5 AREAS TO LOOK AT WHEN IDENTIFYING A POTENTIAL LEADER
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Insight: If you do not know what you are looking for, you will never find it.
Insight: If you’re not identifying the leaders of tomorrow -whom you will develop, your potential and your future will always be limited.
1) THE ATTITUDE OF POTENTIAL LEADERS:
“At Delta, we hire for attitude but train for aptitude. Always start with attitude. Bring people on the team that the other members will enjoy working with.” —ED BASTIAN
A. A WILLING ATTITUDE. (the heart of a good attitude is - willingness.)
Isaiah 6:8 (AMP) Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Willingness to learn, to improve, to serve, to work, say yes, to think of others, to add value, to do the right thing, to go the extra mile, and to make sacrifices for the team.)
B. AN ATTITUDE OF EMPATHY.
Romans 12:15 (AMP) Rejoice with those who rejoice, sharing others’ joy, and weep with those who weep sharing others’ grief.
Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, by recognizing, imagining, or vicariously experiencing their emotions.
Quote: “People do not care about how much you know until they know how much you care.”
• Followers who sense that a leader appreciates them are motivated to carry out their duties in a more committed way.
• Good leaders want more for the people they lead than they want from them.
C. AN “I CAN DO IT” ATTITUDE.
• They believe they can succeed. They’re willing to put in the time and effort. Even in the face of defeat, they cheerfully keep working and trying to move forward.
1 Samuel 17:34-37 (NLT) 34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
Insight: People with the most leadership potential stand out from other people who
are average because they know how to win.
2) THE CHARACTER OF POTENTIAL LEADERS: SOLID
A positive attitude is important. But good character is what holds everything together and keeps everything safe.
Proverbs 10:9 (NLT) People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.
Insight: Character is about managing your life well, so you can lead others well.
3) THE ABILITY OF POTENTIAL LEADERS: HIGH
No highly successful organization got to where it is without highly capable people.
Daniel 1:17-19 (NLT) 17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. 18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.
• Excellence is impossible in any endeavor without talent.
• “We look for talent because talent lifts us.” (leadership talent lifts the organization.)
4) THE TRACK RECORD OF POTENTIAL LEADERS: PROVEN
Talent is not always synonymous with achievement. That’s why you need to examine the accomplishments of team members to see how much potential they have for leadership.
A. GOD PROMOTES THE PROVEN.
Matthew 25:21 (NLT) 21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!
Insight: You need to look at whether they have produced results in the past. Are they proven? What have they achieved?
Fact: They can’t lead others to success if they’ve never led themselves to it.
B. HOW SOMEONE DEALS WITH THEIR SMALLER PRESENT ASSIGNMENTS IS HOW THEY WILL DEAL WITH BIGGER ONES.
Luke 16:10 (NLT) “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
Insight: If they can produce results for themselves, they have the potential to help other people succeed.
B. ACHIEVEMENT QUESTIONS
1) When given a task, do they complete it with excellence? Or return with excuses.
2) Do they meet and exceed goals? Do they deliver?
Quote: Past performance is a greater indicator of future performance, than a promise.
5) THE MIND-SET OF POTENTIAL LEADERS: IMPROVEMENT.
The best leaders focus on improvement. They want to improve themselves, their team members, services, and the organizations they’re part of. They are builders!
Philippians 3:12 (ERV) 12 I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his.
A. BUILDERS ARE SELDOM SATISFIED.
Builders don’t get comfortable. Growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you
could be. Builders like to be stretched.
Philippians 3:13 (NLT) Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me.
B. BUILDERS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH UNCERTAINTY.
Change is constant and essential to progress, but change brings uncertainty.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (ERV) But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops.
Quote: “Mario Andretti said, “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
Insight: Uncertainty is a leadership opportunity.
Builders know there are times when they must take steps forward without knowing all the answers or with limited information. But they move forward just the same, believing an answer exists, they can figure it out, and progress will result.
C. BUILDERS ARE IMPATIENT -HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF URGENCY.
They believe that the time is now!! We can’t wait any longer, we must take action. The harvest is ripe!
John 4:35 (ERV) When you plant, you always say, ‘Four more months to wait before we gather the grain.’ But I tell you, open your eyes, and look at the fields. They are ready for harvesting now.
Vision gap: is the space between where we are at and where we desire to be.
Builders are impatient to close that gap.
D. Builders Are Contagious.
Builders are passionate about what they are doing and where they are going. Their passion inspires others to join them.
1 Samuel 18:7 (EASY) 7 They sang this song while they danced: ‘Saul has killed thousands of his enemies. And David has killed tens of thousands of his enemies.’
• Their can-do spirit spreads. “Is there not enough time? They will find the time. Is there not enough money? They will find the money. Are there not enough people? They will find the people.”
• How do they do it? By inspiring others to join and help them.
• The bottom line for builders is that they always build something. Law of buy In: says, “People buy in to the leader and then the vision.”
Law of Respect: says, “People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.” That means people won’t follow you if they are better leaders than you are. If your leadership ability is a 5 (out of 10), then you cannot expect people with a leadership ability of 6 or higher to follow you. You will have to keep working to become a better leader if you want to lead and develop people of higher caliber.
1 Samuel 22:2 (CSB) In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him