities to you. Together, these experiences help prepare you for future roles or jobs.

So, how do you do it?

>> First, identify the kinds of experiences you need to add to your leadership portfolio. Consider these 10 leadership challenges — which experiences would be new or a chance to stretch in ways you haven’t in a while?

1. Unfamiliar Responsibilities: Handling responsibilities that are new or very different from previous ones you’ve handled.
2. New Directions: Starting something new or making strategic changes.
3. Inherited Problems: Fixing problems created by someone else or existing before you took the assignment.
4. Problems with Employees: Dealing with employees who lack adequate experience, are not highly competent or are resistant to change.
5. High Stakes: Managing work with tight deadlines, pressure from above, high visibility and responsibility for critical decisions.
6. Scope and Scale: Managing work that is broad in scope (involving multiple functions, groups, locations, products or services) or large in sheer size (for example, workload, number of responsibilities).
7. External Pressure: Managing the interface with important groups outside the organization, such as customers, vendors, partners, unions and regulatory agencies.
8. Influencing without Authority: Influencing peers, higher management or other key people over whom you have no authority.
9. Work across Cultures: Working with people from different cultures or with institutions in other countries.
10. Work Group Diversity: Being responsible for the work of people of both genders and different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

>> Second, think of ways you can add an important challenge while continuing in your current job.Pick two or three challenges you are seeking and start generating specific ideas about how to pursue them. Could you:

• Reshape your job? Add new responsibilities to your job on a more or less permanent basis. These could be responsibilities moved from your boss to you (or exchanged among peers). Or they may be responsibilities that no one currently owns in your group or organization.
• Take on a temporary assignment? Seek out tasks or responsibilities that are bounded by time: projects, task forces, one-time events or assignments that can be rotated among team members.
• Seek challenges outside the workplace? Take on leadership responsibilities in community, nonprofit, religious, social or professional organizations.

>> Third, focus and create a plan. Narrow your options and pick one developmental assignment to undertake. Talk to your boss and other stakeholders: What’s practical? What’s doable? What would be most beneficial to your organization? What would be most motivating to you?

Then, so you are sure you learn what you set out to learn, make a plan. Map out:

• The ways in which the assignment can help you grow as a leader.
• The skills, behaviors and actions you’ll need to practice.
• Support mechanisms — what will you need and who can provide it.
• Strategies that will help you focus on learning from the assignment (for example, keeping a journal or checking in with an accountability partner).

>> Finally, don’t give up. Learning to lead isn’t easy. Being competent and comfortable in new situations and using new skills takes time. But experience-driven learning pays off. You’ll benefit from interesting experiences in the short-term and build a portfolio of skills that will make you a more effective leader in the future.

Read more from CCL here.

Tags: Center for Creative Leadership, Development in Place, Leadership Development

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