3 Marks of Leadership Maturity
One aspect of leadership I have been pondering is how servant leadership matures. As I have looked back over my own leadership life it is clear that there have been seasons marked by immature leadership, leadership that was more focused on self and self-serving than serving others.
What does mature leadership look like? How is it experienced? What are its marks? There are three aspects that stand out to me that mark growth from immature to mature leadership.
1. Being able to share power
Leadership is about power and influence. But younger, less mature leaders quickly become confused about the center of power and its purposes. There are really only two alternatives. Either power centers around the leader or the leader learns to give power away. Less mature leaders often want to control and be served. This marks the leader’s need to be at the center of power. But servant leadership is about making others the focus, therefore empowering others for success. Power-sharing also reveals itself when you have a shared leadership structure. In my previous organization, we typically employed two team leaders for every team, a man and a woman. A leader's ability to come to the table as an equal and truly honor the other leader demonstrates maturity. Immaturity requires the other leader to be subservient to them.
2. Leading towards your team's needs, not simply your own
This is similar to the first mark except it goes beyond where power is located and begins to steward that power toward someone else. An immature leader can be overly concerned with their own needs or their own place within the organization. A mature leader begins to look at the true make-up of those entrusted to them and become students of their strengths, gifts, and abilities. They begin to provide what each member needs to see them succeed. They provide structure, resources, counsel, and developmental opportunities all in the name of making their team better and the organization more effective.
3. Being able to appropriately lead up
Leading up is about the response to authority. Immature leaders complain about the leaders over them rather than respectfully engaging them. Immature leaders diminish their leaders to others rather than communicating respectfully about them. Mature leaders are not "salute and obey" leaders, but they are not rebellious. They know how to rightfully and respectfully dialogue with those in authority over them, and trust God fully who positioned those leaders in the first place.
Let's all move towards greater leadership maturity! If you are interested in developing some of these marks in your leadership life check out our Leadership Coaching page.
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