To acquire or develop, to win the favor of, prepare and use…cultivate.

The very definition of the word is powerful. Considering every area of leadership, we can see the need to cultivate.

Relationships must be cultivated. We work to acquire and develop relationships at every level.

Trust must be cultivated. We strive to win the favor of others so they will follow and work together.

Vision must be cultivated. We prepare the plans and use the resources available to achieve the goal.

These three areas are only the beginning in order to understand the necessity of cultivation.

Leaders must also understand the need to cultivate leadership. Where will leadership come from in the future if we are not cultivating leadership?

Acquiring and preparing others to lead is the determining factor for the success of the future.

Cultivate leaders by mentoring. The greatest way to invest in the future of leadership is to invest yourself in others.

Cultivate leaders by leaving a legacy. When we are gone, what will we leave behind? Will it be a foundation of integrity for the future?

Cultivate… a word demanding our action.

Each Monday for the next few weeks we are going to be looking at a specific principle of leadership. Within these principles we will also consider an application for our spiritual leadership today.

Leaders know who they are and always seek improvement.

One of the most challenging areas in leadership involves an honest self-examination. A good friend of mine who serves as the CEO for a multimillion dollar organization says leaders must constantly “assess, adjust, improve, make mistakes and own them.”

We could appropriately describe this process as the cycle of leadership.

Seeking to improve ourselves in leadership is vital to the success of the family and church.

One way to improve is through asking some difficult questions.

Do we really want to be a leader?
What motivates our desire to lead?
Are we willing to make sacrifices to lead effectively?
Are we committed to continually developing our abilities to lead?

Other questions could be asked, but this provides a foundation to help us know who we are and our approach to improving leadership by this principle.

“It’s not always easy to do the right thing. But, doing the right thing makes you strong, it builds character, it forces you to make decisions based upon your beliefs and not what other people think. In life, and in business, you have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone. But, what makes you a leader is having the courage of your convictions.”Queen Latifah

Are we doing the right thing?
Do our decisions reflect our beliefs?
Will we stand up for what we believe?
Does our leadership demonstrate the courage of our convictions?

These questions are not always easy to answer. The truthfulness of our answers challenges us to align our actions with the very core of who we are spiritually.

Courage is really the choice we make to act upon our convictions at times when doing so moves us into a minority.

Will we answer the questions and take action?

Sadly, words which often characterize much of a society or culture begin to characterize the church. Examining the world and culture we live in reveals the problems of indifference and lethargy.

Our leadership must find ways to prevent and overcome these characteristics in the church.

What does this really mean? It means…

We must find ways to motivate one other to dig into God’s word.
We must increase the desire in the hearts of God’s people to worship.
We must fan the flame of enthusiasm in reaching out to others.
We must energize the creativity of Christians to serve.
We must strengthen the hands of God’s faithful.
We must lift up the hearts of those who are weak and struggling.

Leaders can make an incredible difference by recognizing a few simple ways to change the direction of the church and ultimately the world.

When leaders see the opportunity and do something about it, preparing ourselves to make the needed improvements, persevering through the challenges, we overcome indifference and lethargy.

One of the most dreaded diseases in leadership is the “destination disease.” The idea represents the thought of having finally made it.

The destination disease is common in the academic world as students complete a course(s) or reach graduation. The tendency is to think it is done. There is no need to study any more. There is no need to pursue more education. After all, what is left to learn?

Leadership cannot afford to develop or allow others to develop this mindset. Leaders and followers must be perpetual learners.

Donald Norris, President of Strategic Initiatives, identifies perpetual learning as “much more than lifelong learning on steroids. It is different from lifelong learning in every way.”

The idea is more about learning every day, viewing growth in knowledge as a way of life rather than an activity of life.

The value of this approach produces three benefits:

…a better understanding of leading people.
…a better vision of the future.
…a better love for life.

When we are driven to learn from every person we meet, book we read, and experience in life, we grow as leaders.

