The Dangerous Pull Towards Aristocratic Leadership in a Church’s Life Cycle (Part 2)
“One day your sluggish company will taken to the sound of a beating drum and the sight of a competitor approaching at ramming speed. On deck will be a jut-jawed Barbarian....He will hardly blink as his target is ripped asunder, sending Aristocrats, Bureaucrats and their unfortunate shipmates to their corporate death....
In the previous post, we looked through a different lens to view the organizational life stages of a church through an old business book (Barbarians to Bureaucrats).
In this post, I want to double click into the one of the described life stages, namely the Aristocrat life stage (and its associated leadership style) to unpack why this type of leadership can be so dangerous for a church and what I believe is the solution to fight against it.
What is “Aristocratic” Leadership?
According to author and management consultant Lawrence M. Miller, aristocratic leadership happens when those who have benefited most from the contribution of others are disconnected from the very ones doing the actual work.
These are the leaders who are flying 30,000 feet above the action unaware of the plights and experiences of the rest of the organization.
Is it important for key leaders to pull out from the weeds in order to see the forest? Absolutely, it is crucial. Is there a place for consultant-type leaders or vision-based leaders? 100%.
But wise leaders know it’s also crucial to know the pulse of their organizations no matter what their leadership style or preferences may be.
Good leaders know how to balance this and aristocratic leaders do not.
Why is Aristocratic Leadership So Dangerous?
You will lose your secret sauce (DNA erosion)
When a church is flourishing, it is often because of God’s kindness over and through the faithful engagement of leaders and volunteers.
If you closely track any healthy church, you’ll notice there are often specific and intentional “inputs” or behaviors of leader which foster an environment for change. (i.e., Leaders set the pace in “grit” which make it easy for volunteers to say “yes” to portable set-up and tear-down church.)
But if leaders begin to pull away and live in the clouds as aristocrats, the church will begin to lose the very DNA which gave way to its fruitfulness in the first place.
You won’t even know it’s happening (Org Unawareness)
Even scarier, aristocrats are often the last ones to realize culture has eroded and that fire has been lit in rebellion. Why? They’ve been disconnected from the boots on the ground.
Imagine this scenario: Parents have been quietly sliding out the backdoor of a church due to the youth ministry’s lackluster care for its students and volunteers. While this has been happening for 6 months, the aristocrats had no clue until a close friend of someone on the leadership team disclosed their departure.
It could’ve gone on for another 6 months and no one would’ve known.
Some Signs You or Your Team May Be Operating Out of Aristocracy
No big church-wide goals have been set and chased in the last 12-18 months.
Leaders are more in tune with Christian Twitter or Denominational arguments than the inner workings of their church.
Staff meetings are more about getting through an agenda than a clear direction marked with urgency.
Staff members default towards passing off responsibility rather than taking ownership.
Complaints from staff members or volunteers are dismissed rather than investigated for learning.
There is no functioning culture of performance accountability.
There is no healthy burden of stewardship fueled by understanding and appreciation of the past.
There is a spirit of entitlement in which titles matter too much and work progress matters too little.
Staff become intimidated and insecure when a new staffer with grit and a chip on their shoulder joins the team.
Staff regularly ask congregants to do things they themselves never do.
How to Move Away From a Posture of Aristocracy
Here’s the simple solve: Set an appropriate, big, church-wide goal and chase after it.
Set a scary Easter goal. Add a new service. Consider doing a capital campaign. Raise your overall volunteer to attendee percentage.
Why? It will bring you back to the first step and stage of the cycle where you activate vision (Prophet) which propel you towards action with laser-like focus (Barbarian).
Concluding Thoughts
Church leaders will feel the continual pull towards aristocracy.
We must do all that we can to fight against it.
This is a worthy struggle for your sake and the sake of God’s people.
