Great leaders are few and far between

I was talking with a couple of friends recently about how amazing it is that I have the privilege of consulting with churches and getting face time with some of the best leaders I’ve ever met. My friends both encouraged me to post about what I have been taking for granted: great leaders are few and far between.

OK, so it’s not exactly earth-shattering news, but in the context of the local church, I think there are even fewer great leaders than there are in corporate America.

Great leaders are, in my opinion, those who inspire people to follow and accomplish great things. This is not to be confused with great managers, who are people who can organize and delegate tasks effectively. I think we often think that because someone is “in charge” that they are automatically a leader. That’s just not the case. You can be in charge of a lot – and have zero influence, yet get tasks done through delegation because of your position.

As I was talking with my friends, I pointed out the great leaders I’ve been around personally. Some of them are not only great leaders but also great managers. This is the rarest of all and is a commodity that has unlimited value. One doesn’t beget the other, so I’m not saying you can’t be a great leader unless you’re also a great manager, or vice versa. What I am saying, however, is that great leaders know if they’re good managers or poor managers, and act accordingly.

In my life, I’ve found it hard at times to let others do things that I am exceptionally good at. It’s just easier for me to do it – my way – and get a consistent result. But when I’ve been stretched by others or stretched myself to include other people, the end result – though sometimes a long way off – is that the task/responsibility/duty is done better when I don’t get in the way. Having managed people in the corporate world and church world, I am pretty good at assigning tasks, but I’m not good at managing large amounts of details for a group. That’s micromanaging and I stink at it (probably a good thing). In fact, I’d say my experience has yielded more fruits from my leadership abilities than my management abilities.

So when I meet truly great leaders, I pay attention because I want to learn as much as possible from them. Having said that, there’s really only so much you can learn about leadership – the rest is what you are gifted to do.

I remember one owner of an A/V company that I worked for. His office is plastered in Zig Ziglar and John Maxwell quotes as well as those inspirational posters. He talks alot about what the latest InJoy series taught him, but he couldn’t live it out. He was a great manager but a pretty awful leader. One day while at a conference, we were in the hotel pool chatting and I gave him a sports analogy (he loved those): “You’ve got me leading these offices for you, like I’m your running back on the football field of business. As the quarterback, you either need to decide to pass the ball off or hand it to me. But what you’re doing is calling an option play all the time. You’ll give the ball to me, only to run behind me and start yelling ‘backward lateral! backward lateral!’. If you want to carry the ball all the time, then don’t make me the running back. I’ll block and tackle for you, but you need to give me the role of a tackle instead of a running back.”

The great leaders I’ve met know when to run with the ball, when to pass it and when to trust their team of running backs to take the ball and get up the field. They don’t have to have the ball the whole time, but they are in charge and understand the art of play-calling.

Are you meeting great leaders and great managers? Are you taking notes, learning from them and building relationships with them? If not, make it a priority!

By Anthony Coppedge (http://www.anthonycoppedge.com/)

Anthony is a respected consultant who has committed himself to the church
marketplace.  Sought after by today’s fast-growing churches, Anthony brings
a wealth of knowledge, experience and practical know-how to the table.  By
focusing on helping churches develop Media & Communications technologies and
team-building strategies with clear upgrade paths, Anthony helps churches to
be good stewards of their resources and personnel.