From Vision to Action: Guiding New Senior Pastors Through Leadership Challenge
Managing 7 Key Tensions
~700 words - 2 1/2 minutes reading time
This is another of the ongoing dialogues between me and the Harvard Business Review.
This insightful article from 2020 has been on my mind as I coach new Senior Pastors who have succeeded long-serving boomer leaders. It provides us with a relevant and up-to-date perspective on leadership dynamics.
Everyone seems to realize that our definitions of “good leadership” have somewhat shifted with younger generations. But what does that look like?
Jennifer Jordan, Michael Wade, and Elizabeth Teracino write that a good way to view this is to balance the tensions between emerging and traditional styles. You can read the original here.
Each of these distinctions creates stress. Sometimes, that stress is based on boards, staff, and congregants' expectations of leaders acting in ways the old leader used. Other times, they expect them to act differently than the old leader!
Their naming of the tensions is not just a theoretical exercise, but a practical guide for new leaders and all system players, equipping them to navigate the complexities of leadership transitions.
“Tension 1: The Expert vs. the Learner”
Let’s face it: when succeeding as a long-term senior pastor who has served multiple decades in a church, you are stepping into a place where the old leader was the expert. They knew the culture, the community, and the leadership context.
Their expertise was built from deep experience, and they often paid the dumb tax.
In addition, the new leader may have been selected because they had shown promise and expertise in critical areas found in a profile, such as speaking, team leadership, or exploiting new ideas.
However, church contexts shift over time—not just in their communities but also in the needs of their constituency. Missions and visions begin to shift as well.
The expert face should be balanced with a learning posture.
The same could be said of any staff role. Leaders do not always need to chase the next silver bullet; they should always seek to learn new ways and adapt them to the church’s ministry.
The sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, has a few core principles in his investing but spends most of his time reading, learning from others, and exploring ideas with the network of CEOs in their businesses. Good leaders do likewise.
The original HBR article was published right before the COVID season began. In that season, almost every church had to learn what it meant to be more “digital” in its ministry. Those who refused to do so were seen as irrelevant and ineffective.
“Tension 2: The Constant vs. the Adaptor”
In our Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ process, we talk about the transition to the next Senior Leader as like opening a new chapter in a book.
Some themes and storylines will continue in the next chapter. But every next chapter will also bring new plot points and shifts.
When a new leader comes in, we work with key stakeholders to determine the vital few CORE things that should remain for the start of the next chapter. That should be a short list.
This helps a new leader know what must remain for the next chapter's initial season and what can be revised and changed.
However, we also emphasize that the next chapter is not forever, and the key storylines should be considered in the future with the board's and stakeholders' backing for when that should happen.
Traditional leadership values consistency. Emerging leaders recognize that the core must be preserved, but growth often comes through adaptation.
Story continues after the ad….
A fun time was had by all in our Biggest DIY Mistakes Webinar last week. So much so, that we will do another in the Legacy Series in October.
After the successful release of the booklet “33 Basic Statements about Pastoral Succession” earlier this year, I now have an additional seven.
I will reveal those to my friends who join a unique, short, fast-paced webinar on October 18th.
After using some of these sayings in my consulting process work over the past few years, I can promise that they apply to succession or transition and to other parts of ministry.
Wise hearers will apply them more widely than even I can imagine.
So join me for a quick – 25 minute session on October 18th at noon ET, 11 CT, 10 MT, 9 PT for this webinar.
Register here.
Special freebies for attendees as well that day.
You will forget because it is two months from now, but don’t worry—we’ll remind you.
The 33 Basic Statement Book is soon to be on Amazon for those wanting the digital version too.
and now the rest of the story…
“Tension 3 – The Tactician vs. The Visionary”
“The traditional approach to leadership calls for operational clarity and well-defined plans. The emerging approach suggests that leaders require clear vision for where they want to go, without necessarily needing a concrete roadmap for how to get there…”
Uh, well….maybe.
I do see that most churches in the succession process desire a leader who can cast vision and set direction.
But those visions must be tempered by the possible and having reachable goals.
The big goals must be matched by what’s best next steps – micro-steps every day – to get one there.
See this prior article for more on that.
We will cover the next four in our next article. That will be sent to you on September 4.
More Church Leader Insider Goodness recently to check out:
DIY Succession and the Curse of Knowledge
Avoiding Pitfalls: How New Leaders can Avoid Common Traps