Here are 3 ways to grow as a leader. Because I’m in full time ministry my slant is ministry leadership, however, I think these 3 tips can be applied or slightly altered to be relevant for any leader.
I fully believe that the best leaders keep growing. In an upcoming Doing Ministry Well interview with Derek Schoenhoff he says something along the lines of in todays day and age there is no excuse to not grow in your leadership. I agree. Leading people is a serious task. Don’t make the mistake in thinking you’ve arrived. Be intentional about growing in your leadership.
1. Read books on leadership
Carve out some intentional time either daily, or weekly to read part of a book on leadership. If you know you’ll struggle to make that time to read, ask someone else to read the book with you and discuss it weekly. Reading books on leadership is an amazing way to grow as a leader. You get years of experience from people in various types of leadership condensed down for you where you can read it on your own time. I’d suggest at a minimum reading one book on leadership annually.
Conviction To Lead – Albert Mohler – I recently read this book with two friends from Maryland. It was a solid read that covered a lot of different aspects of leadership. I highly recommend it.
Seven Practices Of Effective Ministry – Andy Stanley – I got this book as a graduation gift. I scoffed at the title in my head because at the time everyone was raging against bulleted lists. I was pleasantly surprised when I read it. The first chapter entitled Clarify The Win has been foundational in my leadership.
The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership – John Maxwell – The number one hit on Amazon for leadership. It has 512 reviews with a 4.5 star rating. I need to pick this up.
2. Read blogs on leadership
Maybe books aren’t your forte. I’d still discipline yourself to read. Ron Smith wrote a book called Read To Lead and talks about 7 people from history who had ferocious reading habits.
Blog formats are much easier to read, shorter and usually formatted for skimming. Set up an RSS feeder (I use feedly) and check in often to your favorite leadership blogs to be learning more about leadership from other leaders. Don’t forget to add this blog too
Below are some of my favorites, as well as some other popular ones.
Ron Edmonson – My absolute favorite ministry leadership blog. Easy to read and always relevant.
Micahel Hyatt – I used to follow this blog a lot, but haven’t recently, great content on productivity
John Maxwell – I don’t follow this blog, but as soon as I think of the word leadership, John Maxwell comes to mind
3. Meet with leaders you respect on a regular basis
Do you have a weekly or monthly meeting set up where you meet with people that are more experienced than you and inspire you? If you don’t set one up soon!
I love getting involved in pastors meetings. When I lived in NY and was pastoring at a church in PA, I met monthly with the NY pastors and also monthly with a small group of PA pastors. Now that I’m living in Hawaii I try to make it to The Gospel Coalition monthly pastors meetings. It’s great to sit among ministry peers and have lunch and hear a speaker talk on a topic that is very relevant to the field your in.
I also meet weekly with Pastor RK who serves as an inspiration to me. We can in real time bounce ideas off one another, share about our ministry struggles, and share what we’re learning or what resources we’ve been inspired by.
Don’t be a lone leader. Leadership is a serious calling, with a ton of challenges. Have people in your life that you can go to for specific advice on your situation. Seek out that counsel and adhere to it. Find ministry mentors. Ask them to meet with you and tell them you will buy the meal or coffee.
