Week 11:-: If you want to go far...

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor..." Ecclesiastes 4:9

Objectives:

Understand the role of a solid inner circle

Discover how to select/build a strong inner circle

Evaluate your current inner circle in the light of your mission.

Congratulations for making it through to the mid-point in your training. We hope you have been experiencing as much impact as we have, serving you! While a great majority of lessons in the the first half of this training mostly focused on personal leadership as a servant leader, the next half will continue to build on this foundation to develop your skills as an effective servant leader.

Introduction

You probably know the following African proverb:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far,go together.” —African Proverb

Watch and comment

All leaders need a strong inner circle that can help propel them beyond their natural limitations. Maxwell has this to say, “ a leader's potential, is determined by those in his/her inner circle”. This week, we will be looking at the importance of a solid inner circle and how to build one. Moses is known in history as a great leader who led the Israelites out of Egypt through really tough times in the desert. In Exodus 17, Moses is observing the Israelites fight against the Amalekites from the mountain. With him are two men ( Hur and Aaaron), from his inner circle. As long as Moses' hands stay up, the Israelites win.At some point however, Moses becomes really tired and drops his hands. The Amalekites at once start having an upper hand in the battle. Hur and Aaron then looked for a large rock and have Moses sit. They both position themselves at Moses side (one to the left and the other to the right) and lift up Moses' hands. The Israelites went on to win the battle. Imagine what could have happened if Moses was all alone.

Those closest to you will indeed determine your potential as a leader! You may not be able to determine who brings you into this world but you definitely have the power to determine who walks with you. One of the first things we see Jesus do in His 3 year ministry is to pick the men he wanted to work closely with. After spending a night in prayer ( Luke 6:12-13), he picked 12 disciples and out of the 12 he had 3 ( Pater James and John), who became the core of His inner circle. The Bible indicates that He picked them (all 12) to be with Him ( they got to watch and learn) so that he may send them out to preach and have authority over demons ( execute the mission). Jesus was thinking long term. Are you?

Why do I need a solid inner circle?

In addition to what we have seen above, the benefits of having a strong inner circle include:

1. Fellowship and learning. Every leader needs a few people he/she can build a good relationship with. They can share intimate mission related and personal details not necessarily meant for the larger group and pray together as a team.
2. Continuity. A strong inner circle will help ensure continuity. If the principal leader is not available, someone who has intimate knowledge of the vision will be available to run with it. How any businesses do you know that collapsed as soon as the founder died?
3. Strength. Your corporate collective strength as a close team, is greater than your individual strength. Collectively, you are wiser, more experienced, more talented than any individual. Jesus never owned a media organization but He is known all around the world. A few men who knew the mission kept it alive and passed on the torch to others in their inner circle. We earlier also saw how Hur and Aaron helped Moses maintain a winning posture even though he was physically exhausted.
4. Mutual accountability. We saw (during the session on integrity) that leaders are not exonerated from temptations and many have lost their ability to influence as a result of compromise. One of the ways of effectively fighting issues that seek to bring down your integrity as a servant leader, is to determine to hold each other accountable in your inner circle.
5. Go further. I enjoy collective sports. When you work with others you can push yourself further than when you strive alone. A strong inner circle will help you go further either as an organization or family.
6. Mission focused. One thing a strong mission minded inner circle will do is that they will help keep the organization/family on the right path. The principal leader may become distracted due to personal preferences but a strong inner circle will help steer him/her back in the right direction.
7. Learning and Growth. A strong inner circle can serve as a mentor-ship opportunity for members to learn and grow in all dimensions. An individually who is spiritually strong will be able for example to lift up the other members in his/her inner circle through his leadership.

How to build a solid inner circle:

In addition to knowing the benefits of having a strong inner circle, we need to take practical steps towards building a solid inner circles. We can learn from the master:

1. Clearly define the roles that you need to complement your abilities as a leader/team.
2. Pray as if everything depended on prayers alone. Jesus took a whole night to pray prior to selecting His disciples ( Luke 6: 12-13).
3. Share the mission, visions, values and goals of the organization with those you have selected.
4. Create an atmosphere of equality. Why do you think those who came to arrest Jesus where not able to tell the difference between Him and His disciples?
5. Recognize the gifts of each member and be open to receiving feedback.
6. Be the example of what you would like to see in your team.
7. Play ( have moments of rest and renewal), Plan (work on projects together) and Pray together.

The people you have in your inner circle can either make or break your team. Do you currently have the right people in your inner circle? Let us evaluate how well you are doing and work on building a strong inner circle.

Week 11 Assignment

1. Do you have an inner circle? Review the reasons why you need a solid inner circle. If you do not have an inner circle, go ahead and draw up a plan for building one. You can reach out to your mentor to help pray with you for guidance.
2. Write the names of at most 5 people who are currently part of your inner circle and the different gifts they are bringing to the organization.
3. Are they all aware of the Mission, visions and goals of the organization?
4. Do they feel free about sharing their opinions about how you run the organization, manage finances and make decisions?
5. When was the last time you prayed together?
6. Are all the members in your inner circle helping the organization achieve its objectives?
7. Did you take time to pray before selecting the members in your inner circle?
8. What changes do you plan to make as a result of what you have learned?
9. Write a brief summary of what you learned this week and explain why it is important for all leaders. Post on your blog and share the link in your group.