~630 words - 2 minutes
I have a running dialog with a few publications. When I read articles, I think about how to use the learnings in my client's work or intellectual understanding.
I capture those often in notes and writings.
Those produce articles for this publication or tools for my various clients.
The recent article on HBR.org, “Five Traps to Avoid as You Gain Power as a Leader,” forms the framework for how I see the same trips for new church leaders. Julie Diamond, Lisa Zigarmi, and Lesli Mones need to take credit for stimulating my thinking. So, read the original here.
The main point: How people respond to your power shapes you in ways you don’t often see or realize.
In my 35 years of working with senior pastors, I have often observed this lack of awareness. It's not a judgment but a reality. However, with the right tools, such as this insightful article, you can recognize when you're falling into a trap and enhance your self-awareness, paving the way for personal growth.
Awareness of these traps is crucial for new pastors, successors who follow longer-term Senior Pastors, and staff pastors who enter a system.
Trap 1 – The Savior Trap
There is only one savior, and it ain’t you.
But Senior Pastors regularly fall into this trap. The whole organization can suffer when they become the only ones who can solve key problems, work with certain personalities, or perform specific tasks.
This is especially noted when the lead pastor tries to solve all the issues they see in an organization, often undercutting staff.
A newly arrived Senior Pastor often feels the board and congregation have charged them with “fixing everything at once.”
At times, this is driven by legend stories from other pastors of large churches. “When I got there, it was a total mess, but I was able to fix it.”
First – that is rarely reality.
Second – the actual work took longer.
Leaders often fall into this trap when they become beyond their strengths and begin to think they know it all. Don’t be that leader.
Learn to be honest about your limitations, ask questions, and help the team solve issues sequentially.
This is part of why our Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ process works to define the upcoming strategic issues and order of battle before the new leader takes charge.
The Next Trap is after the ad…
True Story
I was out to work with a client church and had an evening free. I emailed a pastor whose church had recently had a pastor succession, but I was not their primary consultant.
I just wanted to hear how it went and what was learned.
The dinner was pleasant but not an overall victory story.
The pastor shared some challenges they had encountered during the succession and the subsequent leadership transition. It was clear that they had faced some difficult moments.
When I probed about some preparation for the transition season, the most common answer was – “Well, we didn’t do that.” The second most common answer was – “We thought we understood that aspect, but we didn’t.”
Afterward, I called the former pastor, whom I had known for 20 years. Without biasing the conversation, I just asked, “How’s it going?”
It was a bit awkward. “I think I should have called you on the front end. I believed I could do this myself.”
The good news is that the church will survive. The bad news is that it lost a lot of momentum and around 25% of its attendees in the process.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
On August 15, I will present a FREE webinar on the most common Do it Yourself Assumptions that lead to Succession Failure. It’s at noon Eastern, 11 Central, 10 Mountain, and 9 Pacific.
It’s not just for pastors and leaders within three years of a planned transition; it's also for those who anticipate this happening within the next 15 years. It is best to know the potholes and pitfalls and go into it with open eyes.
It’s all LIVE, but you must register to get the link.
Go here to register today before you forget.
THURSDAY, August 15 – NOON ET, 11 CT, and so on.
For those who attend, we will have some freebies and bonus materials.
If you want to speak more privately, contact the number below.
I hope you will join us.
P.S. The Weekly Senior Pastor Happy Hour is restarting after a summer break. It’s one hour each week for pastors to ask questions of each other to glean the best ideas. If you want to check your eligibility, drop me an email by hitting reply. Senior Pastor only, larger churches. No jerks allowed!
Another Trap…
Trap 2 – The Complacency Trap
This is the waning of curiosity and drive. You fail to ask any questions and ride along.
A staff member appropriately brings a problem AND a solution to you. Where you fail here is not asking for multiple scenarios and solutions and asking which ones were also considered and why.
There are times when leaders confuse delegation with inattention.
Combat this by “exploring the assumptions, values, and beliefs inherent in the discussion. Ask, ‘What assumptions are we making?”
Keep asking why to make sure you fully understand what they are saying.
Keep your attention on them, the team, and the issue.
In some cases, write down your own summary to see if there is agreement with the key decision-makers.
Peter Drucker used to say you should write down your assumptions, your decision, or the decision that was made and then evaluate it six months later to see how it turned out. That helps you in the future to know if you often err on the high side or low side.
In my consulting work, I can usually chart out monthly sessions and mileposts after the first 45 days. I constantly check to see if I was thinking too fast or too slow for a client. Whether I was or not is not a measure of failure but rather helps me learn more for the next client.
Next time, we will cover the last three traps.