The next leadership style to sample from the leadership buffet is the strategic pastoral leader. At first glance, this may sound perfect for your church, especially in the eyes of congregation members who work as executives in business. Who wouldn’t want their pastor to be a strong strategic leader who can get things done? Unfortunately, as you will read in the description below, this kind of leader does have their dark side, which can be detrimental to the human elements of being a pastor.
This leader is a long-term thinker, analytical, decisive, and action- and results-oriented. They work well in situations in which the church is ready to make changes in their plans for long-term community impact, such as moving from a neighborhood church to a high-visibility regional location, or the changing of the culture from an inward “take care of our members” focus to an outreach “let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community” focus. The results orientation of the strategic leader will help the church gain stature, recognition, reputation, and influence in the community, but can also put pressure on the staff to perform at levels higher than they may be accustomed to or able to attain. The strategic leader must also be self-aware enough to recognize that they can be more task-oriented than people-oriented and that sometimes they are insensitive to the human needs of today because they are so laser-focused on tomorrow.
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IMPACT: When the humility factor is added to the leadership style of Strategic, the humble pastor outcome is similar to that of situational leaders, in which the softer skills will make the relational aspect of leading a team better for everyone. People will appreciate the in-depth planning and execution of the leader while being grateful that they are led by someone who takes the time to see them as a person first and a part of the organizational machine second.
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