Entrepreneur: 3 questions to ask about your leadership wake

www.biblicalleadership.com | By Ben Marshall — Pastor of Student Ministries , Pathway Church image credit: istock

As you grew up, your parents (or lack of) shaped your understanding of motherhood and fatherhood. Your teachers and mentors shaped your understanding of education. Your coaches shaped your understanding of athletics and competition.

Similarly, the leaders in your world shaped your understanding of leadership. This could have been local leaders from your church, school, employer, or even your mayor. This could have been larger leadership roles like those in more national politics or the leader of our country. Whatever time and era you grew up in shaped your understanding of leadership.

These personal examples were influential, certainly, but so, too, is the content you consumed on your leadership journey. You read books, took classes, and learned lessons on the job of what leadership is, how to lead well, the power of good leaders, and the negative power of bad leaders.

As you reflect back, what are some of the early lessons you remember from your leadership journey? Who is one leader that sticks out as an example of the kind of leader you one day hoped to become? Side note: if they are still living, consider sending them a letter or an email or give them a phone call to thank them and tell them they are one of your leadership influences! On the other end of the spectrum, who is one leader that sticks out as an example of the exact kind of leader you one day never hope to become?

Now, take a moment and think of the present and the future.You are leaving a leadership legacy.One day someone will look back at your leadership influence and make a determination: they want to become like you as a leader, or they want to become the opposite of who you are as a leader. That’s sort of an intimidating realization. But it’s the reality of being a leader.

One term I want to define before we get into these three items is the term “leadership wake.” The word “wake” refers to the “v-shaped wave created by the displacement of the boat as it passes through the water.” There is no wake, no displacement of water, if the boat is still.

Similarly with leadership, there is no leadership wake if you are not headed anywhere.

A leadership wake refers to the impact of those around you as your leadership moves forward.

What kind of leadership wake are you leaving? Here are three items to consider:

Whose leadership wake are you following, and where is it taking you?

We become like those we follow. What kind of leaders are you following and listening to? These become key influences in your leadership development and will impact you more deeply than you will notice at first. Over time, you’ll become like the leaders you respect and follow.

Who are you bringing along on the journey with you?

We make leadership investments as we share our leadership journey with others and mentor them along the way. We share part of our leadership heart as we invite others into what we are doing and where we are going. Who are the ones you’re building into, those next-generation leaders you’re bringing along with you who will follow in your leadership wake?

Write out your desired legacy as a leader, then take some time to reflect on it.

Is your desired legacy in line with the current trajectory of your leadership wake? If not, what changes can you make today to change your trajectory? If so, how can you continue moving forward and growing as a leader?