The Big Four Questions of Leadership Development

by: Mac Lake

I’m not much of a handyman, but in my garage is a tool box. There’s nothing fancy inside. Basically, I have a hammer, screwdriver, wrench and tape measure. That’s it. But I can get a lot done with those basic tools.

In my leadership development tool box, I have a basic set of questions I use. They are my go-to tools. Because I love developing leaders, I do have some fancy questions in my tool box too. Questions that I love to pull out and use on occasion to really drive something deep into someone’s thinking. There are some I like to use that I know will shake them up and make people think at a significant level.

But the truth is, leaders can get the development job done with just these 4 basic questions:

  1. WHAT DID YOU DO WELL?

    This question helps you and the leader you’re developing to have a better understanding of the current baseline of their strengths and how to maximize them.

  2. WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE BETTER?

    This question helps you and the leader see their gaps and learning opportunities.

  3. WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

    This question pushes a leader to develop action steps that will help them grow in their leadership skill. Identifying gaps without identifying a plan will not produce growth.

  4. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?

    This question enables the leader to articulate critical leadership lessons they’re gaining from their experience.

There are other more fancy questions you can use, but to be honest, you can do a great job building a leader with just these 4 basic questions.

Additional Resources:
Video: 4 Habits that Develop Your Credibility as a Trainer

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mac Lake

Mac Lake

Mac is a pioneering influence in the church planting movement. In 1997, he planted Carolina Forest Community Church (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina). In 2004, he began serving as Leadership Development Pastor at Seacoast Church (Charleston, South Carolina) where he served for over six years. In July 2010, Mac Lake joined with West Ridge Church to become the Visionary Architect for the LAUNCH Network. In 2015 Mac begin working with Will Mancini and Auxano to develop the Leadership Pipeline process. He joined Auxano full time in 2018. Mac and his wife, Cindy, live in Charleston, South Carolina and have three children, Brandon, Jordan and Brianna.

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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for this information. I'm going to use this article to improve my work with the Lord.
 
— Abel Singbeh
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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
— Argaw Alemu
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