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How do leaders reproduce themselves? We saw last week that they do so by working closely with others. They involve potential leaders in what they are doing. They allow them to work with them and engage them in the tasks they are working at themselves. To do that effectively, Harry Reeder says, leaders must learn to delegate.
There will be times, he admits, when churches need strong, authoritative leadership. Times of crisis are a case in point. When trouble hits, leaders need to stand up and lead from the front. But this is not the normal scenario. "In most normal circumstances," Reeder writes, "a delegatory leadership style is better than an authoritative one" (p. 127).
He notes three special benefits of a delegatory leadership style. The first is that it brings together complementary gifts. No matter how capable a leader may be, they will never be omni-competent. God hasn't made us that way. There will always be areas in which an individual leader is weak or deficient. And there will always be strengths in others that can help a leader become more effective. Delegation allows complementary gifts to function together. The result is that "the leader who delegates or shares leadership responsibility will find that the gifts of other leaders complement his, producing greater success in ministry" (p. 127).
Secondly, delegation is not only valuable for reproducing leaders, but it is vital for replacing leaders. Leaders don't last forever. Sickness, death, promotion or transfer to some other field of work creates holes in a leadership structure. Churches and Christian organizations often falter when they lose a dominant leader through the lack of a suitable replacement. Delegation and leadership reproduction helps overcome that. "If you train and involve others in the ministry that you do," says Reeder, "they will be ready to step up to the plate when you are absent or unable to fulfil a particular responsibility. And if you have to leave the church at some point, the ministry will go on undaunted through leaders you have raised up" (p. 127).
Delegation, thirdly, can also reduce tension and division. Inactivity leads to frustration and frustration to discontent and criticism. Involvement, on the other hand, unleashes creativity and builds loyalty. Energies once destructive and dangerous become constructive and helpful. That's what delegation can do. "Working together with other leaders will often eliminate the kind of divisiveness that can occur between strong personalities in the church," Reeder writes. "When we join together to fight a common battle, we tend to overlook our differences more easily, like politicians who put aside their disagreements at a time of national crisis" (p. 128).
Delegatory leadership asks something special of a leader, however. It calls for a spirit of unselfishness. When you let go of tasks and responsibilities you must be prepared for others to get attention and credit usually reserved for yourself. You must also be ready for others to outshine you in particular areas of specialty. Self-seeking and insecure leaders find this hard to do.
But there is no place for pride or self-seeking in true servant leadership. Harry Reeder has this salutary challenge for church leaders: "Pastor or church leader, if you want to train and deploy an army of ministers in your church, you will have to swallow your pride and get rid of any selfishness that might keep you from sharing responsibilities in the body" (p. 128).