Next Generation Leader Quotes

“Don’t strive to be a well-rounded leader. Instead, discover your zone and stay there. Then delegate everything else.

Admitting a weakness is a sign of strength. Acknowledging weakness doesn’t make a leader less effective.

Everybody in your organization benefits when you delegate responsibilities that fall outside your core competency. Thoughtful delegation will allow someone else in your organization to shine. Your weakness is someone’s opportunity.

Leadership is not always about getting things done “right.” Leadership is about getting things done through other people.

The people who follow us are exactly where we have led them. If there is no one to whom we can delegate, it is our own fault.

As a leader, gifted by God to do a few things well, it is not right for you to attempt to do everything. Upgrade your performance by playing to your strengths and delegating your weaknesses.

There are many things I can do, but I have to narrow it down to the one thing I must do. The secret of concentration is elimination.

Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.

My competence in these areas defines my success as a pastor.

A sixty-hour workweek will not compensate for a poorly delivered sermon. People don’t show up on Sunday morning because I am a good pastor (leader, shepherd, counselor).

In my world, it is my communication skills that make the difference. So that is where I focus my time.

To develop a competent team, help the leaders in your organization discover their leadership competencies and delegate accordingly.

Once you step outside your zone, don’t attempt to lead. Follow.

The less you do, the more you will accomplish.

Only those leaders who act boldly in times of crisis and change are willingly followed.

Accepting the status quo is the equivalent of accepting a death sentence. Where there’s no progress, there’s no growth. If there’s no growth, there’s no life. Environments void of change are eventually void of life. So leaders find themselves in the precarious and often career-jeopardizing position of being the one to draw attention to the need for change. Consequently, courage is a nonnegotiable quality for the next generation leader.

The leader is the one who has the courage to act on what he sees.

A leader is someone who has the courage to say publicly what everybody else is whispering privately. It is not his insight that sets the leader apart from the crowd. It is his courage to act on what he sees, to speak up when everyone else is silent. Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside.

The first person to step out in a new direction is viewed as the leader. And being the first to step out requires courage. In this way, courage establishes leadership.

Leadership requires the courage to walk in the dark. The darkness is the uncertainty that always accompanies change. The mystery of whether or not a new enterprise will pan out. The reservation everyone initially feels when a new idea is introduced. The risk of being wrong.

Many who lack the courage to forge ahead alone yearn for someone to take the first step, to go first, to show the way. It could be argued that the dark provides the optimal context for leadership. After all, if the pathway to the future were well lit, it would be crowded.

Fear has kept many would-be leaders on the sidelines, while good opportunities paraded by. They didn’t lack insight. They lacked courage.

Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act.

Leadership is about moving boldly into the future in spite of uncertainty and risk.

You can’t lead without taking risk. You won’t take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“To ensure that we are leading with our feet firmly planted on the soil of what is, we must live by the seven commandments of current reality:

Thou shalt not pretend.
Though shalt not turn a blind eye.
Thou shalt not exaggerate.
Thou shalt not shoot the bearer of bad news.
Thou shalt not hide behind the numbers.
Thou shalt not ignore constructive criticism.
Thou shalt not isolate thyself.
Attempting to lead while turning a blind eye to reality is like treading water: It can only go on for so long, eventually you will sink. As a next generation leader, be willing to face the truth regardless of how painful it might be. And if you don’t like what you see, change it.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“The primary reason we do too much is that we have never taken the time to discover that portion of what we do that makes the biggest difference.”
― andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“Where there’s no progress, there’s no growth. If there’s no growth, there’s no life. Environments void of change are eventually void of life.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“Your talent and giftedness as a leader have the potential to take you farther than your character can sustain you. That ought to scare you.”
― andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“There is no necessary correlation between how busy you are and how productive you are. Being busy isn’t the same as being productive.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“The 80/20 Principle asserts that a minority of causes, inputs, or effort usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs, or rewards. Taken literally, this means that, for example, 80 percent of what you achieve in your job comes from 20 percent of the time spent. Thus for all practical purposes, four-fifths of the effort—a dominant part of it—is largely irrelevant.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“delegation—either to time or to other people.… Transferring responsibility to other skilled and trained people enables you to give your energies to other high-leverage activities. Delegation means growth, both for individuals and for organizations.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“But leadership is not always about getting things done “right.” Leadership is about getting things done through other people. Leaders miss opportunities to play to their strengths because they haven’t figured out that great leaders work through other leaders, who work through others. Leadership is about multiplying your efforts, which automatically multiplies your results.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“When you try to exercise authority within a department that is outside your core competencies, you will hinder everything and everyone under your watch. If you fail to distinguish between authority and competence, you will exert your influence in ways that damage projects and people. To put it bluntly, there are things you are responsible for that you should keep your nose out of.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“The problem was that somewhere along the way I had bought into the myth that a good leader has to be good at everything. So I operated under the assumption that I had to upgrade my weaknesses into strengths. After all, who would follow a leader who wasn’t well-rounded?”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. (Proverbs 1:5, NIV) The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15, NIV) Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22, NIV) Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. (Proverbs 19:20, NIV)”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“We have a tendency to measure ourselves against the people around us. They become our point of reference. A good coach will evaluate your performance against your potential.
…if we are wise enough to listen, they will help us go further, faster.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“Simply recognizing the need for change does not define leadership. The leader is the one who has the courage to act on what he sees…A leader is someone who has the courage to say publicly what everybody else is whispering privately. It is not his insight that sets the leader apart from the crowd. It is his courage to act on what he sees, to speak up when everyone else is silent.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future

