5 Core Principles for Creating a Sustainable Leadership Pipeline
LEADERS.
We all want them, and we all need them.
If we expect growth, we know we need them now.
You may have heard the phrase, “The best leaders are not found, but built.” I couldn’t agree more.
The challenge, however, is that building leaders doesn’t often produce immediate results. It requires investment, time, and energy—resources we often feel we don’t have the margin for. As a result, we settle because:
Our demand is too high.
Too many leadership opportunities force us to promote people to positions they aren’t ready for.
We are moving too fast.
Urgent requests come faster than we can deliver, making leadership development an afterthought.
We have too little patience.
While we recognize the time and energy needed to develop leaders, we often lack the discipline to follow through.
We expect too much, too quickly.
We assume that new team members will naturally develop through instinct and observation alone.
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, but there is a long-term solution - tomorrow’s leaders are built today.
This means taking small, intentional steps each day to build relationships and foster environments where development can thrive. Consistent investment over time will produce great results. Soon, you’ll look up and find yourself with a deep bench of qualified leaders—ready to say “yes” to opportunities you once only dreamed about.
So let today be the day. Let’s start building leaders.
5 Core Principles for Creating a Sustainable Leadership Pipeline
Leadership Pipeline |
A clear path and process for developing
leaders for future opportunities.
A SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP PIPELINE SHOULD:
01 | COMPLEMENT YOUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
Leadership development should align with the levels and roles that already exist in your team and staff structure. This ensures that developed leaders can immediately contribute to current opportunities.
02 | EQUIP LEADERS AT EVERY LEVEL
Training opportunities must be available at each transition to prepare leaders for their new responsibilities. As roles and responsibilities change, so should the training. We call these “threshold trainings.“
03 | FILTER THOSE CALLED TO LEAD
Intentional thresholds help verify whether individuals are ready to handle the weight of leadership at the next level. These checkpoints also create opportunities for developmental conversations around essential habits, such as leading at home or practicing generosity.
04 | BALANCE THE CONTENT TO MAKE WELL ROUNDED LEADERS
Threshold trainings should go beyond simply teaching leaders to excel in their roles. They should aim to develop well-rounded leaders—those aligned with the church’s culture, growing in their relationship with Jesus (character), and skilled in their assigned roles (competency). Diversified content builds leaders who thrive in church, at home, and in the workplace.
05 | BE THE BEGINNING OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, NOT THE END
A leadership pipeline is a systematic approach to identifying and training leaders. However, ongoing development happens through day-to-day relationships, consistent investment by ministry leaders, continued exposure to principles, and opportunities to practice what is being learned. Sustainable growth is found in this ongoing process.
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