03/01/17

Not Enough Leaders???

We recently heard from one of our SpiritGroup Program Leaders who was challenged with lots of people wanting to join a SpiritGroup, but not enough people willing to lead a group.  What to do?

Here are are few ideas and some questions to sit with and ponder if you find yourself in this situation:

Ask Yourself:  Is your congregation more in "receivership mode" than "ownership mode"?

That’s where ours started (Unity Spiritual Center of Spokane, WA) when Jane and Gary Simmons joined us 2 years ago. They are moving us into the ownership direction. I suggest you read Dr. Gary’s blog “Unity Spiritual Center Update.” He’s been writing about our transition.

Ask Yourself:  Are potential new hosts lacking confidence in their abilities?

Is the bar very high or is there no expectation of folks taking leadership? Perhaps a focus on leadership development in your community would help.

Remind potential leaders that if they don't have a great meeting space, they can recruit someone who does to help them start the group. 

If you haven’t already, ask your current leaders their thoughts. What do they think the reason is people are holding back from stepping up to Hosting?

If you haven’t already, ask a few of those on the wait list why they aren’t hosting. Is it logistics? Is it desire? Is it fear? Etc.

My number one tip would be to enlist your current hosts to identify people in their groups as possible host. Have the current host invite those named to an informal gathering to learn more. Or have them invite that person to co-host with them for a series and be mentored. Pairing up often takes away the block.

Most of all remember:  The goal is not to find great leaders.  The goal is to cultivate great leaders. Create the systems to support the development of leaders at every stage, then you don't become dependent on hoping strong leaders will appear from the ethers.  (It's always nice when that happens, too, isn't it??)

Have other ideas for encouraging new leaders to step up?  Share them in our comments area below!