Leaders are everywhere. As are people in leadership positions. An important question both must answer is,

“Am I a leader worth following?”

Here are six common styles of leadership visualized:

The Rug

The leader avoids confrontation and thus, correction. The less drama, the better. When drama does arise, he or she lets it “die down” before deciding to step in or not. Once it has “died down,” and everybody seems fine, there’s no burden to address it any longer.

The Sign

One person makes one mistake. So a leader hangs a sign to tell original perpetrator AND everyone else not to do it. This leader is overly concerned about behavior instead of hearts. He’s emotionally committed to correcting others, but not reasonable enough to handle it effectively. So he sacrifices credibility with everyone else to avoid directly correcting the one who made a mistake. Signs should give information, not instruction or (especially) correction. (see also, this entertaining site)

The Bullhorn

The leader realizes personal contact is valuable, but he’s not confident enough to talk to people one-on-one. The bullhorn thinks, “If I’m loud enough in public, people will follow.” Some preachers use a bullhorn in the pulpit. Some elders use a bullhorn in the bulletin. Some business leaders call bullhorn meetings for the entire staff when one employee messes up. Bullhorns can be so concerned about NOT playing favorites that they miss out on valuable personal relationships.

The Pacifier

The leader loves to hear the heartaches (even legitimate ones), problems, and complaints (even illegitimate ones) of followers. This allows the leader to pacify their crying and in the process win over a group of favorites. This leadership approach appeals to our desire to be liked. But keeping “babies” around means someone has to deal with dirty diapers. It really creates a mess when these favorites complain about one another to the leader.

The Coach

The leader uses various methods of personal interaction, but tends to emphasize correction over growth. Behavior control is more important than personal relationship. The leader values individuals, but often because they serve his needs. The coach prefers to use the bullhorn from the tower. But he also isn’t afraid to climb down and embarrass someone when necessary.

The Shepherd

The leader’s greatest concern is the health, growth, and hearts of followers. He knows correction is needed, but his personal relationships cause growth from one-on-one conversations and accountability. He doesn’t settle for merely controlling behavior. He knows when to protect sheep from danger and when to let them wrestle with difficulties to build strength. The most difficult and rarest leader. This is the leadership of Christ (1 Peter 5:1-5), and what he calls us to be.

Why is it difficult to be a shepherd-leader? Let’s talk about it in the comments.