Ultimately Responsible

Susan Nelson Kibbey writes about three leadership styles in her book, "Ultimately Responsible: When You're in Charge of Igniting a Ministry." She describes: the shepherd, the town crier, and the task manager organizer. Kibbey explains the strengths and weaknesses of each style so that leaders can understand how they are perceived by others and adapt for strengths and shortfalls to create a balance to move ministry forward. The shepherd naturally invites others to join in ministry, but they like to avoid confrontation. The town crier is good at letting people know why a ministry is needed and being done and why they ought to join the cause, but they are not necessarily good at organizing people and assigning specific tasks. The task manager organizer is excellent at planning and putting people in the spots to get something accomplished, but they are not aware that they can come across as pushy since they are focused on the task and not the people or the reason that something needs to be done. Kibbey offers suggestions on ways to balance all three when doing ministry or building teams with all three leaders to get people involved, to let the congregation know why the ministry is needed, and the organizer to pay attention to the details. Kibbey's book also gives advice about talking to leaders that are not performing to the expectations of the church by being a tyrrant or failing to allow input from others when doing ministry.