LEADERSHIP WHITEBOARD

The column "Leadership Whiteboard" provides a short visual leadership coaching moment. It introduces and explains a new sketch in each issue, provides leadership coaching for further development, and shares a leadership quote and recommended book.

Leaders Stretch Others

In the illustration above, a baseball player stands upright, catching a ball. How good would this player be if the coach always hit the ball right to where he was standing? A good coach, like a great leader, prompts the player to move and respond to a variety of hits. Better coaches make their players move more, but a great coach stretches the player to the limits of his or her ability, preparing the player to make an ESPN highlight play.

Leaders who stretch their followers instill a healthy sense of pride and accomplishment. If you keep hitting directly to them, it's the same as feeding them a perpetual diet of milk and not meat. The leader who starts with the basics and continues to increase difficulty teaches followers how to get better, stronger, and more effective. Never let your people say, “That’s too difficult” or “We can’t do that.” Teach them, lead them, and equip them not to sit still but to stretch or press toward the mark.

Recommended Book

His Excellency George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis

Leadership Quote

"I am always doing things that I can’t do. That is how I get to do them." —Pablo Picasso

About the Columnist: About the Writer: Ron Hunter Jr. has served as the director of Randall House for 14 years, and has led the organization into family ministry initiatives for the past 12 years.