Most of the time, when the topic of leadership is brought up, we tend to immediately begin talking about how to lead “doers.” By doer I simply mean the people that are there to do a job. They signed up to volunteer in your ministry. You hired them to work in a specific department. They are on your team and are expected to carry out tasks. They are doers.
This is in contrast to leaders. And, if you are in leadership for any length of time, there will probably come a time when you will need to lead other leaders. Leading other leaders is, in many ways, different than leading doers. Leaders expect you to interact with them differently. In fact, I’ve found five truths that I believe all leaders who lead other leaders need to understand.
1. Leaders need resources. This includes money, equipment and people. Nothing will frustrate a leader faster than firing them up with a compelling vision and then not equipping them with resources to accomplish the vision. Leaders are goal-driven and the most important thing to them is reaching the finish line—without resources, you’re making it impossible for them to get there.
2. Leaders need the vision. Although leaders are typically good at vision-casting, when you’re leading them, they need to know and buy in to your vision. From that, they will then inspire the team they lead, but it needs to be aligned with your vision Asking them to lead something and not connecting it to a larger vision can seem like busy work or insignificant work and could lead to burnout for that leader and those that he/she leads.
3. Leaders need space. Micro-management does not work for leaders. When you’re leading a leader, you should give them the vision and the goal and then get out of the way for them to take the team that they’re leading toward that bulls-eye. Constant looking over the shoulder of a leader or stepping in too often to give unneeded input and direction will push the leader to question why they are even needed. Often, I’ve found that when leaders that I lead are given the space to lead, they come up with ideas I never would have and reach the goal better/quicker/more creatively than I ever could have myself.
