Are You a 21C Leader?

There are still a lot of pastors and church leaders (and marketplace leaders) who are trying to lead from a 20th Century leadership paradigm. This approach is typically a top-down, great white man, semi-autocratic mindset that is fast approaching extinction in terms of effectiveness. There are several reasons for the demise of the model but here are a few:

• Women in leadership and the marketplace: Women are wired differently than men. They process information and often come to decisions through social input, which means that leadership is becoming more relational and team oriented.
• Education: In general, the better the educated the people, the less likely they will take orders and commands and the more they want to participate and giver their opinions. You offend educated people when you are controlling.
• Information dispersion: Media, the internet, and the overwhelming amount of info has made it impossible for leaders to have a corner on the market. Info is power, so now we must share with others and never assume we have all the answers.
• Democratization: When the Berlin Wall fell, communism and dictatorial rule were set back and democracy as a philosophy advanced. People in democracies believe they have a right to be heard and vote and participate.
• Post-modern mindset: The lack of perceived Truth in life requires leaders to be more relational, interactive, and participative in how they lead because fewer people believe in a single right answer for organizational problems.

The cumulative effect of these and related changes in 21C culture means that leaders, to be effective, must lead differently than they did, even 10 or 20 years ago. They must be more savvy, team oriented, and less lone wolf, dictatorial, or top-down. This requires more time invested in leadership discussions and planning and also means that many of us will need to change the way we do things. While we can still accomplish some things via old school leadership tactics, we'll have growing conflict, ineffectiveness, and frustration in general.

- Alan Nelson, Pastoral Ministry Champion and Executive Editor of Rev! Magazine