Who Will You Take to the Next Level?

            I’ve discovered this statement to be true as I have worked with paid and volunteer staffs across the past 40 years, “Whenever you go to the next level, some of your people will go with you, and some won’t.”

            The daunting reality of this truth is that you, as the leader, quite often have the most influence is determining those who will go with you to the next level. The challenge is to build a team of capable, effective, and enthusiastic eagles who can take your vision for the next level and fly with it. However, that presents another challenge. Once you have that team, you have to challenge them with a dynamic vision, significant goals, and opportunities for significant professional and personal growth.

            To do this requires you to possess a lot of confidence in three areas:

1.      In yourself—your abilities, your experience, your leadership skills.

2.      In your strategy—that the goals you have set and the plans for pursuing them will accomplish what you desire to achieve.

3.      In your team—the people you take with you to the next level are the very people who will help you get to the level beyond that. Recruit team members with an idea of the kind of leaders who can take you to the next level and beyond. As John Maxwell says, “One is too small a number for significance.”