In my book All Things Leadership, I introduced the concept of selfless leadership, which some pastors display and from which their churches benefit.  Here are the three defining characteristics of a pastoral leader who practices selfless leadership.  They: Sacrifice for the benefit of others Give the spotlight to others Always encourage others Selfless leaders are […]

The Leadership Buffet 8 – Resonant Pastoral Leadership One of my favorite leadership writers is Daniel Goleman, who pioneered much of the research on and discussion of emotional intelligence.  Throughout my book The Humility Factor, I refer to many of the principles which Goleman and his colleagues explored, and on which I base some of […]

In light of this weekend’s celebration of Easter, let’s turn our attention to one of the most positive pastoral leadership styles that a church can enjoy – Servant Leadership, because Jesus is commonly considered the greatest example of a servant leader to ever live.  The essence of servant leadership is that the leader’s primary aim […]

The Leadership Buffet 6 – Foresight and Laissez-Faire This week we have two less-common leadership styles which may be evident in our pastors.  The first is the foresight style, which on the surface sounds exciting, but can be somewhat terrifying for church people who like to keep things safe, secure, and predictable.  The second, laissez-faire, […]

The Leadership Buffet 5 – Democratic-Participative The next dish on our leadership buffet is one which requires a special kind of leader who is very comfortable in their own skin because they literally share power.  While a modern label for this kind of style is the collaborative leader, the traditional title is democratic-participative leadership.  This […]