Last month in part one of Developing Big People, we interviewed Pastor Bill Johnson, Ruth and Steve Moore and BSSM Revival Group Pastor, Joel Power and they shared four keys to developing the individuals on your leadership team; 1. Know Your People, 2. Build Buy In, 3. Establish Culture, and 4. Destroy Insecurity. This month we are continuing with the last three keys and we’ve included some very practical resources at the end of this blog to help you develop the people you are leading. 

5. Give Feedback

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Ruth said, “We ask our team, ‘How did that go? How did it feel? What did you do well and what could you do better?’ Give people feedback after they take a risk so they don’t question if they did a good or bad job. Feedback expedites growth.” A culture that does not include feedback gives subliminal feedback in and of itself. Sometimes what you don’t say can speak just as loud as what you do say. By giving people instant feedback, you are leaving no room for assumption.

“Give people responsibility on your team to do things that you may be able to do better. You want to give people opportunities to grow and take risks. Let people get it wrong and learn from it. – Steve Moore

“I tell my team that, ‘Everything you do actually counts,’” Joel said. 

6. Teach Strategic Thinking

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To strategically grow people, asking a lot of questions not only gives you a pulse for how someone is doing, it also teaches them to take responsibility for their own growth. This is the goal, raising up people that are taking ownership of their lives.

“If you have an idea, you are going to have more ownership over that idea, so even if I’ve had that idea before… I’m not going to say, ‘oh yeah, I already thought of that.’ I’m going to say, ‘That’s such a great idea, I think that would make such a difference. Is that something you want to run with?’ Raise up big leaders that think for themselves, be okay with not micromanaging. Be okay with people making mistakes,” Ruth said.

“I want people to have their own opinion. They need to have their own voice,” Joel said, “I might have eight people on my team that see things eight different ways. Ask them, ‘What does this mean to you?’”

Steve’s perspective was, “You want your team to think like leaders, not just follow aimlessly.  Make sure your team knows that being challenged by someone does not mean that they’ve failed.”

7. Communicate Value

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People will rise to the amount of belief in them that you communicate. So as leaders, it is our job to see where people are going and hold them accountable to that standard. “Sometimes our vocabulary limits people. Even with our Third Years, we always call them leaders, not interns.” said Joel, “If ministry is the only avenue of expression, you are in trouble. You have to value people. Value a gift that doesn’t serve the vision. This makes sure that people are seen. Even if the gift doesn’t serve the vision, acknowledge and appreciate it.” 

When we show people we value them aside from what they can give to us, we are communicating that their value is not tied to a condition, so if they mess up, they are not going to become less valuable to us. It lowers the stakes. “When you communicate to your team, ‘You have what it takes, you are gifted’, you start putting in their mind that they are a big person,” Steve said. Big people raise up big people, and that is the goal. You want to create leaders that are replicating and growing other strong leaders.

More Resources

We asked Joel, Steve and Ruth for some resource suggestions. We created this list to give you some practical ideas that you can personalize for the people you are developing. We would like to add that we do not neccesarily endorse the lifestyle or beliefs of all of these authors, but have found value in the messages in these resources.

Read a book together or assign a book that targets an area of growth to individuals.

• A Proverb a day (Find key leadership tips in each chapter of Proverbs)
• Kingdom Culture by Dann Farrelly (Core Values)
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• The 7 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
• Victorious Emotions by Wendy Backlund (Emotional Health)
• Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
• Good Morning, Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn (Intimacy with God)
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (Emotional Health)
• Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge (Intimacy with God)
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• God is Good by Bill Johnson
• Keep Your Love On by Danny Silk
• Declarations by Steve Backlund

Assign specific podcast episodes.

• The Connected Life with Justin and Abi Stumvoll (Emotional Health)
• John Maxwell Leadership Podcast (Leadership)
• Cleaning up the Mental Mess with Dr. Caroline Leaf (Mental Health)
• Leadership Lean In with Chad Veach (Leadership)

Other Activations