Jesus had an inner circle of leadership.
It sounds exclusive. And it was.
But you should have one too.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”
It’s a leadership principle we can learn from and should implement also.
Consistently throughout the ministry of Jesus, we see Him responding to situations in a similar fashion.
Jesus didn’t simply announce His plans.
Instead, He repeatedly called His inner circle together. He prepared His team. Then He announced His plans.
The inner circle of Jesus (His disciples) were continually being shaped for leadership and ministry.
He built loyal followers by personally investing in them.
He gained His team’s confidence by sharing insider information with them.
He expanded His ministry 12-fold by delegating to them.
And, do you think Jesus knew a few things about leading people — people He created?
I think so.
Leader, your largest goal in leadership development should be to develop an inner circle of leaders around you.
When you invest in them — when you allow them to lead — you develop loyal followers who will follow you anywhere and help you accomplish the vision God has given you.
Great leaders — like Jesus — develop their inner circle of leaders first.
I can anticipate the detractors of this post, so let me address you now.
It’s not that you are being exclusive in your leadership development. Everyone can be developed. But rather you are being effective.
It’s impossible to lead too many direct reports in leadership.
That’s why some pastors burn out.
For me, I find I’m less effective when more than 4 or 5 people report directly to me.
Jesus could handle 12 — but He’s Jesus. But even then, it appears Jesus was even more intentional with Peter, James and John. And He consistently tried to slip away from the crowd.
“Follow Me” – Jesus said.
Leaders — do you have an inner circle of leaders you are developing?
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Interesting post Ron. Seems like he had several different circles – 70 – 12 – then 3 – He responded to each group differently.
As leaders the leaders we delegate are all at different areas of skill and growth. We need to be sure we customize how we deal with them.
Yes. Good point.