Collecting protégés enables all leaders to achieve far more than they could on their own and their influence extends far beyond their own realm and lifetime. It is vitally important that leaders be collectors of protégés. Growing future leaders is not for prima donnas. It requires more than just the anointing for the position of leadership. It requires stamina and commitment
This particular section of Dr. Keys Book has only been slightly edited. It forms part of the concluding chapter of the book.
R.P. BenDeddek
Excellent Leaders Train protégés
In the development of future leaders, there is no room for 'prima donnas.' The phrase 'prima donna' comes from the Italian 'prima donna absoluta' meaning: 'the absolute first lady of outstanding excellence.'
However, in the 19th century, the term prima donna spoke of a person of the highest standing in a particular field or activity, who behaves in a self-important or temperamental manner, one who is conceited, jealous and who is only concerned for themselves.
There is no room for this narcissistic style of leadership in any growing organization. People are needed who are collectors of protégés, people who willingly put their lives into the grooming of future leaders.
Saint Paul was no prima donna. Rather, he was a collector of protégés. Throughout his life, he gathered around himself young men and empowered them through the process of mentoring to take on positions of leadership within the early church. This is particularly seen in the life of Timothy. In the Book of Acts, Chapter 16, Paul takes Timothy with him on his second missionary journey and enters into a mentoring relationship with Timothy that lasts until his death.
We have an insight into Paul's mentoring program for Timothy in Philippians Chapter 2 Verses 17 to 25 where he prepares to send Timothy to the church at Philippi. He says in Verse 22: "You know his proven character." He means that the church everywhere knew that Timothy had been tried and tested and had been found faithful in all that came his way.
Next, Paul calls Timothy his son. Here Paul shows admiration or the admirable respect of an older minister to a younger minister. Paul treats Timothy as a colleague, even though he is his junior. Paul makes a point that honor and respect should be given to Timothy, for he is of great advantage to the church at Philippi.
What is Paul doing?
Firstly, he is implementing a succession plan for the one whom he has mentored. He is preparing the church for the event of Timothy stepping into his place.
Secondly, Paul is preparing Timothy for his next mentoring stage by having him go to Philippi and he is providing him with the opportunity to get his roots down in the soil of experience.
Thirdly, Paul is empowering Timothy as his 2-IC by having Timothy minister at the church of Philippi.
Fourthly, Paul is expanding his scope of influence. Paul understood that by working with and empowering protégés he was able to accomplish much more than he could on his own.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America, is remembered not so much for his presidency but for his work as a legislator in developing the guidelines for democratic government that still today influence free nations. It was said of him by the historian Clay Jenkinson:
"To understand Jefferson, you need to know that he was a collector of protégés. He could never have achieved what he did without able-bodied men."
Jefferson's success was largely due to collecting protégés.
The Apostle Paul's success was due to the same reason. Paul would not have been able to accomplish what he did if he had not been a collector of protégés, Galateas whom he empowered for leadership. Collecting protégés enables all leaders to achieve far more than they could on their own and their influence extends far beyond their own realm and lifetime.
It is vitally important that leaders be collectors of protégés.
Growing future leaders is not for prima donnas.
It requires more than just the anointing for the position of leadership.
It requires stamina and commitment to 'run with horses.'
It requires the stamina and commitment of collecting protégés and it requires the power and strength of God to raise them up to be great leaders - great Galateas - who will take the Gospel into all the world and change the destiny of millions.
God is challenging us to 'run with horses' by growing our own transformational leaders. Being king, being anointed, is not enough. We are not to shuffle along under the anointing. Like Paul and Jeremiah, we are to demonstrate the heroism of commitment, living lives of purpose far beyond that which we think we are capable of living, by raising-up others to continue on after us with great success.
Growing Future Leaders - The Enormous Potential of Followers - Published 2006 by CRS Publishing, Unit 9, 147 Marshalltown Rd, Grovedale, Victoria 3216, Australia.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the NKJV Holy Bible
Copyright 2013 is held by the nominated authors on this article page.
An example of the failure of directive leadership to bring about transformational can be found in Mikhail Gorbachev's 'Perestroika'. Following decades of communist oppression, the nation was largely comprised of passive, conformist and pragmatist followers who lacked any form of initiative or sense of responsibility. Gorbachev failed to see that this group of people needed a directive style of leadership - a leader who would tell them exactly what to do. He was unable to collectively mobilize his future leaders to implement his vision of change.
