Church Leadership: The Art of Getting Along with People
In today's society, "leadership", as Gandhi once said, "means getting along with people". This concept is increasingly more pronounced in the church context where harmony forms the foundation for a healthy church staff and thriving congregation. However, let's address the elephant in the sanctuary - not all church leaders excel at getting along with people.
Leadership Dilemma Among Church Leaders
In many instances, conflict within a church echoes a disconnect between leaders and their ability to co-exist harmoniously with others. Consequently, we experience church splits, staff departures, and demands for recruitment services like ours at chemistrystaffing.com.
The best church leaders I know genuinely get along with others. They cultivate caring relationships with their spouse, staff, elder board or governing body, and virtually anyone they cross paths with.
Identifying Leadership Shortfalls
Distinctive traits stand out among those struggling to get along, both individuals and churches alike. A few identifiers include:
- Leaders with highly opinionated views shared unsolicitedly.
- Constant negative chatter about their current church staff situation.
- Inability to sustain long-term commitment due to contested relationships.
- Quick to assign blame elsewhere, never taking personal accountability.
- Projection of self-importance, placing themselves above others.
On a broader scope, churches experiencing regular staff churn indicate a deeper issue. An inability to foster a harmonious environment resulting in a revolving door of coming-and-going staff members.
Embracing People-Centric Leadership
Leadership in the church context profoundly revolves around people. If church staff and leaders can't get along with people, it impedes the ability to garner followers, ultimately leading to a change in church or staff.
The reason we established chemistrystaffing.com was to address this cycle. We want to connect great leaders with healthy churches committed to treating staff well.
Self-reflection for Effective Leadership
A crucial part of maintaining a healthy church staff is self-reflection. Examine your church's track record with staff tenure. If you're a church leader, assess your interpersonal interactions. Do you get along well with people?
Recognize that leadership hinges fundamentally on people, not muscle. Mastering the art of getting along with people is a leadership quality worth earnestly pursuing. After all, people constitute the heart of any church.
Want to learn more? Listen to today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast episode for an in-depth conversation on this topic.
