We have spent some time talking about the heart of a leader and now I want us to spend a little time looking at leadership styles.

For me, the bottom line is that a leader is someone who influences others. I once heard Howard Hendricks say "If you think you are a leader, turn around... If no one is following, you're not leading!"

God has called all types of people to be leaders and one of the keys of good leadership is knowing how you are "wired." When we are familiar with how we lead, we can objectively see our strengths and weaknesses and learn to be pro-active and not reactive. So, let's look at some basics that help us determine our leadership style.

Relationship or Job Focused

When you look at your overall plan for ministry, is it focused on people, feelings and relationships or tasks, events and jobs? Neither of these are "better" than the other and both can be as equally effective in ministry, but it is important to know which way you function.

A relationship based leader will encourage lots of group participation. They let team members know the are valued and looks for ways to create communication and involvement. They look at events and activities as ways to build relationships.

A job or task based leader wants to gather all the information necessary to ensure the success of each event or activity. They will define roles and tasks and they like to summarize and clarify ideas that are shared in the group so that everyone is "on the same page."

Thinking or Action Focus

When you are looking at new ideas do you want to think about all the possible outcomes and weigh them or do you just jump in, do it and see what happens?

Thinkers like to take time to think. They may make lists of all the pros and cons of a decision. They weigh all the possibilities and they typically want some time to make a decision. Thinking leaders are usually very detail oriented.

Action focused leaders... Act. If they feel that something is a good idea, they will jump all over it and figure out how to implement it. Action leaders are usually big- picture oriented.

The Queen, the President and the Facilitator

The Queen is a leader who decides what to do and how it is to be done. This is a good leadership style for new ministries and new projects, but is not always effective in long-term ministry. She leads with a firm hand and typically has good organizational skills and is a high achiever. She needs to learn to train leaders and let others share their ideas and ministry tasks or she will burn out. If you have a short-term ministry, a new ministry, or an emergency, this is the leader who will "get it done."

The President leader likes to hear everyone's opinion and ideas. She will take suggestions from her team and lets others participate in making decisions although she is not afraid to make a decision if she needs to. Her team has a lot of respect for their leader and they all feel valued. She needs to keep stretching to find original ideas and train new leaders. She is a good discipler who grows the team in all areas. She will train good leaders who may move into other areas of service in the church. If you have a ministry that needs new focus, to rebuild relationships, or just continue to grow what someone has begun in the church, this is the leader who will "get it done."

The Facilitator is a leader who really does not want to take on the mantle of leadership. She is typically thrust into the position of leadership and often takes it on temporarily. She allows the team to make decisions and sees her role as the provider of information to facilitate the discussion at team meetings. She is usually laid-back and lots of fun. This is a good leadership style if a team is mature, skilled and know their roles.

Robyne's Wrap-Up

As you can see, when you take all of the above into consideration, there are a lot of different variables that can make up your leadership style. God wired you the way that you are for a purpose, so embrace your leadership style and allow Him to grow it to its fullest.

 

The bottom line is that there is no right or wrong style, but there are right or wrong ways to handle various situations. Know your style, know the situation... Pray and act accordingly.

In Him... Robyne Beaubien, Editor

The women at First Baptist in Beckley, WV are loving the java talk about the table legs that Jennifer has had in past issues of Java with Jennifer.

We have met twice with what we are calling the "Mug and Muffin" outing. The first one was held at a park and everyone was invited to bring their own mug and muffin. (WM.Net note: You can have the women bring their own coffee or bring a giant thermos to share!)

The second one was held at a gourmet deli that has wonderful baked goods. Again, everyone brought their own mug, but we purchased our coffee and baked item. Yes, there were many refills for tea or coffee. (We worked out a deal with the deli - $5 per person.) We met outside under the umbrellas on a beautiful Saturday morning.

The purpose is just to get to know each other, enjoy women talk, laugh and have fun.

The "Mug and Muffin" outing typically lasts for one hour. We close with a short devotional and that is when we have used Jennifer's fresh brewed ideas.

Thanks for inspiring us!!!
Joyce Mills
Beckley, WV

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Also, here are a few of the comments you made...

We are a group of United Methodist Women. We provide child care at our church for all of our UMW meetings, some circle meetings and our ladies banquet. We do this to encourage our young mothers to participate in UMW. In our District meetings, our officers can be reimbursed in part, for child care or older dependent care ( parents and older dependents) when they need to attend a district meeting. I think this is also, something to think about now, with so many ladies also, caring for aging parents.
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We provide childcare for most Bible Studies and for our Bible study kickoff events. If we sponsor a couples event, we also provide childcare. It is the single largest budget line item for our women's ministry.
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We provide childcare for all events held at the church but have not provided childcare for retreats.
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Not for events such as Ladies Night Out or a Christmas luncheon - we encourage the day to be a dad's day; and for single moms, we encourage them to work together to "co-op" among each other (some have family in the area that are willing to help). We do have events just for Single Moms & we do provide childcare for those events.
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I have found that just the fact that the children are in the building keep the mother's from fully concentrating. I also feel if it is important enough to attend, there will be a way found to provide for the care of the child through friends or family members.
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We only offer child care for a Tuesday morning Bible study. All other events are a "no."

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