“The key to success is surrounding yourself with people who are better than you are in their particular strengths – and not being threatened by it.” — Stephen R. Covey
“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” — Jim Collins
“Multipliers aren’t threatened by talent; they’re excited by it. They use it to make the whole team smarter.” — Liz Wiseman
Last week, I reflected on Failing Forward and how failure shaped both my leadership and my life. This week, I turn to another classic that didn’t just shape how I recover—it’s shaped how I lead: Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
This is not a summary of Covey’s book – you’ll find that in Part 1 of this series (https://joshuawathanga.com/what-i-learned-from-the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people/). Instead, I want to reflect on how these habits have shaped the way I build teams, steward influence, and choose character over charisma in leadership.
The Leadership Principle That Changed Everything
Early in my career, I discovered some profound leadership truths – first through intuition, but clearly God-ordained. Later I came to read about them in leadership books, including the ones quoted above. I’ve tried to practise these principles in every leadership role ranging from student ministry to international development. Two organisations where I spent 7–12 years – building and shaping teams, and in one case building the team entirely from scratch—offer clear illustrations.
Over time, I came to see that the best leaders are not threatened by talent. They actively seek out people who are more gifted than themselves in certain areas and create an environment where those gifts can flourish. This is not just a leadership style—it’s a mindset rooted in humility, trust, and an abundance mentality.
FOCUS Kenya: Building a Legacy Team
When I became General Secretary of the Fellowship of Christian Unions (FOCUS) Kenya at the age of 29, I had the incredible privilege of assembling a team from the ground up. And what a team it turned out to be:
- Bishop Dr. David Oginde – Bible Study Secretary
- Bishop Calisto Odede – Missions Secretary
- Dr. Oliver Kisaka – Evangelism Secretary
- Dr. Peterson Wang’ombe – Communications Secretary
- James Gatere – Administration Secretary
Looking back, it is humbling to realise that these men – each of whom has gone on to become a national leader in his own right – once served together in one small office, united by a shared mission. Identifying them when they were students and Christian Union leaders, recruiting, developing, and working with this team is easily one of the most treasured experiences of my ministry and leadership journey.
To this day, people ask me how I managed to recruit such an extraordinary group, many of whom are more gifted than I am. Is there a secret to developing such a team?
My first answer is always this: it was God’s calling on their lives. Like Ananias in Acts 9, I was simply a vessel, inviting them into a ministry they were already called to.
But my second answer—and the reason I’m writing this article—is that, yes, there is a secret to developing a team of that strength and synergy; it is actually a mindset – but the secret is out, as it is a tried and tested leadership principle, and it is what Covey calls the Abundance Mindset.
The Abundance Mindset in Practice
Covey’s Abundance Mindset is the belief that there is enough success, visibility, and credit to go around. Leaders who operate from scarcity feel threatened by talent; leaders who operate from abundance actively seek out and elevate those with exceptional gifts.
When we lead from abundance, we stop competing with our team and start building a bigger stage so multiple voices can be heard.
This principle is echoed by other great leadership thinkers:
- Jim Collins, in Good to Great, calls them Level 5 Leaders—people who combine personal humility with fierce resolve and are secure enough to give credit to others.
- Liz Wiseman, in Multipliers, shows that the best leaders intentionally hire and develop people smarter than themselves—because they know it multiplies the organisation’s capacity.
If there’s one takeaway from this article, it’s this: The best leaders are not intimidated by talent – they hire it, develop it, and let it shine.
Overcoming the Insecurity Trap
It’s surprisingly easy for team leaders to feel threatened by highly gifted staff. The insecurity whispers:
“What if they outshine me? What if people think they could do my job better?”
But here’s the truth: if you’re the ceiling of your team, your organisation will stagnate. When you intentionally bring in people who stretch your thinking, challenge your assumptions, and inspire you with their competence, everyone rises – including you.
Replicating the Principle: IFES
If you are new to this principle, you might ask, “if indeed this is an established leadership principle, is it replicable and have you achieved similar results anywhere else?
The answer is yes to both questions.
I applied the same principle during my 12 years (1995–2007) as Chief Administrative Officer and Associate General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), then headquartered in London and later Oxford, UK.
At IFES, I had the privilege of recruiting and working alongside remarkable colleagues. Among them was Tim Adams, now IFES General Secretary, who joined in 1998 as Promotion & Development Officer and later served as Head of Development and Chief Administrative Officer. Other senior staff included Kirsty Thorburn (then Special Assistant to the General Secretary, now Executive Officer to the Committees), Adrian White (Head of Finance and later Chief Administrative Officer), the recently late Frank Reedy (Head of Finance and Information Systems), Martin Groth (IT Systems Manager), and Chris East and his successor, Julia Cameron (Heads of Communications). Each brought unique skills and perspectives, and I leaned heavily on their expertise—valuing their input, seeking their counsel, and celebrating their successes.
I would not have had the confidence, freedom, or mandate to build such a team without the unwavering support of my boss, Lindsay Brown, the IFES General Secretary under whom I served. Lindsay was Multiplier #1—strategic in how he nurtured and positioned his senior team of Regional Secretaries, and me, and deeply intentional in inspiring and mentoring national leaders across IFES’ fellowship in over 160 countries. His leadership created the trust and space in which my team—and I—could thrive.
Covey’s Habits in Action
Three of Covey’s Public Victory habits shaped this approach:
🔹 Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Creating an environment where every team member benefits is not about compromise—it’s about shared value. When leaders are secure enough to celebrate others’ wins, trust deepens and collaboration flourishes.
🔹 Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
The most gifted people don’t need micromanaging—they need leaders who listen deeply and remove obstacles so they can thrive.
🔹 Habit 6: Synergize
True synergy is not just cooperation—it’s co-creation. It happens when different talents, perspectives, and experiences combine to produce solutions no single person could have developed alone.
Why This Matters Now
We are living in an era of leadership fatigue. From politics to the pulpit, headlines are full of moral and ethical failures. Charisma may fill auditoriums, but it cannot sustain movements.
Covey reminds us that leadership begins with character—private victories that enable public ones. That’s why hiring gifted people is not enough; you must also create a culture where integrity, humility, and service are non-negotiable.
As the psalmist wrote:
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Psalm 78:72)
Competence and character both matter—but character leads.
A Challenge to Leaders
If you’re building a team today, ask yourself:
- Am I secure enough to hire people more gifted than me?
- Do I measure my success by my own visibility—or by the collective success of my team?
- Am I building a platform for others to shine, or am I competing with them for the spotlight?
Your legacy as a leader will not be measured by how indispensable you made yourself—but by how well the people you led can carry on without you.
Final Word
Covey’s Public Victory habits—especially Think Win-Win and Synergize—remind us that leadership is not about guarding our position, but about multiplying our impact through others.
I’ve been blessed to see this principle bear fruit in my own journey— working in Kenya’s public service, FOCUS Kenya, IFES, World Vision International, Oxfam, VSF Belgium, and in consulting. And I remain convinced:
The true test of leadership is not how well you perform, but how well your team performs when you’re not in the room.
📢 Next in the Series:
Atomic Habits: What Small Choices Are Teaching Me About Big Change
Your Turn: I would really value your feedback!
- How do these lessons resonate with you?
- Have you ever worked under a leader who multiplied your gifts? How did it affect you? Let’s talk below.
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