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 my attributes of humble intelligence. In the groundbreaking book Primal Leadership, Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee identify the positive leadership style of resonant leadership, which I include in my overview of the 22 pastoral leadership styles one may find in a church. Here is an excerpt from The Humility Factor describing the impact of humble intelligence on resonant leadership.
According to leadership scholars Boyatzis and McKee, resonant leaders are all about people. They have excellent skills to powerfully, passionately, and purposefully move people in positive directions that will benefit their families, organizations, and communities. When working with individuals and groups, leaders are able to make deep emotional connections and inspire them to do their best work, raise their standards, and be a better version of themselves. Simply put, they bring out the best in people.
A resonant leader has emotional intelligence and the five personal competencies of self-awareness, emotion management, self-motivation, empathy, and relational management. They also have a heightened social awareness that allows them to see and meet the needs of people inside and outside their church walls. Resonant leaders are the polar opposite of dissonant leaders, such as some of the less-positive leadership styles of the pacesetter, pharisee, or autocratic. In the words of the 21st century management consultant Ronald Watson, “Resonant leaders have the ability to maintain harmonious, productive relationships with those around them, even as workload and stress increase.” Churches with resonant leaders, particularly when their positive traits are mixed with the humility factor, will be healthy places to worship, serve, and work.
IMPACT: When the humility factor is added to the leadership style of Resonant, the humble pastor outcome is that all qualities of the leader will be enhanced as they increase their service to others with an emerging broken will. People will want to sign up to be on this leader’s team because they trust them and believe in their vision of the future.
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