In today’s culture leaders need navigational tools to guide you (and your organization) from where you are today to where God is calling you to go. This oftentimes means the learning of new skills. Many however, attempt to rely on past experiences. While learning from past experiences is beneficial, yesterday’s skills alone will not serve you fruitfully into tomorrow’s needs. In our everchanging culture, continued learning for an adaptive skillset is advantageous. This not only applies to leaders, but this is also another principle that applies to every man, woman, and child.

We are no longer in the industrial age. During the industrial age leadership mainly consisted of showing people “how to do”. How to perform a certain job, how to run a certain machine, how to type on a typewriter, how to cook a particular meal. The industrial age is now decades behind us.

Today’s leaders and the leaders of tomorrow need to be, “how to be” leaders, not “how to do” leaders. People today are quite capable of self-navigation as long as we are asking the right questions. I have written in books and in several articles that I believe we are not asking the right questions. As long as we’re not asking the right questions, we will never get to the correct answers. Therefore, our people, our organizations cannot be the fruitful vessels God created them to be.

Yet, we are still operating out of a “how to do” mentality. Perhaps the biggest question leaders in every industry and organization (including the church) continually ask themselves begins, “How do we get them to…” This is an industrial age question. Perhaps a better type question to ask in this post-modern culture is more about me (the leader) and my approach to leading for top potential from all in my organization (even in my family).

Let me pose the following type question for effective, fruitful leadership in today’s culture. “What is within my power to encourage and equip others to reach for their full potential in this organization?” While this question is posed to the leader, the results will move the leader to higher skillset and pave the higher skillset pathway for each person within the organization. This question focuses on “how to be” instead of “how to do”. How can you be a better leader, guiding and assisting those in your charge to reach for his/her potential. You are helping him/her to BE who God created them to be.

I do realize that the “How to do” will always be part of leadership, yet it should not be our focus as leaders.

Leadership should not be focused on how to do, rather on how to be…all that God created each individual to be.  What will you do this week to transform yourself into a “How to be” leader? Plan your first steps today.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.