Several years ago, I came across an article on how the Cavendish banana was going extinct. I happen to enjoy a banana every morning and might throw in one with my ice cream in the evening. So, the thought of bananas going extinct caused me great concern. You might be thinking what’s the big deal about the Cavendish going extinct? Come to find out 99% of the bananas consumed in the world are of the Cavendish variety. As I read more about this banana apocalypse I learned that Cavendish bananas are sterile and seedless. Because of this they are essentially clones of one another, which is a bad thing. Their lack of reproductive diversity leaves them susceptible to disease, which is where the Cavendish problem comes in. Apparently, the bad guy is this whole herbaceous drama is Panama Disease; a fungus that essentially ruins the fruit. Banana exterminating fungi are pretty common, in fact the Cavendish replaced the Gros Michel as the banana of choice all the way until the 1960’s. Up until then the Gros Michel Gros was the banana that was the most durable and was able to withstand travel to distant countries.
I share this with you because you and I as leaders are going extinct. We are going extinct in the sense that at some point we are going to either move, retire, or die. Contrary to what we might believe we don’t have an especially long shelf life. Because of this we should always have the mindset of preparing, equipping, enabling people to take over our roles when we are gone. As leaders there are several roles in our organization that we should be fulfilling to the best of our ability. One of those should be developing other leaders. Here are three quick ways to do that:
1. Identify…
People under your leadership who are gifted and provide them with more responsibilities. In doing this you are validating who they are and how God has gifted them. You are also enabling them to increase their influence and their ability to impact other people. Conversely, if you as the leader don’t provide more opportunities you run the risk of that person looking for opportunities outside of your organization. The last thing that you want to do as a leader is put people in a box that limits their potential.
2. Give…
People an opportunity to see what you see. Jesus spent three years training a ragtag group of men. They ate, slept and recreated together. And in doing so they saw firsthand what it meant to be a leader of a team of people from diverse backgrounds and abilities. They saw what it took to use the individual’s strengths as a way to better the team. They saw how to handle negativity in hostile situations. They also saw what it meant to persevere when all hope seemed lost.
We can do the same with the people that we lead. Many times, leaders can be protective of their position and feel threatened by especially gifted people that they oversee. Don’t allow yourself to go there. Invite a leader to board mtg.’s that you oversee, speak to influential people, anything that might give them insight into what a day in your position of leadership looks like.
3. Equip…
People with the tools needed to succeed. The first tool comes from the experience that you have gained over the years. Share the highs and lows of your career. Secondly, provide training opportunities in the form of conferences or day long workshops. Anything that you can do to expose up and coming leaders to high level leaders in your industry. This training will not only make the person attending better but the information that they bring back will make your organization better also.
By implementing these three practices you will create a healthy work environment that ensures your influence lives on long after you are gone.