Three primary ways leaders can lead

I’ve been in the leader development business for over forty years. I have been professionally coaching leaders around the US as well as in six other countries for twenty. I’ve seen lots of different kinds of leaders lead in many different ways.

One church in which I both served as a pastor and coached pastors and leaders referred to leadership in three categories:

• Prophet
• Priest
• King

The prophet was usually a visionary communicator who was gifted at rallying people to a better future.

The priest was usually a very strong pastor type that deeply cared for people and had a strong desire to see them shepherded well.

The King was usually one who had strong administrative gifts and could create systems and processes to get the team from point A to point B

Now I know from experience that everything is not cut and dried like this, and that leaders can be a combination of one or two of these three.

I  find it helpful in understanding that all three functions are essential for any church, business, not-for-profit or group to do well with their vision and dreams. Building on these three of: Prophet, Priest, King let me change the words a bit and speak of leaders leading:

• Relationally

• Administratively

• Charismatically

I have come to understand the many leaders will lead primarily (not exclusively) in one of these three ways.

Leaders who have strong people gifts such as pastoring, caring, mercy, helps will lead relationally. They see most things through the grid of maintaining strong healthy relationships personally and have it as a high value in the context in which they lead. People and their well being are more important than reaching goals or achieving a vision. It’s not that goals and vision aren’t important, but that people are more important.

Leaders who have gifts of organizing and creating pathways and processes to achieve goals and visions lead administratively. It’s not that these types of leaders don’t care about people, but rather that they care by enabling others to get things done in an effective and efficient way and move the ball down the field.

Leaders who see a better future for all concerned and have strong Word gifts will lead Charismatically by communicating with passion and enthusiasm to persuade, motivate, excite and encourage people to go for this better future that is a win/win for everybody.

I’m not saying these three ways of leading are the only ways, but they are three primary ways I’ve seen over the  years.

Regardless of which of the three types you lean toward, you need what the other two bring to the table; hence the need to have all three functions  on a team.

A team with all charismatic leaders and no relational or administrative types will not be successful as would be the case in a team with all relational or all administrative types.

Personally I am Prophet/King (Charismatic/ Administrator) and short on Priest/Relational. Over the years I have learned to surround myself with people who are different and complement my leadership wiring. I can grow (and am) in the relational component, but it won’t come to me as easily and naturally as  it does for to those who are naturally more relational than I am.

I’m learning not  to beat myself up over who I’m not but rejoicing in who I am.

A few questions in closing:

• Of the three, which are you most like?
• Do you have people around you that complement who God made you?
• Are you okay with people who lead in a very different way than you do?
• Can you celebrate rather than tolerate (or worse yet resent)  those who are different?
• In what ways can you grow a bit in the ways you are not naturally wired?