Evolve is about growing our leadership skills. This happens at the personal level (am I getting better at leading?) and at an organisational level (are we, as a leadership team, getting better at leading?) To grow we need to have a fairly clear idea of what good leadership looks like. Then we improve by regularly evaluating ourselves against that ideal, making changes as we go. Good input (books, podcasts, peers and mentors) is critical.
Questions that we might ask monthly, or at least quarterly, could be along the lines of:
Embody
- Am I living out the character of Christ?
- Am I still passionate about the vision that I am calling my people to? Do I still really want it or am I just going through the motions?
Envision, Enable, Embrace
- As a leadership team, are we covering Envision, Enable and Embrace?
Envision
- Is our vision still what it ought to be?
- Do our people see the vision clearly or has it been lost in the fog and friction of the daily grind?
Enable
- Have we delegated activity or are we hoarding it?
- Do people clearly know what they should be doing?
- Are they suitably skilled to do what they’ve been assigned?
- Are they getting it done?
- Are we training up others to replace ourselves and those in action now?
Embrace
- How are our people doing within themselves?
- What is the general feeling in the organisation?
As a leader you need to ask yourself these questions. But leadership is a team effort, and you should ask them as a team also. You would also do well to hear from others outside the leadership team.
Some of the answers to these questions will be gratifying. Some less so. You will need to fix the problems, but you must also fix the systems and processes that give rise to the problems.
Embody, Envision, Enable and Embrace are working out your leadership. Evolve is working on your leadership and the leadership processes and structures you have in place. As you constantly evaluate and refine your leadership, you and your organisation will mature and grow.