Knowledge

I believe everyone is a leader somewhere. It could be with your family, business, church, yourself, etc. Leaders are made, not born. So how are they made? The recipe is above. First ingredient is knowledge. But it is the smallest quantity needed. But it is important. There are many resources available to get the knowledge of being a leader. If you want a place to start, read any of John Maxwell’s books. “Leadership 101” is a good place to start. So get to studying.

Skills

This is taking your knowledge and applying it to life. To be a good leader, don’t wait till you are good. Start with whatever opportunity presents itself. Volunteer where you can. Start somewhere. No one ever made it to Major League Baseball without playing in school first. You won’t always lead right. It’s ok. Apologize if you need to. Analyze where you missed it. Make a plan to get better in that area and take another hit at the ball. Before long, your skill will get grow and get good. You need to practice your skills at least twice as much as you gain knowledge. The best way to get to be a leader is to practice!

Community

Proverbs 27:17 says we sharpen each other. You can’t be a leader or grow as a leader in isolation. A leader doesn’t come riding in like a knight on a white horse. We grow in leadership when we commit to a group of people where we do life together, make mistakes together, and allow others to speak into us. Community is at least 3 times more important in your development than just gaining knowledge. Who is your group?

Time

I encourage you to lead wherever you can, but realize it takes lots of time to become a good leader. You can’t learn some things from books.. One area this is true is in navigating relationships. It has to be lived out. So don’t get frustrated if things are taking time. Why? Because they take time. You cannot rush this ingredient while making the Leadership Recipe!