Bob Bumgarner
The two-day Illinois Leadership Summit kicked off January 26 with nearly 250 leaders from around the state filling the IBSA Building in Springfield.
Keynote speaker Bob Bumgarner led participants through the first two phases of IBSA’s four-phase leadership development process: leading self, leading followers, leading leaders, and leading the organization. Bumgarner, a leadership expert, is executive pastor of Chets Creek Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida.
He shared that character is the focus of leadership development. “Leading myself is a growing self-awareness of who I am, what my strengths are and where I am headed coupled with the character, commitment, and competence required to get there.”
More simply, he said, “We have to understand that before we can lead others well, we have to learn to lead ourselves.”
Bumgarner shared, “When we develop our heart we are accepting our assignment. The goal for personal responsibility is accepting responsibility for our actions when we lead… We don’t do that because it’s our job, we do that because it’s our calling.”
Stressing the importance of good leadership, Bumgarner noted, “Our impact on the people we lead either makes them better or worse.”
The job of the leader is to help the people your leading see and shape the future. “These are people who said I will trust and follow you,” he said. “What do you really want to accomplish? Until you tell them what you want to accomplish, they don’t know how to contribute.”
The Illinois Leadership Summit is part of IBSA’s ongoing leadership development plan. The conference features 27 speakers in 32 breakout sessions, including some Illinois pastors sharing experiences from their churches.
The Summit continues January 27. For coverage of the event, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. #ILS16
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