I believe there are three directions every leader has to lead. Up. Down and Sideways. No matter who you are and where you are on the fabled organizational chart you are influenced by someone, influence others and work alongside others. How you navigate these relationships matters.
Leading Up deals with leading those who lead you. It challenges you to leverage your influence when the final decision is not in your hands. There is a fine line of manipulation and influence you have to walk here.
Leading Down challenges your motivation. How do you lead those who follow you. Would those people who are paid to follow you do so if they weren’t paid? What you are building determines how you relate to those you lead.
Leading Sideways – This is perhaps the most difficult and least talked about form of leadership: leading your peers. This challenges your vision. You can succeed departmentally and fail organizationally. Silos are created from a lack of intentional sideways leadership.
LEADING UP
As a support staff member you will no doubt have to learn the art of leading up. You church needs you to lead up. You are a family, youth, worship pastor because you have been gifted and have the grace to lead where you lead. You must lead up.
Leading up will challenge you because you have to question your own motives. You have been given influence in your organization how are you going to leverage and steward that influence. As a leader who leads others and pastors others you need to keep those people in forefront of your mind as you lead up. The temptation in terms of leading up is using that influence to grow your particular ministry
What is leading up? It is a term that has been around for a while and it speaks of using your influence in the organization to make changes by influencing those above you in the org chart to act based on your advice. You are not making the final decision but are helping to shape the decision that will be made by those you report to.
There have been many books and articles written on the subject. I thought I would add to the conversation by providing some questions to ask yourself that will act a check on your motivation when leading up.
Questions to ask when leading up.
1. Have I prayed about this?
2. Who will directly benefit from what I am proposing to my boss?
3. Am I speaking truth in love or telling my boss what he wants to hear?
4. Is what I am proposing founded in a desire to glorify God or bring glory to myself?
5. If my boss takes credit for my idea am I ok with that? If not than why?
6. Will my idea make the team or organization better?
7. If what I am proposing will help only my department will it also help the church?
8. Is my attitude in the right place? Am I saying something out of concern or frustration?