Christianity is a learned, taught system. What we learn, we are to teach others. Being a Christian is about reproducing ourselves.

The same is true as leaders, especially spiritual leaders.

Our minds obviously go to David when we think about someone able to defeat a giant. If we examine the life of David we discover the need to raise up giant killers.

Look at the men surrounding David after he became ruler in Israel. Of his thirty-seven mighty men, no less than five were giant killers.

The point is to reproduce ourselves. It takes a leader to reproduce a leader.

John Maxwell has said; “if you want to grow, lead followers. If you want to multiply, lead leaders.”

Who will replace us? Are we planning, grooming, or mentoring someone to lead when we are gone?

The condition often found in the church today is a lack of qualified men to lead God’s people. Why? There are several reasons, but one falls in the need for leaders to reproduce themselves.

The time is now! Let leaders rise up and change the future by preparing others to lead.

Why is it so hard to be good listeners? Why do we strive to be heard? Why is it more about winning the argument than listening to why we argue?

It is a fairly common problem in communication. People want to be heard, but often realize no one is listening. It can be frustrating.

What can be done to improve our listening ability?

Remove distractions. This seems easy enough. It is hard for me to listen to you when I am focused on something else.

Find a quiet place. This should naturally follow. Time in a quite place makes listening much easier and beneficial.

Devote time to listen. We are a busy people, always rushing from one project to the next. We need to set aside time to specifically listen to each other.

Stop thinking of a response. This can be difficult. It is much easier to think about what needs to be said next, than to listen first and then think of an appropriate response.

These are a few suggestions. However, if we apply them well, our ability to listen increases and communication improves.

“A most important key to successful leadership is your ability to direct and challenge the very best that is in those whom you lead.” Anonymous

More than a few articles have been written about the key to successful leadership. As such, I hesitate to use a thought describing one area to encompass the whole of successful leadership.

However, this quote describes a powerful connection between leaders and followers.

Leadership cannot succeed alone. As others have pointed out, if no one is following, we are not leading, but simply taking a walk.

Since leadership depends on followers, it only makes sense to understand the need to find a way to draw out their best.

A former employer of mine used to say; “if you take care of those who are under you, they will take care of you.”

Adjustments may be required for leaders to develop the ability to challenge followers to draw out their very best. The ability to do so can make the difference between success and failure.

Planning is vital to achieving goals. The challenge of leadership is developing the plan. The right plan depends on the answer to several questions.

What goal(s) are we trying to reach?

Why is this goal important to the overall program, or is it?

Who will help carry out the plan? Will there be enough?

Are adequate resources available for each stage of the plan? If not, can they be obtained?

When will evaluation of the progress be scheduled? Are we prepared to make adjustments?

How can we achieve maximum involvement? Will we be able to get everyone on board?

Where do we go from here? Once the goal is reached, what will be done to follow up?

If we can determine the answers to these questions, we will have the foundation for a solid plan.

Ultimately, spiritual leadership is involved in helping lead others to heaven. God established a plan from before the foundation of the world, and the answer to every question is given in His word.

It is all in the plan. If we will follow we can lead others in reaching the goal.

Creativity can be frightening. Creativity brings change, and change makes us uncomfortable.

While change is Biblical (e.g. repentance), we do not always understand change and, thus, stifle creativity.

We associate change with a departure from Scripture, adding to or taking away. We often describe it as binding or loosing where God has not.

Interestingly, people who have taken such action do not recognize their departure from the truth.

Is it possible for leadership to encourage creativity without the fear of this kind of change? Yes!

Create a “safe” environment. People need to know it is okay to discuss, and even disagree, where there is no violation of Scripture. At the first sign of disapproval, creativity will stop.

Equip people with the right tools. It is difficult for people to creatively develop ideas if they are ill equipped. However, if they know the tools will be provided, creativity will soar.

Give heed to personal advice. If we want to encourage creativity, then we need to be careful about promoting our own ideas.

Remember, we are trying to help others achieve success. Creativity can make the difference. Encourage it!