Exponential Leadership

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EXPONENTIAL LEADERSHIP

Exponential Leaders invest

Leaders who are intentional about making the biggest impact possible are constantly trying to replace themselves with a new leaders. They are not concerned with losing their position or status. They intuitively believe that as they help other leaders grow and become better, their impact is multiplied. As their impact and leadership is multiplied, they encourage other leaders to do the same. Because of this, Exponential Leaders are not limited by their own efforts, authority or influence.

There are a few ways to develop the next generation of leaders, and they are both valid, but one is much more effective. We can teach leaders to pass on our knowledge, or we can develop other teachers to pass on their knowledge. When we develop other teachers, we release our impact through them without being concerned with who gets credit. Exponential leaders encourage and challenge new leaders to pass on their knowledge; this method of development is the quickest way to empower new leaders and multiply our leadership.

Put simply, after we have invested the time and effort to develop a new leader, we must release and challenge them to take our investment and make it their own. Exponential leaders must challenge others to pass on the same investment that was made in them.

When we place a priority on developing others, we are more concerned with their growth than we are about our own success and accomplishments. Only secure leaders will be able to adopt and act on this type of leadership philosophy.

Exponential Leaders delegate

When we have successfully developed new leaders, it is now our job to delegate leadership roles and responsibilities. Leaders thrive on challenges and have a disdain for inertia. They understand that humans in general are either growing and changing or they are shrinking and dying. Leaders who have this growth mindset will become restless if they are not thriving on new opportunities, so it is incumbent on the exponential leader to consistently put himself out of a job by delegating to others.

Stephen Covey presents a truth about delegation when he writes:

“we accomplish all that we do through delegation–either to time or to other people. If we delegate to time, we think efficiency. If we delegate to other people we think effectiveness. Many people refuse to delegate to other people because they feel it takes too much time and effort and they could do the job better themselves. But effectively delegating to others is perhaps the single most powerful high leverage activity there is.”

If we develop other leaders, then fail to delegate, we harm ourselves in two ways. We have effectively wasted our time developing leaders, and we run the risk of losing our leaders because they lack growth opportunities.

Exponential Leaders sacrifice

Once we have effectively developed other leaders and we have delegated responsibility to them, exponential leaders then look for and celebrate wins. Celebrating even the smallest of wins is the way to develop a winning culture. When leaders win, they look to apportion credit away from themselves. This is brilliantly explained in one of the greatest business books written, Good To Great. When defining what great leaders (level 5 leaders as they are termed) do, the concept of the window and mirror is explained,

“Level 5 leaders look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well (and if they cannot find a specific person or event to give credit to, they credit good luck). At the same time, they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility never blaming bad luck when things go poorly.”

Great leaders are sacrificial. Leaders reject glory and give credit away and they take ultimate responsibility when things go wrong.

If leadership become glamorous, we are surely focused on the wrong things.

John Maxwell says, “everything rises and falls on the shoulders of leaders.” Great leaders know this but continue look out the window to give credit to others and also take a hard look in the mirror to take responsibility when things go wrong. If you follow this leadership maxim, you are well on your way to becoming an exponential leader.

“Only a life lived in the service of others is worth living.” Albert Einstein

Lastly, Exponential Leaders understand that trust is the highest form of human motivation. They begin the entire process of developing other leaders by building trust with their people and serving them. Trust is the currency of leadership and it is where leadership begins, and therefore it is the foundation of leadership.

This insight was written by Terry Weaver, co-founder of VEL INSTITUTE. To learn how to use your unique gifts to impact the lives of others view this talk, Our Power to Change the Lives of Others.

To read more about the personal struggle with a leader’s growth, we recommend reading The Struggle is Real.