Leadership in the church is like leading a family!

Children as babies require a different leadership style from adolescents, from teenagers, and from adult children!

The following chart illustrates this leadership continuum.
The two extremes of the leadership continuum are GREATER FREEDOM and GREATER CONTROL.
We could describe these extremes as LEADERSHIP and MANAGEMENT!

Another way of describing this leadership continuum is SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP.
This means that every situation requires a different style of leadership.

For instance, an immature child (infant) requires one kind of leadership, an adolescent another kind or level of leadership, while an adult child and all together different kind of leadership.

Mature leadership will know which kind of style to apply in each situation.

On some occasions, GREATER FREEDOM will be the style of leadership necessary, while on other occasions GREATER CONTROL will be required.

This is especially true of leading a church!

In certain situations (the kind of decision involved or the maturity of the people being led) FREEDOM will be more constructive than CONTROL. 

Mature leadership will know   when to come down where on the leadership continuum.  Certain decisions will demand more control, while other decisions or situations will need more freedom.

When leadership constantly resorts to more control, frustration on the part of followers will develop.

When leadership has been more Relational or more Flexible, then when decisions demand more control, the followers will know that the situation is an anomaly (not the normal practice) and will understand or be more willing to accept the decision.

Mature leadership will understand that every situation demands a different leadership style.

Finally, no congregation or group will always be mature, for congregations or groups fluctuate in their bandwidth of maturity, going through periods of more maturity and periods of less maturity.


SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE
Model developed by Dr. Ken Blanchard

In the chart above we have 4 quadrants:
S1.  Highly Directive, Low Supportive (Autocratic Leadership and Immature Group)
       Directing Style of Control is the norm, no freedom to act independently.
S2.  Highly Directive, High Supportive ( Moderate authoritarian and Moderately Immature Group)
       Coaching Style with Little Delegation and Moderate Control is norm, little freedom to act
       independently..
S3.  Highly Supportive and Low Behavior (Moderate Authoritarian and Mildly Immature Group)
       Supportive Style with Some Delegation and freedom is the norm, some freedom but supervision
       before action.
S4.  Low Supportive and Low Direction (Mature Leadership and Mature Group)
       Delegating with Freedom to act independently