Leadership Radar. Where are you in 3-5 years?

March 16, 2011
Leadership Clip to Evernote
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Where will you be in 3-5 years? I know we all have plans, goals & visions for the future. But are there any "Radars" now that can serve as indicators of our future success? I… think there are.

Leaders and those that succeed in any field don’t have achievement thrust upon them by some magic wand. The truly successful arrive at their destination by doing, growing, learning and creating. And all of those should be on your radar now… if not, you aren’t going to make it.

DOING

You need to be doing life with other leaders further along the path you’re traveling. You need coaches, mentors and peers that cheer, challenge and change you. These relationships don’t just fall on you. One word…. INITIATE

GROWING

The best way to get where you want to go, is to travel with others going in the same direction. There is serious power and protection in numbers. So you need be with a group and groups that bring synergy to your life. One word… NETWORK

LEARNING

The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing as a leader. You stall out and your potential shrinks and withers away. You must learn from those you agree with, and those you don’t. Be open! One word… READ

CREATING

This is the one many leave out. Leaders are creators. We have the vision to merge opportunity with ability and resources to produce the desired outcome. However many leaders generate this picture mentally, but stop. One word… Go

So. If you want to know where you will be in 3-5 years, answer the questions:

  • Who am I learning from?
  • Who am I walking with?
  • Who am I reading?
  • What am I making?

Where do you plan to be in 3-5 years? What say you?

About artie: I'm the lead Pastor at Cornerstone, a Multi-Ethnic church in the heart of Orangeburg, South Carolina. Also the founder of the Comb Network.com, a movement to plant Multi-Ethnic, culturally relevant churches in smaller cities. I direct a gathering of small city leader called "The Sticks."

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  • http://j4man.wordpress.com/ Jim F.

    This definitely helps me see a little clearer. I know where I am going and recently I have begun to put the pieces into place to make that happen. Good thoughts Artie.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks Jim. These have really helped me too. Like a check list almost. I love macro bullet point challenges, it give me a target if I need to drill down!

  • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

    When I first saw your Tweet ("You can tell where U will b in 5-yrs by who U R with now.") I disagreed. I challenged you to blog on it so we could dig deeper.

    But when I read it again, I realized I misunderstood. I thought you tweeted: "You can tell where U will be in 5-yrs by who U R now." (missing the word "WITH"). I was going to say, "No, who you will be in 5-yrs will not be the same as who U R now."

    But I still want to dig deeper on the tweet (and your related blog post).

    We become who we hang with. I get that. And this is an EXCELLENT post. I couldn’t have said it better. But as leaders, we lead all kinds of people. We also need to be led. As we pour into others, we need others to pour into us.

    What about the people we lead who are not the people we want to become? What about the people God has called us to serve who we don’t want to become like? (or is that the wrong question?) How do we balance face time with people who haven’t developed in character yet with people who have? IS there a balance? What is the % of time we should be shooting for?

    • Anonymous

      Thanks Scott. That is so funny how much one word can make such a huge difference! I should blog that!

      Your question about those we lead is a good one! I tell leaders you must "hold all at arms length" until they have earned the right to speak into your life. Just like Solomon said, "above all guard your heart." Those we allow to speak "into" our lives do so almost with out filter. Because we have allowed them through trust.

      So, don’t allow too many to close! I definitely have some, but they earned the right to see my whole heart, and speak right to it. I trust them. All others must wait!

      • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

        Good insight. I wonder what the bullet-point criteria would be in helping leaders determine whether someone has earned the right to speak into their life. I’d like to create such a list coming out of this blog post.

        What let’s you know someone has become "eligible" to see your whole heart and speak into it?

        • Anonymous

          I can add a few:
          - Over a period of time they demonstrate they embrace the vision and it’s direction
          - They move with the vision even when they have voiced a concern. They value unity
          - They guard the reputation of the their leader. They are loyal
          - They speak freely, they have the ability to call you on the carpet. True love
          - They can disagree in private, but fight for you in public. They guard the vision

          Just some of the top!

          • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

            Race you to a blog post with this list…

          • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

            Sorry, Artie. Already got a post ready. It will be out tomorrow morning 6:15 am EST.

          • Anonymous

            I will take great Joy in "Busting it up" all day!

          • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

            ;)

  • http://twitter.com/PastorRandyH Pastor Randy

    Thanks for this confirmation bro.

  • Frjimbo

    Fantastic questions. So simple, yet so telling. I will use these with the leaders here at church. I know the "reading" one is one that seems more and more today as one "dropping of the radar screen." Thanks.

    • Anonymous

      Awesome Jim, yeah reading is almost becoming a lost art! But Leaders are ALWAYS readers. Blessings my friend

  • http://thoughtsaboutnothing.com @kylereed

    I have no clue where I will be, but I know that I will continue to listen, create, learn and work.

    But I totally agree with you that the plan on where you will be 3-5 years from now starts today. It actually started a long time ago.
    One thing that I often have to remind myself on is patience. Patience that what I am doing today will be seen down the road.

    Thanks for encouraging my patience.

    • http://twitter.com/ServingStrong Scott Couchenour

      I think that’s Artie’s point: We CAN have a clue about where we’ll be in x years by examining who we are listening to. Are you listening to a person who has an "abundance mentality" or a "scarcity mentality"? Do you draw close to the hopeful, positive (not the pollyanna, head-in-the-sand, oh-well-praise-the-Lord-anyway kind of positive but a positivity rooted in reality of the current situation as well as in a God who represents hope)?

      These are the things we can examine TODAY to see what we will likely become TOMORROW.

      I appreciate your authenticity. I am a fellow patience worker myself.

      • Anonymous

        Dude, that’s why I love you! You speak it right on, fixin to have a glory fit :)

  • Pingback: How To Let The Right People Speak Into Your Life | Serving Strong

  • @jaredlhughes

    Great post. I am glad that brian bloyle connected me to you and the combnework for the exact reasons posted by you in this blog. It’s been exciting to discover others doing what’s in our hearts to do in our community. We pastor is a town of 2100. Now we are able to connect with those who are doing it…