The Peter Principle and the Saul Syndrome
The Peter Principle, developed by professor Laurence Peter, reveals that people are often promoted based on their performance in their current roles and not based on their ability to function and lead well in the role they are promoted to. The result is “people are promoted to the level of their incompetence.” If the Peter […]
Five Questions on Reading and Leadership
I recently sat down with Todd Adkins and Barnabas Piper to discuss leadership and reading for the “Five Questions Leadership Podcast.” You should check out the podcast, which has skyrocketed on iTunes, for some great content. Here are the five questions we discussed, with a few thoughts after each question. How important is reading for […]
Three Dangers of Only Looking at the Present
The present reality is a strong pull on leaders. When a leader wants to rise above the day and look to the future, the urgent can quickly pull a leader back to focusing on today. The problems and challenges of today threaten to stop leaders from looking to the future, and from learning from the […]
Four Idols That Kill Leadership Development
The fruit of a leader must be another leader as leaders are ultimately the ones responsible for the development of other leaders. From a Christian vantage point, the kingdom of God has multiplied as Christian leaders have developed and deployed others to make disciples and raise up new leaders. Leaders have been given the holy […]
Seven Signs Success Has Outgrown Your Character
Success has plagued many leaders. They experience the Lord’s blessing, see the fruits of their labor, and receive recognition. And many times, the success goes to their heads and hearts and pulls them away from utter dependence on the One who gave success in the first place. King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26) is an example: […]
Four Reasons the Local Church Is the Best at Developing Leaders
God uses a multitude of environments to develop leaders, but there is nothing like the Church. Because the whole world is His, the Lord can use any environment to develop and mature His people, but the Church is the best at developing leaders for at least four reasons Divinely Designed The Church is divinely designed […]
Four Hard Questions Pastors Should Continually Ask Themselves
When the apostle Paul challenged the believers in Philippi in their obedience to the Lord, he told them: “Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me” (Philippians 4:9). When he wrote the believers in Corinth, he said, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Though not perfect, […]
Six Places Leaders Are Developed
Where does leadership development happen? What environments are beneficial to leaders in their development? From a Christian perspective, leadership development is not constrained to one environment. Because the whole world is His, leadership development can happen in a plethora of places. Because He continually matures His people, God will use anything to conform us more […]
Leaving a Legacy of Leadership: How Moses Developed Leaders
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. […]
Leadership Development Is Part of Discipleship
Often ministry leaders will ask, “What do you do for discipleship?” and then a few moments later ask, “What do you do for leadership development?”—as if the two are mutually exclusive. This is a grave mistake. While it may be helpful to view leadership development as advanced discipleship or as a subset of discipleship, it […]