We’ve moved fay away from the brash, know-it-all, hard-driving leadership skillset into something very different
By Chet Gladkowski
Once upon a time, leadership looked and sounded like Boot Camp leadership. Lots of yelling, screaming, and intimidation. I clearly remember being totally embarrassed and humiliated by corporate leadership in public. By the way, I’ve also received the same kind of treatment in Christian leadership meetings too.
This kind of leadership was tolerated because the cost of change was just too high. It was painful to get up and leave an organization. Changing church memberships had a deep human cost in rebuilding lifelong relationships.
Not anymore. With the ability to pick up and move without leaving the comfort of your living room, many people are not sinking deep roots down into any organization. This includes the church and small groups. If a new web address is all they need to livestream a worship service or Small Group, why not move?
There have been leaders within the without the Christian community that have a reputation for pushing hard, no matter the cost to staff or the public. The results have been stained reputations and public rebuke. In some cases, these leaders were removed and sent packing.
But things are different now. Leadership is being redefined as softer, more people centric. More open and communicative. While these three leadership characteristics need to be learned and expanded across the board, they are especially important for Small Group leaders.
- First – Compassion. To have do more than just hear, but move empathy into action. Compassion needs to always lead to doing something yourself or engaging others in a compassionate act.
- Second – Learning. This is a continual state of learning more and more. With the pace of change accelerating all the time, we can never rest on our laurels. Small Group leaders need to be learners in order to stay in front of the changes experienced by their people.
- Third – Humility. As we listen, we can’t jump to conclusions that we have all the answers. We can’t cut people off with our answers. We need to wait and earn their respect so that they will actively listen when we do talk.
I think that as you read these three ideas, the words of Jesus might come to mind.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Mark 9:35 NIV
Leadership is all about leading. But how we do that leading can make all the difference in the world. For my money, Jesus’ model of leadership gets my vote on what to strive after.
NOTE: Some ideas for this article come from Ellyn Shook, the Chief Leadership and Human Resource Officer at consulting giant Accenture
