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No matter what words they may use to describe this process, great leaders deliberately and consistently engage in CPR (Converse, Practice, Reinforce).

First, they taught their brethren the core doctrines related to watching over the Church. They engaged their brethren in discussions about the oath and covenant of the priesthood. They invited a couple of highly successful home teachers to bear testimony regarding the blessings of service and the assistance they had been privileged to render in their callings. They invited a single mother to share with the quorum how her home teachers had helped her dyslexic son with his reading program.

This Converse part of their leadership was not a one time event. It was an on-going process. At every opportunity, this quorum presidency taught and re-taught the value of giving and receiving excellent home teaching service.

Second, the quorum presidency was deliberate in their Practice related to excellent home teaching. In every possible way they modeled excellence. They did not “strut their stuff” or brag about their own performance, they simply carried out their duty quietly and faithfully. This faithful practice of excellence applied to everything they did.

Third, the quorum presidency was careful to Reinforce excellent behavior when they observed it in others. They took nobody for granted, and they freely and genuinely commended brethren who visited their assigned families, who delivered spiritual messages to their families, and who rendered other service. Their praise was not of the generic variety. It was situational and specific, such as “Brother Willis, that home teaching lesson you gave to the Palmer family was right on target. Brother Palmer said it really helped his children understand the law of the fast.”

Reinforcement for positive behavior is generally easy to accomplish. Even reinforcement for seemingly minor things has an effect, such as “It’s great to see you at priesthood today, Tom. And thanks for bringing your lesson manual. It really helps with our discussions.” A good leader constantly makes reinforcement a deliberate and natural part of his own leadership behavior.

Actually, some leaders inadvertently reinforce the negative. This is what happens when a quorum presidency gets frustrated with poor home teaching and goes out to perform someone else’s duty for them. Such filling in may be alright in an emergency, but as a general practice it is guaranteed to reinforce poor home teaching performance.

A better investment of energy is to consistently teach correct principles (Converse), model correct behaviors (Practice) and affirm excellent performance (Reinforce). CPR really can breathe life and vitality into your organization.

It will help you create an atmosphere of hope and encouragement with your people.

Reliance on the Spirit is critical to our success as leaders. The challenge is that many “leaders” in the Church seem to expect the Spirit to do it all. This book contains frequent references to the need for spirituality—it provides ideas on what the leader himself can and should do. President Spencer W. Kimball himself counseled us to be more “professional” in our leadership service.

…we enjoy life when we have the ability to praise others for their good works. George Matthew Adams said: "He who praises another, enriches himself more than he does the one praised. To praise is an investment in happiness. The poorest human being has something to give that the richest cannot buy." – Howard W. Hunter

How often do you and I also give what the scriptures call the “garment of praise” (Isa. 61:3)? The “garment of praise” is often more desperately needed than the physical cloak. In any case, as we all know, these needs are all around us, every day. There are so many ways we can “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). – Neal A. Maxwell

Note: The excerpts of Leadership for Saints posted on Meridian are only a fraction of the contents of this 349-page book. To learn more about this ground-breaking book and to order copies, click here.

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