Identifying Catalyzing Leaders

Following up on yesterday's post, Alan Nelson, former editor at Rev! magazine and now a leadership development consultant, says the primary reason that churches find themselves stuck is because they’ve marginalized or run off their catalyzing leaders. These are the people who have the God-given ability to sense where organizations are stuck and are able to strategize ways to move them forward. So how do you find these types of leaders? For the full article, read this post. Here's a quick look:

Here are 5 traits for identify catalyzing leaders:

1. They currently supervise at least 10 people in their work; 20 or more is even better.
2. Interview the person and listen for past experience in terms of being in charge of clubs or groups.
3. They’ve successfully established ministry teams at church. When you give a catalyzing leader a task, he or she will round up a group of people and "git r done".
4. They’re talked about when absent or are looked to when in a group.
5. Look at those in your church who get things outside of the church. Catalyzing leaders can’t not lead.

You may find one or two of these indicators in people who aren’t catalyzing leaders, but most catalyzing leaders will have at least four of them, if not all five. When you ID them positively, do your best to cast a personal vision. Better yet, find three or four of them and get them all together at one time. They’ll recognize the trait in each other and when they realize they’re not alone in the church, they’re more apt to hope things really can change. Then, turn them loose, and watch what happens.