Seven Steps to Empowering the Next Generation of Leaders and Entrepreneurs

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

Do you understand what it takes to empower the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs? How can you guide your successors to realize their full potential?

• The Harvard Business Review reveals that 70% of family-owned business only last for one generation, that means only 3 out of 10 businesses make it beyond the first generation.
• Forbes magazine states that 50% do not survive the transition from second to the third generation.
• The Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University says that the nonprofit sector faces a crisis as the current crop of baby boomers who are in leadership positions prepare to exit the workforce.
• There is another study that reveals how corporate America is facing two huge problems. Baby boomers are retiring, leaving the biggest leadership gap in history and the new generation is unequipped to take over. They lack the skills to collaborate, build relationships, take risks, work well as a team, communicate effectively, and think strategically.

All these studies point us towards an indisputable fact, that there is a dire need to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders. There is a need to empower them not just with hard skills, emotional intelligence and opportunities but with skills like spiritual discipleship as well.

It is easy to assume that these findings may not necessarily resonate with Christian youths, yet there are studies that show how 85 percent of youth from Christian homes attending public schools do not hold a biblical worldview. What’s more alarming is that 80 million twenty-somethings who were active churchgoers as teenagers will no longer be active in church by their 30th birthdays. Not only does this create a threat to the preservation of our values but also a threat to the positive influence of Christianity in the world.

To empower means to give someone a decision or power to do something. It also means to enable or grant someone the ability to realize their full potentials. Here are 7 steps to empowering the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs to take over their family business, to step into senior leadership positions and to be the salt and light in the marketplace.

1. They must own their faith – 2 Timothy 1:13
   They can not just believe what their parents taught them or believe in the God of their parents, but they must discover their own faith and build a personal relationship with God themselves.
2. They must know their identity – Daniel 1:19
   Identity is key. Their identity must not be in what they do or how others perceive them but who they are in Christ. They must discover who God created them to be.
3. They must be about their father’s business – Luke 2:49
   Aside from identity they must know their calling. Identity gives you freedom but calling gives you a sense of significance. They should identify the unique reason that God created them to accomplish.
4. They must go through their own struggle – Daniel 6:16
   Greatness is discovered in the midst of struggle. Being allowed to face disappointments and failure is essential to become all that God has called us to be. Struggle shapes character and leads to greatness.
5. They must have hard skills – 1 Samuel 17:34-35
   Having a clear competency is key to success. Without hard skills we are not able to deliver on professional commitments.
6. They must be risk takers – 1 Samuel 17:32
   Without risks, we can not discover our full potential. Like a toddler who learns to walk by falling on the ground a few times or the bird that learns to fly by risking not being able to hold on to the wind beneath its wings, risk-taking takes us places we never thought existed and enables us to achieve things we never thought possible.
7. You must model what you want them to become – 2 Timothy 3:10-11
   At the end of the day we must be what we want them to become. Talk is cheap, people learn more from what we do then from what we say. We must set an example of service, hard work, humility and selflessness. As the saying goes, “what you do speaks so loudly that they can not hear what you say”.

Whether you lead a family business and you are looking to transition it to the next generation, or if you are a manager looking to raise up a successor or even if you are young entrepreneur or leader hoping for your next break. These 7 steps will guide you in empowering yourself and others to realizing their full potential.

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the grace to live out your fullest potential or help others realize theirs as you work to empower the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.