Foundations for Lifting Leader Vitality

Over the last several months, we have looked at the competencies required for a mentor, supervisor or coach to lift the vitality of the leaders around them. Now it’s time to wrap up this series and recap what we have covered! 

There are foundational competencies needed to be an effective mentor. Mentors need to have a degree of health themselves; mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, to lift the people around them. We have divided these competencies into three categories: Mature Discipleship, Seasoned Christian Leadership and Healthy Lifestyle. 

Here is a reminder of each foundational competency and its behavioural expressions:

Mature Disciple: Committed to being transformed into the image of Christ and obedience to the Greatest Commandments and Great Commission.

• Loves God with wholehearted intentionality
• Leans into humility and adopts a posture of learning 
• Applies scripture to daily life 
• Believes in the power of prayer 
• Gives time, treasure and talent generously
• Fosters relationships with people who don’t yet know Christ
• Makes disciples who make disciples 

Seasoned Christian Leadership: Guiding others to follow Christ as one instructs them in scripture and imitates Christ.  

• Holds a full understanding of the challenges of Christian leadership 
• Practises actively listening to the Holy Spirit 
• Acts on Spirit-provided discernment 
• Actively applies the Word of God to their own life and encourages others to do the same 
• Develops leaders who develop leaders 
• Loves and supports the Church

Healthy Lifestyle: Prioritising physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

• Engages routinely in self-care practices
• Has a personal mentor/supervisor 
• Keeps healthy boundaries 
• Establishes a work-life/personal life balance  
• Practices spiritual disciplines
• Develops self-awareness

For those on the path to becoming a mentor, supervisor or coach, the journey walked so far is as important as the journey that still remains. I like to affirm what has helped them to mature, to gain wisdom and experience, to be healthy, including the mistakes which shape us into who we are. This is how we grow seasoned. When looking forward, we must put our trust in Christ and commit ourselves to being transformed into His image. When we intentionally take up our cross and follow Jesus, we will achieve so much more than we can alone. We must also trust in God’s love; that He wants us to be healthy and happy, and that caring for ourselves is essential leadership, because it allows us to better care for others.  

Matthew 16:24-26

New Living Translation

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

What’s next:

Verve Lead is offering a growth track class, Essentials for Sustaining Leaders’ Vitality. This class combines one-on-one mentoring, webinar cohorts and practice pods and provides a space to connect with peers in a learning environment.

A result of this Track will be a personalised development plan that will raise your mentoring competence and effectiveness.

Register your intentions here:   https://vervelead.com/mentor-growth-track/mentor-essentials/