Developing Your Team: Watering and Fertilizing for Flourishing
- Enterprise Stewardship
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” - Psalm 1:3
After decades of leading businesses, we’ve learned this truth the hard way: your legacy is carried by people, not products.
Your team members are not line items on a payroll. They are image-bearers of God, entrusted to your care for a season. And if you want your business to flourish beyond your leadership, you must invest in their growth with the same intentionality you apply to strategy, operations, and cash.
At Enterprise Stewardship, we call this discipline Watering and Fertilizing—the purposeful development of people so they can become who God created them to be, both personally and professionally.
Why Team Development Matters: Sowing With Eternity in Mind
We don’t develop people simply to increase productivity (though that is often the result). We develop people because it is an act of stewardship.
When people grow, businesses grow. When people flourish, culture flourishes. When people are equipped and cared for, families, customers, and communities benefit.
We’ve seen it firsthand: what you sow into your people multiplies far beyond your balance sheet.
Team development is not an expense to be minimized. It is an investment with both temporal returns and eternal impact.
Personal Development: Cultivating Character and Commitment
Two leadership traits matter more than almost any others: Character and Commitment. Neither can be demanded. Both must be nurtured.
That’s why we take an input-based approach to personal development. We don’t try to manufacture outcomes or measure heart change. That belongs to God. Our responsibility is to create an environment where growth is possible.
At Enterprise Stewardship, we provide team members access to meaningful development opportunities, including:
Leadership and personal growth resources through CIII University
Extensive online learning content
Small-group learning cohorts
Wellness programs with incentives
Higher education assistance
Access to coaching, counseling, and chaplaincy support
These opportunities are offered, not forced. But every team member is expected to invest at least two paid hours per quarter in personal development.
What do we measure? Not transformation, but participation. We trust God to bring the growth.
Professional Development: Strengthening Competence and Connection
If personal development shapes the heart, professional development sharpens the hands.
Strong businesses intentionally build Competence (the skills required to excel) and Connection (the relational capacity to lead, collaborate, and solve problems well).
Depending on role and responsibility, development may include:
Technical certifications
Role-specific training
Industry education and seminars
Peer mentoring and cross-training
When leaders fail to invest in professional growth, they unknowingly place a ceiling on the organization. When they do invest, they unlock innovation, ownership, and long-term capacity.
Pruning: The Transformational Power of Coaching
“Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” - John 15:2
Pruning is uncomfortable, but it is essential.
In leadership, pruning means lovingly addressing the habits, mindsets, or behaviors that limit effectiveness. This is where coaching becomes indispensable.
Every team member deserves clarity around three questions:
What am I responsible for? Clear roles, expectations, and success metrics.
How am I doing? Honest, timely, data-informed feedback.
Will you help me grow? Coaching that balances accountability with grace.
When leaders consistently answer “yes” to that third question, cultures become resilient, trust deepens, and performance follows.
Team Development Is Gospel Work
Developing people is not a side initiative. It is one of the most tangible ways the Gospel shows up in business.
When you invest in your team, you honor your promises. You love your neighbor. You steward influence wisely.
Your business is a vineyard. Your people are the plants.
Keep watering. Keep fertilizing. Keep pruning with care.
And trust God with the harvest.
Take the Next Step
If you want to strengthen the foundation of your leadership team and bring greater clarity to how you lead:
Register for the High Impact Workshop on Navigation
📍 Wichita | February 5–6
Two focused days to clarify purpose, priorities, and direction together as a leadership team.
Take the High Impact Business Assessment
Gain clear insight into how aligned your business is across Navigation, Strategy, Culture, and Cash. Identify the most important next step toward long-term flourishing. Your people are worth the investment. Take the assessment.
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