Leadership Manual Project Update
As a part of my job, I was instructed to direct a leadership council, working with all leadership organizations within the company to build disciple leadership skills and help them in every way we can. One of the most important things we are doing as we pilot this council is creating a manual. This manual is meant to include leadership principles to build skills of readers and practical applications for this specific company. Our hope is to create a “Leadership Lab” where team members take advantage of resources to become better disciples and take advantage of leadership opportunities. This will be used across the company for all leadership organizations.
This project will take longer than expected. While it is still a work in progress, our trial run for this time period has proved to be helpful in informing us of what is essential to include in this manual. Here is a sample of our work:
There were many challenges in this project, but we’re better because of it. We realized that choosing specific principles was more difficult than expected. We wanted to keep it focused but not too narrow. This is the section we are still working through.
Logistics proved to be very useful in this project. The practical details and “how-to’s” really took over this manual. Application of the principles would be useless without the logistics. These are also still a work in progress as things will be adjusted for the next quarter to better help the company leadership organizations.
The Process
- I was able to meet with a supervisor to plan the strategy of how we wanted to accomplish our vision for this project. Together, we outlined the basic contents and skeleton of the manual, giving us a good direction.
- We then created a GANTT chart in order to follow a timeline of what pieces of the project we wanted to focus on when. Knowing quality work wouldn’t be achieved in one quarter, we planned for at least to to gather needed information and experience.
- Hours and hours were spent studying previously made leadership manuals and disciple sermons to determine how to begin and what to focus on.
- As mentioned, the principles section took a back-burner as the logistics proved to be more important to prepare future employees to take on this project.
While it was a stressful task to lead this council, there were so many learning opportunities. We started off strong with a leadership retreat in order to connect with other members within the company. Through this, we were able to identify the principles and challenges these leaders face, helping us have a better idea on what the needs for the manual would be. Several leadership skills that will be included were taught in our Disciple Leader Conference. The rest of our time was spent helping other areas of the company with their tasks and events. This showed all of us that the best leaders are, in fact, the best followers.
Through trial and error, I learned many lessons from this experience:
- Leaders are the greatest team players – they encourage their team and help them expand their horizon and abilities.
- Leadership skills are ever-changing. Instead of getting so worked up on what principles to include, accepting the new ideas as they come will be more effective.
Overall, I’m so excited to see where this manual goes and how it influences our company as we continue to work on it!