People who know me realize that I am passionate about leadership development.  At the forefront of my mind is how can we as the Church do a better at developing our people?  The Bible is our guidebook and I believe it is the best book on leadership development but that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from others.  I recently read the Hay Group 2010 study of the best companies for leadership.  As I read the report I reflected on the implications for the Church.  Rick Lash states, “This study reveals that leading companies today are structured more like a global neural network.  They operate as a flattened matrix, where information and authority move in all directions through the organization and around the world.”  That sounds like the early Church and I was reminded of Roland Allen’s classic Missionary methods: St. Paul’s or ours, a study of the Church in the four provinces.

The Hay Group discovered three practices from the best companies:

1. Drive collaboration – The continuing economic uncertainty rewards businesses that achieve results with fewer human and financial resources.  We in the Church we can identify with that reality.

2. Gaining value from diversity – Every large enterprise now competes in more than one country; most are engaged virtually everywhere around the world. But the term ‘global marketplace’ is misleading, because every market has different needs and norms.  Yes, that describes the Church and our mission to reach all the nations.

3. Build a sustainable workforce – Individualism is growing around the world and a new generation of leaders is stepping up to fill more important roles, today’s workforce is more pluralistic.  This is 2 Timothy 2:2 in action.

The report states, “Almost by definition, the Best Companies for Leadership show a strong focus on developing leaders within their organizations. Over the six years Hay Group has conducted this study, more and more companies have adopted such practices.  The Best Companies for Leadership, however, are still a step ahead –maintaining their strong focus on leadership planning and development while adapting their practices to the challenges of their evolving organizations and strategies.”  Here’s a link to the executive summary of the report if you’re interested.

How is your Church’s intentional plan for leadership development?  The current economic and political climate is uncertain, if not volatile.  This is not a time for us to be satisfied with the status quo.  As the Apostle Paul exhorts us, the one who leads is to lead with all diligence!