Five Levels of Leadership

In his excellent book, Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell identifies five levels of influence. Let’s look at these and show you how they work within a church.

Level 1 is positional leadership. Here a leader only has the influence that histitleprovides him. I’m sure you know that this isn’t a very strong leadership position. Last Sunday’s first-­time guest in your church acknowledges your title as pastor or leader, but they likely aren’t ready to follow you very far. A leader cannot bring change at thislevel.

Level 2 is permission leadership. This level is built on relationship. People follow you because they like you. Many pastors and church leaders live at this level of leadership and they work very hard trying to keep everybody liking them.

Level 2 is an important first step in establishing your role as a leader, but youcan’tstop here. If people follow you because they like you, what will happen if they don’t like the changes you institute? They may stop liking you at that point and stop following your leadership. A leader cannot lead change at this level.

Level 3 is called the production level. At the level, a leader’s influence has grownbecause of the way he has produced for the goals of the organization. When people recognize or begin believing that the leader really knows what he’s doing, they are more prone to trust the new direction he or she might bring. For this reason, the leader can begin leading change effectively at Level 3.

Leaders in growing churches, often arrive at Level 3 more quickly than others.The people contribute growth to the pastor’s leadership and that momentum carries things forward quite rapidly. But be careful at Level 3. Rapid growth may give credibility, but the leader a growing church means he can skip the relational efforts at Level 2. If a leader hasn’t built relationships well, he will likely experience resistance the minute things stop going so well.

Level 4 is all about people development. Here our influence is based on the ways we have helped others feel productive in their own ministry efforts. Perhaps we have helped them find a place to serve and that experience has added to their life in meaningful ways.

Helping people discover and begin using their gifts is the core work of church leaders. Remember, Ephesians 4 tells us that we work to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Pastors who are stuck at Level 2 find themselves doing the ministry instead of training others.

Level 4 provides the opportunity for things to begin really growing around the leader. People are exercising their gifts and finding new purpose in their lives. And the one who opened those doors for me can be trusted to stretch me on other ways too. At Level 4, a leader can lead change effectively. Level 5 is about personhood. Here my life has changed by my connection to this leader. Who they are and what they prioritize has begun to reshape me in significant ways. I find myself adopting the values that the leader lives by and my commitment to their vision becomes very strong.