Great Leaders Develop Leaders

Most would say a leader's role is to lead others. Profound, I know.

But a leader's role is bigger than that. A leader's role is to develop others and call courage out of them. Yes, sometimes it's easier to just do it ourselves. But every time we choose doing over developing, we miss an opportunity to grow someone else. Eventually, we become the bottleneck—carrying too much, limiting the team, and making excellence harder to sustain.

This is where many “great doers” get stuck. They get things done. They work hard. They produce results. But being a great doer doesn't necessarily make you a great leader. Leadership requires us to stop measuring our value by how much we accomplish and start asking how well we are equipping others to accomplish what God has called them to do.

In Judges 4, Deborah was leading Israel as a prophet and judge when she reminded Barak of what God had commanded him to do. Barak hesitated. Actually, he was a little chicken. But he responds with, “If you go with me, I will go.” 

What an opportunity for Deborah to criticize his fear—or simply take over and do it herself. But she didn't. Deborah went with him. She strengthened him. She recognized his potential and helped him become courageous enough to step into what God had called him to do.

That's leadership.

Biblical leadership isn't about proving how much people need you. It's about equipping people to become all God intended them to be.

Great leaders don't just get things done. They develop people who can.