There’s more to leading other leaders in the church than “vision-casting” or playing cheerleader. There are practical steps every senior leader can take to directly contribute to the success of the leaders they lead.
Avoid starting with a mistake …
One of the most common failures many senior leaders make in their leadership of other leaders is launching a person into their leadership role without an adequate orientation to their new position, which is a perfect way to get off to a bad start.
Here are five steps a senior leader can take to get the leaders they lead off to a good start via an orientation process:
1. Clearly define the “organizational” mission and vision. The mission of the church, as provided directly by Jesus Christ, is to make disciples; the vision of church leadership is how that local church body will go about executing that mission. That can vary among local church bodies, and new leaders need to understand exactly what the vision of the church as a whole is so they can understand their part in helping to achieve it.
2. Assure the new leader’s vision is in alignment with the mission and vision of the church. It’s not enough to communicate what the mission and vision of the church is. Senior leaders need to ensure the new leaders they bring aboard have a vision for their area of ministry that is in alignment with the mission and vision of the church they are coming into. This seems like a “given,” but many senior leaders only assume this about other leaders, only to later discover the new leader has a vision of ministry that doesn’t fit with what the larger church body is pursuing.
3. Set parameters. Every leader needs the freedom to lead their area of ministry. But each ministry has its own parameters, and the new leader needs to understand what they are. A leader needs to know the perimeter of their area of responsibility, how far they can go, where they can expand, and where to stop. Senior leaders who fail to set parameters when orienting new leaders often have a new leader they later have to rein in.
