November 13, 2024
Paul’s description of a thriving body that grows and becomes stronger and stronger is a powerful image for any organization and a healthy model for any leader to follow.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:11-16).
In this scripture, Paul describes a thriving world. We have already looked at the actions of clarifying and embedding the vision, values and mission and building teams on strengths. In this final issue, we focus on how serving leaders share their power with others. The Serving Leader Model® calls this “Upend the Pyramid™” as this concept turns the traditional model of leadership upside down! Serving leaders spread their power.
Serving leaders spread the power by delegating.
Paul says that the work of the leaders is to “equip his [God’s] people for works of service.” Many leaders see their work as doing the work. They work hard and demonstrate how much they can do. They insist on doing the work themselves and want to keep all the power. But serving leaders realize that the work of leadership is to delegate power to others who are called to do the work. They recognize that they are in power to empower others. Their work is to serve those doing the work. They reflect on what tasks they are doing that others could do. Then they delegate that work to others and give them the corresponding authority.
Serving leaders spread the power by equipping others.
Delegating releases power to others; equipping trains them to do the work well. Some leaders assign tasks to others but assume that they’ll learn how to do it on their own. But serving leaders spend more and more of their time equipping others. They recognize that as they grow others, they are developing other leaders not simply followers. As they do so they are also growing an organization where people thrive.
Serving leaders spread the power by preparing for succession.
When leaders are spreading the power, growing and developing others around them, they are effectively preparing the organization for the time that they will no longer be in the leadership role. Some leaders work hard with little thought to what will happen after they are gone. But serving leaders prepare for the long-term success of their organization by delegating responsibility, sharing their power and equipping others to do the work. Little by little the organization becomes mature and able to thrive even in their absence. Where leaders spread the power people thrive!
For further reflection and discussion:
-Reflect on your own leadership in the areas of delegation and empowering others. How effectively does my leadership release power? How does my leadership in this area impact the thriving of our team?
-When is the last time I delegated something to others? Was it primarily to develop them or to avoid doing the work myself? Did I clearly articulate what I expected from them and what level of authority I was giving them? What was the result and what can I learn from it?
-How much of my time is spent doing the work and how much time is spent equipping others to work? What can I do to increase the time I spend on equipping others?
-What would happen in my organization if I was suddenly gone? Would it survive? Thrive? What does this say about my leadership and what can I do to better prepare for the time I will be gone?
-Read again the scripture above (Ephesians 4:11-16) considering your organization in the area of empowering others. What is one step you can take this week to improve?
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll look at a new series!
Click here for a resource from Center for Serving Leadership to help you in this area: UTP Empowerment Planner Complete A4 v.17