Leaders push; it’s what they do. We aren’t content with the status quo and are always pushing to lead our teams and organizations to new levels. Simply put, leaders make gains, and when we don’t it hurts!

    I’ve made more gains personally and professionally this year than any other year before. I’m excited about what God is doing in my life and I don’t want it to stop! So here’s the question I’m asking: What causes leadership gains?

     Asking this question has helped me identify five keys to making leadership gains. This isn’t comprehensive, and I’m sure I’ve missed something, but these are the five things I’ve committed to doing to make leadership gains in life and ministry.

5 Ways to Make Leadership Gains

1) Challenge Yourself Everyday

Every time I walk into the gym for a workout, I see the same challenge. Painted in large letters on a prominent wall the words read: “Challenge yourself everyday.”

To make gains, you have to challenge yourself everyday. It’s true in the gym, and just as true in leadership. If you want to grow as a leader, you will have to challenge yourself. If you want to grow, you will have to challenge yourself.

Maybe you can figure out a way around it, but the only way I’ve found to make leadership gains is to challenge myself. A leader will either rise to a challenge or bow to complacency. So, which will you choose?

2) Set Goals

Making gains also comes from chasing goals. Tony Robinson puts it this way: “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” I’ve found this to be true in my own life. I make more gains and accomplish more when I set good goals!

Bo Jackson said it this way: “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” Goals are required to make lasting leadership gains.

It’s important to be intentional about setting goals. I have personal, professional, and family goals at all times. Not only do I have goals in all arenas of life, but I also make a point to write them down and track them. If I don’t look at my goals regularly I will forget them, and I rarely reach a goal when I don’t track it’s progress.

Here’s the deal with goals and leadership: You will never reach a goal you haven’t set. So if you want to make leadership gains, you’ve got to set goals!

3) Have a Plan

I’m a plan guy. And when I say that, I mean I have a plan A, B, & C for everything! From a week-long vacation to how I spend my morning, I usually have a plan for it. The problem is my wife’s idea of a plan is to decide in advance to fly by the seat of our pants.

The truth is we don’t always have to have a plan. Sometimes in life it’s more fun not to.

While this can be true when it comes to a day out with family, it’s a recipe for disaster when it comes to leadership! The people who make leadership gains are people with plans.

Having a plan is pivotal to making leadership gains. Leaders who plan are leaders who make progress, but leaders who fly by the seat of their pants never get out of their seat. If you want to make leadership and youth ministry gains, it’s important to make a plan to get there!

4) Evaluate Regularly

I mentioned earlier that I write my goals down. Part of reaching these goals and making gains is knowing where I stand with them at all times. I try to look closely at my goals and evaluate my progress at least once a month. Some more often that that. The reason is I’m more likely to reach a goal when I evaluate it regularly.

You see, what you evaluate will get better. Evaluating goals and progress helps us to know where we’re at and adjust course as necessary. If we never stop to evaluate and adjust course, we will likely fail to reach the destination we hoped for.

To make leadership gains, you’ll need to evaluate your work regularly.

5) Don’t Quit

Like football, life is a game of inches. Unfortunately, many people quit inches from realizing their dreams. Leaders can do this too if we’re not careful.

The best leaders I know are the ones that refuse to quit. No matter how hard things get or what obstacles they face, they keep pushing forward and fighting to reach their goals. On the other hand, leaders who quit lack grit.

Leadership is hard, but keep pushing and don’t quit. The best way to make gains and impact the most people is to press on. Keep going, keep moving forward, and make leadership gains!

     So where do you want to make leadership gains? Let me know in the comments below.