Breakout C – Finding and Launching New Leaders

Breakout lead by Dave Treat:

Workshop Goal – Learn to use a leadership assessment tool that will identify the readiness of each potential leader in your ministry and will clarify different training paths to help them move toward leadership.

Define – What do we want to reproduce?
– The reproducible life. “Follow me.” I Corinthians 11:1
– What is the role of the Small Group Leader? What do we want to see happen in our groups?
– Leading vs. facilitating. A leader facilitates in a direction to take the group somewhere.
– Exercise: Skill or Maturity?
Has a servant’s heart? Maturity
Has personal integrity? Maturity
Can plan a meeting? Skill
Has spiritual passion? Maturity
Can guide a discussion? Skill
Social intelligence? Skill

Spot – How do you spot your best candidates?
– Reproducible traits are observable. “We have heard.” “We have seen.”
– Harvest “low-hanging fruit”. Men and women who are “ready” to lead. Look for traits you want to reproduce (maturity, skills). Pizza principle – see who leads naturally.
– Nurture your saplings. People with potential. FAT people – faithful, available, teachable.
– Create opportunities to spot potential leaders. Announcements. Strategic events. Ask.
– Land Mines:
– Those who think they’re leaders.
– Those with personal agendas.
– Those who can lead elsewhere but are spiritually immature.
– Those who are unknown. (Are they currently in a small group?)
– HARVEST: Who do I know who might be a small group leader?
– NURTURE: Who do I know who with some help could be a small group leader?

Assess – What do they need to lead?
– Leadership Assessment/Training Matrix (hopefully I can post a diagram of this later)

Equip – Mature/Skilled: Vision
– The preferred future: changed lives. Potential leaders should be passionate about changed lives.
– Use resources.
– Make sure your goals agree.
– Do they get it?
Equip – Growing/Unskilled: Apprentice
– 80% of candidates.
– OTJ (on the job training): Apprentice learns by leading.
– Mentor: spiritual maturity; group skills.
– Take your time, but don’t overtrain.
Equip – Growing/Skilled: Disciple
– Short-term, intensive maturity building
– Planned and targeted spiritual growth
– Spiritual passion, servant hood, integrity
– Take your time: You can’t microwave maturity.
Equip – Mature/Unskilled: Turbo
– Short-term, intensive skill training
– A small group of apprentices
– Take your time: Learn community in community
– Leaders train each other. Have leaders lead the group for each other. Have other leaders give HONEST feedback. This is healthy.
– Turbo Training:
– Weeks 1 and 2: Knowing each other (60 min.); Lecture/Q&A – Basic META (60 min.); find out their story (light a candle and have them talk until the candle goes out).
– Weeks 3+: Leader of the day (rotate) (45 min.); debrief (15 min.); lecture/Q&A (60 min.); read Leading Life-Changing Small Groups.

Launch
– Take your time.
– Preparation vs. control
– Strategy depends on coaching resources
– You are not the Donald.

Terms:
– Apprentice – one who is learning to lead by leading.
– Turbo – a small group made entirely of apprentices.
– Coach – a leader of small group leaders.

Stay tuned for more later…