I just was reading something from Arrow Leadership and came across the following quote:
“Leaders cannot be mass produced. They are nurtured and developed over time.”
This is worthy of some thought. I think most people I know would agree with this statement, but then I still think many efforts in leadership development fall on the mass production side of things. As a member of a large ministry organization, I constantly see methodology of leadership development that reflects a mass production mentality even though people would probably say that you can’t mass produce it.
So why do try to end up mass producing laborers? I think it’s because it’s easier to try to create hoops for leaders to jump through to give them content and information than to do what it takes to “nurture” and develop leaders. It requires much more personal contact, emotional availability and presence, and attentiveness to individuals in light of where they are at in their unique developmental journeys. Not everyone can invest emotionally – connecting with people in the ways that communicate belief and nurture transformation.
It’s often easier to try to generate large numbers of leaders that conform to a picture of what the ministry or organization wants as a leader than to figure out how to come alongside people in a way that nurtures who they are. I would say anywhere where leaders are being “shaped” to fit in a box or a specific mold is a good sign that there’s a mass production mentality.
What do you think nurtures leadership development that cannot be put in a mass production approach?
