If a leader is to going to engage conflict, he must understand his leadership style and the leadership styles of others. Most conflict in the church is leader to leader. These conflicts can be the result of differing leadership styles coming into conflict. Leaders who understand their leadership styles will have a better opportunity to compensate for their weaknesses and focus improving their leadership skills. David Rooke and William R. Torbet discuss this very issue in the Harvard Business Reviewn concerning companies, “Leaders who do undertake the voyage of personal understanding and development can transform not only their own capabilities but also those of their companies” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 67). The first leadership style is the “Opportunist.” This individual focuses on personal victories and sees people as a means to an end. The Opportunist tends to be manipulative and forceful. They are typically good sales people, but they perform poorly on teams and do not last long as leaders. Pastors who are opportunists need to place a focus on improving people skills and collaboration skills. Staff members of opportunists stay very frustrated because they feel used and do not get to share any credit. This type of leader is a high-risk for unhealthy conflict.
The second type of leader is the Diplomat. The Diplomat hates conflict, thus avoiding it at all cost, even when it is necessary. Diplomats rather exist in a position where they can shift the responsibility and not make critical or controversial decisions. Diplomats are good workers and people pleasers, but poor leaders. Leaders have to make critical decisions and many good leaders face opposition and criticism. Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson writes, “When someone assumes a position of responsibility for the first time, it’s common to avoid decisions, and the risk of criticism. However, that only creates different risks. Problems are not like wine and cheese; they don’t get better with age” (Swanson 2005, 73). Diplomats create new problems because they do not deal with conflict.
The Expert is the third type of leader. The Expert tries to control his world by acquiring knowledge. “Experts tend to view collaboration as a waste of time, and they will frequently treat the opinion of people less expert than themselves with contempt. “Emotional intelligence is neither desired nor appreciated” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 70). Many educated pastors and church leaders fall into this category. Experts need to learn to listen to the wise council of others in order to by-pass harmful fighting within the church.
The next leader action-orientation is the Achiever. The Achiever is successful because he focuses on deliverables. Achievers are people who know how to get things done, can work well with others, creating a team atmosphere. Achievers are much better at dealing with conflict than the other three categories. “They know that creatively transforming or resolving clashes requires sensitivity to relationships and the ability to influence others in positive ways” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 70). Achievers are much more productive than Experts, but have a hard time being innovative or thinking outside the box.
The Individualists are the next category. They work well with others, but color outside the lines. They tend to ignore rules that they deem irrelevant, but are very good at inventing processes and creating avenues to deal with unsolved issues. They are conflict magnets however, and are better consultants than they are leaders. They thrive working alone.
The Strategist is able to inspire people across all leadership types to accept a shared vision of the future. They are key leaders in transformation projects. Only 4% of leaders fall into this category. Strategists see the big picture and know how to motivate others to help bring the vision to fruition. Nehemiah is a biblical example of a leader action-oriented as a strategist.
The final leadership style is that of the Alchemist. The Alchemist is the rare individual who has the ability to generate societal transformations. He can see beyond the organization and into the societal realm. Martin Luther was an Alchemist and of course, Jesus was this type of leader. Recognizing ones leadership action-orientation is very crucial in ones approach to conflict management. A leader must also be proactive in recognizing and inhibiting the common sources of conflict in the church.
If you enjoyed this post read the article – The Seven Ways of Leading. What is your leadership action orientation?
I have a little strategist and individualist in me.
Good post.
I like to see myself as a Strategist and I often times play that role – but find myself often times stuck in the realm of the diplomat. I am definitely learning not to avoid conflict, but to manage and engane it for desirable outcomes. I spend most of my time in the Achiever role – and I focus on delivering results. But this is not all good, because many times results take years, and I am rarely that patient. The great news about leadership is that we can always improve! Praise God for this fact.
I feel like I’ve caused so much conflict because of the changes I’ve made. Thankfully I now have a “coach” thru the convention that is coaching me thru this transition period. Church planting was much easier than this–except for the money!
Remember – conflict is not always a bad thing and transistioning a church is never an easy thing. Hang in there! Leaders will always cause conflict…and those we lead will always have a choice to make. The key is how we engage the conflict. I have only been a Sr. Pastor for a little over a year and it has been such a learning experience. I find that my nature does not want to engage the conflicts that arise, but I must.
Thanks for your discussion – its beneficial.
Alchemist, Strategist, is probably me.
But a great post…