Your Team Isn’t the Problem. Your Development Process Is

Developing people rarely happens by accident. Well, I should correct that statement. The people who work for you, who are in your family, who are on your team - they are developing, whether you're being intentional about that development or not.

That ought to frighten you. It frightens me.

When you are responsible for developing people, you have to know that it takes clarity, patience, and a process that invites someone to grow step by step. It doesn't always have to be super organized. In fact, most development happens on the way in organic and unplanned ways. Still, as leaders, we need to learn to be present for those opportunities and moments and then be intentional in those moments.

Listen, the team you have is not the problem. Your development process is. For me, it helps to have a framework of thinking for development. Otherwise, I get so busy that I just tell people what to do and never really get to training people to lead (read everything in bold again). We have to train people to lead and spread the weight of leadership towards more effective work. A framework keeps me focused on the multiplication of leadership.

Dave Ferguson, co-founder and president of the Exponential Network, offers a simple but oh-so-helpful framework that captures this journey. In the Vineyard, we call it the Training Loop:

I do, you watch, we talk.

I do, you help, we talk.

You do, I help, we talk.

You do, I watch, we talk.

You do, someone else watches.

Here is how it works.

The first movement is "I do, you watch, we talk." This movement sets the foundation. The learner gets to observe without pressure, taking in not only what is done but how it’s done. The conversation afterward turns the observation into insight, making the implicit explicit.

Next comes "I do, you help, we talk." Here the responsibility begins to shift. The learner steps into the process in small ways, gaining confidence while still having a clear guide leading the way. Reflection afterward surfaces what felt natural and what still feels unfamiliar. In this process, the leader should encourage questions and be intentional about explaing the "why" behind the "what we just did."

The third step is "You do, I help, we talk." This is where real growth becomes visible. The learner now takes primary ownership, with the mentor nearby to steady the process. The follow-up conversation helps sharpen instincts and correct small missteps early. In this process, time, vision, grace, encouragement, and affirmation are super necesssary for the learner to keep at it.

Then comes "You do, I watch, we talk." At this stage, the learner is effectively leading while the mentor steps back. The task becomes a proving ground for independence, and the dialogue afterward focuses on refinement rather than instruction. In this process, it is critical to continue to offer more questions, less answers, more encouragment, and more time, vision and grace.

Finally - "You do, someone else watches." During this stage, the baton has been handed from leader to the learner. The person who was once guided now becomes the guide, passing on what they’ve learned and multiplying the impact.

In this process, you are their cheerleader, you continue to offer vision, and encourage giftdeness and personality.

We have found that this framework works. It works because it’s relational, repeatable, and rooted in real practice. It's not always clean. It rarely is. It's not always easy. It rarely is. That said, It turns development into a shared journey that intentional, manageable, and ultimately transformational.

In closing, remember these words.

"Multipliers get more from their people because they are leaders who look beyond their own genius and focus their energy on extracting and extending the genius of others." - Liz Wiseman

Praying this adds value to you as you add value to those you are leading. ~ Paul