“Often the reason we won’t say no is that we are afraid. We fear disappointing people. We fear being passed by. We fear missing out on a good opportunity. But at some point every leader must come to grips with the fact that there will always be more opportunities than there is time to pursue them. If we don’t choose our opportunities carefully, we will dilute our efforts in every endeavor. Refusing to say no eventually robs a leader of his ultimate opportunity—the opportunity to play to his strengths. Choose your opportunities carefully. Many opportunities are worth missing. Just say no.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“It’s been my experience that great leaders, in spite of a multitude of distractions, know how to keep things focused. They know how to inspire and motivate their followers to keep pushing “the main chance.” They don’t let side issues overwhelm them.17”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“THE COURAGE TO SAY NO Early in our development as leaders we assume that when opportunity knocks, we must answer the door and embrace whoever or whatever is standing there. But Mike Nappa was right when he wrote, “Opportunity does not equal obligation.”15 The ability to identify and focus on the few necessary things is a hallmark of great leadership. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins encourages business leaders to develop a “stop doing” list: Most of us lead busy but undisciplined lives. We have ever expanding “to do” lists, trying to build momentum by doing, doing, doing—and doing more. And it rarely works. Those who built the good-to-great companies, however, made as much use of “stop doing” lists as the “to do” lists. They displayed a remarkable discipline to unplug all sorts of extraneous junk.… They displayed remarkable courage to channel their resources into only one or a few arenas.16”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Beginning empty-handed and alone frightens the best of men. It also speaks volumes of just how confident they are that God is with them.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“The courage to dream always precedes the capital needed to finance the dream.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“As you develop your list, a little voice inside you will whisper, “It will take more than courage to pursue these ideas; it will take capital.” At that point you may be tempted to put down your pen and retreat to the safety and comfort of how things have always been done. But before you retreat to your tent, let me remind you of two things: Capital follows courage, and what always precedes how.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“As a next generation leader you already possess the talent and intuition necessary to lead. But chances are it is your courage that will establish you as a leader in the minds of others. To put it in perspective, try to identify a leader worth following who didn’t pop up on the public radar screen as a result of a decision or action that required courage.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“God had called and equipped David to lead. But it took an act of courage for that call to be recognized by the public.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Courage in a strategic moment can change the playing field dramatically.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“This goes right to the heart of leadership. Leaders instill courage in the hearts of those who follow. This rarely happens through words alone. It generally requires action. It goes back to what we said earlier: Somebody has to go first. By going first, the leader furnishes confidence to those who follow. In this way, leaders give permission.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Careful is cerebral; fearful is emotional. Careful is fueled by information; fearful is fueled by imagination. Careful calculates risk; fearful avoids risk. Careful wants to achieve success; fearful wants to avoid failure. Careful is concerned about progress; fearful is concerned about protection.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“As you evaluate your response to the risks involved in leadership, are you careful or fearful? Every next generation leader must wrestle this question to the ground. What you don’t know can hurt you. As a leader, what you don’t know can paralyze you. Are you consumed by thoughts such as these: What if it doesn’t work? What if I’m wrong? What will others think of me?”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Unfortunately, fear often disguises itself behind the mask of care. Fearful people often excuse their fear as caution. “I’m not afraid. I’m just being cautious.” “You can’t rush these things, you know.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Leaders understand the unique roles of confidence and caution. Courage requires both. David’s caution did not keep him from the battle, but neither did he allow his confidence to blind him to the need to select his stones with care.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader

“Leaders worth following are always careful. They are careful because they genuinely care for those who have chosen to follow. A leader who is careless will eventually be considered thoughtless by those who have entrusted their future to him.”
― Andy Stanley, Next Generation Leader