Cycling New Leaders

"How wonderful to be wise, to understand things, to be able to analyse them and interpret them." - Ecclesiastes 8:1

photo: Chinese scholars (Dec 2006)

Charles Swindoll, in his book Living on the Ragged Edge, shared a couple of overriding and all-important thoughts, which are worth mentioning:

photo: the late Gerald Brown (Auckland 2002)

1. We must never forget the value of being a model – Admittedly, a job must get done, but leaders who models “Get it done – regardless” may build in the minds of those around them that the most important thing is things or activity, motion, movement, or objectives. They forget that the model is what will last and is going to be remembered. It is easy to forget that our example outlives our achievements. We have all had mentors. We can’t remember many of the things they did – but we cannot forget their model.

photo: future leaders (Guild House, Oct 2005)
2. We must never lose the vision of seeing a cycle – we are greatly tempted as leaders to see only the objectives in front of us. We’ve got to get the job done. And that becomes the single drive of our lives, forgetting that around this objective and beyond it are people who will someday take our place in leadership. We are actually cycling ourselves out of leadership each year and cycling new leaders into our places at the same time. It is called “succession” plan in the corporate world. In church, its call “discipleship”. We are all in the cycle of training future leaders!

As for me, I am in the business of cycling new leaders as well. The future of the r.e. industry in my classroom today.

reflection: our example outlives our achievements.

Source: C.R. Swindoll (1985) "Living on the Ragged Edge"