Empowered to Lead

5 Proven Steps to Mentor New Leaders Part 1: Talk

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It’s important for new leaders to see the desired behavior modeled for them. It’s always easy to TELL someone what you expect. It’s powerful to show them. It’s even MORE powerful to have them watch tame after time after time.
Before I served as President for a local chapter of Business & Professional Women’s Clubs, I was elected 1st Vice President. My whole job for that term was to shadow the President, learning all I could before following her into office. Yes, there was material for me to read. There were workshops & training for me to attend. Yet the best lessons I learned were from watching our chapter President. Jesus used this very same technique with His disciples with great results.

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Jesus always took the disciples with Him when He spoke before crowds. The disciples had the opportunity to see Jesus interact with people, watch His speaking techniques. They even had a chance to study acoustics. When a large crowd showed up to hear Jesus one time, He went out in a boat away from the shore a bit. The sound traveled better over the water, enabling the crowd to hear everything He had to say.
The disciples also watched Jesus when He talked with individuals. A large part of ministry is listening. Jesus always gave His time & attention to people when He was in conversation with them. The disciples had a chance to watch this interaction time & again.
So today’s lesson is simple: book learning is great. Training is wonderful. However, the best way to mentor leaders is to let them watch other leaders, like you, in action!
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