Let Them Try

When your business reaches the potential you’ve imagined, chances are it will be larger than you can handle alone.  Simply stated, you will need help.  You don’t have to wait to achieve your potential to enlist and empower your support staff.  You can train an all-star team of employees while your business is still in the developmental phases.

Jesus was unparalleled in His ability to train His team.  That’s what He’s up to in Mark 3:14 – 15.  Jesus understood that His business – spreading the Gospel – was on the verge of a worldwide explosion.  Prior to this shift, He gave His 12 trusted “employees” a chance to hone their skills: “They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach, giving them the authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:14 – 15, NLT).  He let them try.  He gave them an opportunity to perfect the business they would lead in His absence.

Let’s take a closer look at the developmental model Jesus employed to give His staff an opportunity to grow:

(1) LEARN

That’s right!  The first step in the developmental model is learning, but it’s not learning by the staff.  This step is about you.  You must master the skills you expect your staff to execute.

This is exactly what Jesus did.  His journey on earth was one of mastery.  He became so good at representing God to the world that people were often awestruck in His presence.  He mastered what He expected of others.

The growth of your staff is linked to your growth, so invest in yourself through books, classes, conferences, or by soliciting a mentor.  This is the most important step because it is the prerequisite for each of the following steps.  You can’t expect your team to develop when you’re not.

(2) LEAD

In this step, your goal is to lead by example.  You aim to visibly demonstrate what you want your staff to do.  That’s what Jesus did while He was on earth.  He intentionally performed miracles, signs, and wonders in the presence of His disciples.  He exemplified what they would do in His absence.

When you’re leading by example, be intentional.  Make sure your staff is around to see all that is necessary for quality production.  Ask them questions and give them the opportunity to do the same.  Above all, be consistent.  People easily duplicate what they see consistently, whether good or bad.

(3) LEVERAGE

During this phase of the development process, you shift from doing a lot on your own.  When you leverage your staff, you invite them to participate in the process.

Jesus was in this phase in Mark 3:14-15.  He invited His “staff” to participate in what He was doing, within certain parameters.  He gave them what they could handle at the time, but He did not abandon them.  He was close enough to come if they got in above their heads.

When you leverage your employees, invite them to experience what you do.  Instead of doing everything on your own, give them some responsibility aligned with their skill set.  Then, trust them to do it.  If they have been watching you before, they will likely be successful at what you assign to them.  Most importantly, don’t go too far from them that you can’t help if they get in a jam.

(4) LEGACY

The last phase is what Jesus did when He went back to heaven.  He left His previous responsibilities in the hands of the people He had trained, and He never resumed those responsibilities again.  That’s legacy at it’s finest.  You give the responsibility completely to someone else, who carries it on as well or better than you.

This is the ideal phase in the developmental cycle because it gives you the flexibility to do other things for your business.  Therefore, you’ll need some incredible people to pass the torch to.  Only choose people who have proven to be great during the leverage phase.  In other words, choose people who will never lead to you resuming that responsibility again.

Before I end this article, let me stress that this process is a cycle.  That means it keeps going.  As you pass tasks off via the legacy phase, you should start learning again.  The more you learn, the more you work through the cycle and develop a team who can replace you in all of your endeavors.

I believe you have some incredible staff members who can assume more responsibility if you give them a chance.  If you follow the developmental process outlined in this post, I believe and declare you will have an outstanding team, extend your business output exponentially, and build the very business you have envisioned.