mean cowboyBear with me as I’m processing through these thoughts. I’ve recently been frustrated with someone’s style of leadership. Maybe it’s just their personality, but because this person is a leader, it affects this person’s leadership. It took me a while to figure out what to name this post but I’m settling for “pastoral leadership” as I feel that this is the way I want to lead (although I’m far from doing it well).

Leaders come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You can be soft spoken and fairly reclusive and be a fantastic leader. You can also be egotistical and larger than life and be a great leader. We see this variety of leaders in business, in society and even in the church. Someone can be a great leader but still be a jerk. Someone can be a great leader and be totally disconnected emotionally with the people around that leader.

I learned a really great principle from Jim Wideman this last year. It was tied into a personality assessment he uses. He taught how a really good leader recognizes the personality type of the person he or she is leading and leads from that context. A good leader doesn’t necessarily just do their leadership thing and expect everyone to flock to him or her but he this kind of leader reaches out. That concept was really insightful. To me, that seems like a really good leader. I’m a “feeler” though, so I maybe its just my perspective. Actually, I’m not going to hide behind the fact that I’m a “feeler.” There are lots of “feelers” who want or need to be led. If you really want to lead us, you need to lean in and show you give a care. Dare I say you need to “emotionally connect.”

I’m not sure exactly what I’m trying to say here. I’m all for visionary leadership and leadership the kicks my butt into gear. However, if you’re insensitive or a jerk, I don’t really want to follow you. In truth, I don’t even want to hang around with you. It seems to me that the role of a pastor is to care and connect with people. It’s a sacrificial role where we put others before ourselves. To me, pastoral leaders happens when you lead from the context of caring and connecting. It’s just something that I’ve been processing. I’m bothered when someone in leadership totally misses this and it causes me to reflect on the way I lead. How do others perceive my leadership? Am I pastoral with my leadership?