Deuteronomy 3:28
“But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.”
Admit it, you are not going to be in your place of leadership forever. Some will move on to other positions, and some may lose position because they will go to Heaven. It is a natural thing for leadership to change. It is going to change, and because of that it is important that the present leader prepares the next leader for that position.
Leadership comes in all forms. Seniors in high school and college are leaders. Parents and grandparents are leaders. Pastors, Sunday school teachers and ministry workers are all leaders. In the workplace you have the owner, manager, and supervisor who are all leaders. In every walk of life there are leaders. It is important that each leader understands their role and the importance of preparing the next leader to fill their position when they are gone.
God helped Moses understand this all-important truth. God told Moses that Joshua was going to be the next leader, and that he needed to prepare him for when he would take the children of Israel into the Promised Land. There are five principles God taught Moses so that he could prepare Joshua as the next leader. Those five principles are very important in preparing the next leader.
First, give the next leader some honor. In preparing the people for Joshua’s leadership, God told Moses in Numbers 27:20, “And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.” It is important that you let others know that the next leader has your blessing. Many followers will look up to you, and you can help the next leader avoid the bickering if you will put your blessing on the next leader.
Second, don’t give blanket honor. Notice God said, “some of thine honour.” In other words, God wanted Joshua to earn the honor of the people. It is very dangerous to give a new leader blanket honor. They should earn that right like every other leader.
Third, be an encouragement to the next leader. God said in the verse above to “encourage him.” Let the next leader know that you believe they can do it. They are nervous enough about whether they can actually fulfill the duties of that position properly, so you can help take off some of the pressure by letting them know you believe in them.
Fourth, strengthen them. Again, God told Moses to “strengthen” Joshua. It is sad when a leader moves on that he weakens the next leader by meddling in a place in which he no longer leads. Be careful about second-guessing the next leader. Don’t alway give your opinion. Learn to let the next leader learn from their mistakes. You made mistakes as a leader, and so will they. Don’t meddle with the next leader by telling your former followers that you wouldn’t do things like the current leader. Instead of weakening them, strengthen them.
Fifth, rejoice in their victories. God told Moses what Joshua was going to do, and that pleased him. When the next leader has victories, don’t let jealousy cause you to minimize their victories. Rejoice that God is using them to continue the work in which you had a part.
I have watched leaders, who had to move on, destroy their works because they didn’t want others to succeed where they succeeded. This is foolish, selfish and downright evil. Don’t be a leader like this. Instead, help prepare the next leader by following these five steps. Nothing will validate your leadership more than to see the next leader succeed in the place you used to lead.