The supportive behavior of the leader, both emotionally and with the use of planned training programs, will significantly improve the followers' commitment to the organization. When tasks are tedious, monotonous and boring the follower looks for a leader who shows not only kindness and an understanding attitude but also one who creates harmony in the working environment by providing needed resources, emotional support and rewards.
Collecting protégés enables all leaders to achieve far more than they could on their own and their influence extends far beyond their own realm and lifetime. It is vitally important that leaders be collectors of protégés. Growing future leaders is not for prima donnas. It requires more than just the anointing for the position of leadership. It requires stamina and commitment
Transformational leadership is the ability to bring together leaders and followers in agreement and relationship, empowering them to create an intended real transformational change. This is seen so magnificently in the leadership of Deborah, someone in that relationship who had a heart for the people. What most of us fail to realize is the far-reaching consequences of this agreement. Deborah's heart for the people not only galvanized a relationship and an agreement between herself and Barak but it also galvanized a relationship and an agreement between the followers and leaders of Israel to create an intended real transformational change.
Exemplary followers are courageous followers. Unlike the passive followers, they assume responsibility for their own behavior and its impact upon the organization. Unlike conformist followers, they feel comfortable about drawing the leader's attention to any action the leader might be doing that would or could hurt the organization's direction. Exemplary followers seek out the needs of the organization and actively find ways to serve those needs, unlike pragmatist followers who are always looking out for themselves. Exemplary followers courageously support their leader through the difficult stages of transformational change rather than displaying the alienated followers' cynical attitude to change.
Encountering the narcissistic and succession syndromes cannot be avoided in leadership. It is the way we deal with the dark-side of our narcissistic personality, the way in which we learn from it, that becomes the maturing process required in order to become a transformational leader. This maturing process allows the charismatic revolutionary leader to be resurrected with the great gift of grace - charisma. Queen Elizabeth the First's ability to create on-going transformational change was due to her ability to engage in covalent activities with those around her and to groom and provide a successor to the throne.
In succumbing to the dark-side of leadership, charismatic revolutionary leaders become the very thing they detested in the previous leadership: people who holds on to the status quo, jealously guarding what they have established. Charismatic revolutionary leaders who are extreme narcissists will surround themselves with subordinates who are loyal and uncritical. They make decisions without gathering adequate information. The lack of debate and open discussion will make the leadership team vulnerable to what they don't know which will often result in missed steps in the decision-making process
Charismatic and transformational leaders are superb masters of the art of public speaking to stir followers' dissatisfaction with their present situation and instil a sense of 'correctness', a moral striving to a higher level of social change. Permanent change however cannot take place solely because of the charismatic and transformational leader's vision, self-confidence and rhetorical skills. The vision firstly needs to correspond with the followers' needs and values. Secondly, the vision needs to be reinforced by actions of self-sacrifice that demonstrate the leader's commitment to the vision. Only then will the rainmaker become an agent of change. Once the charismatic revolutionary leader's task has been completed, unless they mature into transformational leaders they will either be challenged and remove or fall prey to the dark-side of leadership.
Charismatic and transformational leaders, by their personalities and natures, are agents of change characterized by a restless energy to create, by a constant sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo. Their impulsiveness and impatience for change cause them to continually seek out new opportunities and new ways of doing things. Charismatic and transformational leaders' creativity, inspiration, insight and vision allow them to exhibit their tremendous capabilities in creating enormous change in an organization.
The things that distinguish leaders who run with horses from those who walk with footmen, those who shuffle along under the anointing (Jeremiah Chapter 12 Verse 5), is their ability as leaders to live a life of purpose that stretches beyond their own time. This ability allows them to implement a succession plan by recruiting and growing future leaders to become giants: leaders of great purpose and direction for the Kingdom of God. Historian Clay Jenkinson wrote: "To understand Jefferson, you need to know that he was a collector of protégés. He could never have achieved what he did without able-bodied men." Jefferson's success was largely due to collecting protégés.
An interim pastor is someone who helps fill the role of minister at your church by maintaining stability and keeping the church on course with its vision in the brief absence of the senior pastor, or guides the church through the time transition period while the church is searching for a new pastor. The longer you will go without a pastor, the greater your need will be for an interim pastor.
I have always admired his courage and fortitude, especially in the face of adversity, and I know he has faced quite a bit of that in his life, especially from a certain denominational church that resented the fact that so many of 'their people' preferred to study in Pastor Tony's college rather than their own denominational college.
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
