Burnout in Churches and Christian Faith-Based Organisations

Leadership
Over the years, much has been written about the characteristics, behaviours, and competences
of effective leaders. Several leadership ideas are circulating at present, including that leadership
should be widely distributed rather than dependant on job title or paygrade, that there should be
greater emphasis on transformational rather than transactional leadership, the shift to whole system
leadership and the importance of leading self.
Whilst leadership of Churches and other Christian faith-based organisation is similar in many ways
to other contexts, certain aspects are of importance, as highlighted in previous sections. Leaders in
Churches and other Christian faith-based organisations need a full range of leadership skills and
knowledge as well as being able to discern and incorporate God’s will in decision making.
Experience of working with leaders of Churches and other Christian faith-based organisations causes
us to believe there are certain aspects of leadership which can be difficult and deserve attention, such
as the need to:
• Resolve or hold tensions between different viewpoints on a full range of matters.
• Balance organisational requirements with a legitimate concern for individuals working within
the organisation.
• Acknowledge when a problem exists. Rarely do problems resolve themselves and denying
they exist or hoping these will somehow go away, is poor leadership.
• Be decisive and act on that decision. Often leaders face a choice about when to deal with a
matter. If no choice is made, the opportunity to prepare for conversations and, to an extent,
control proceedings, is lost. Instead, the leader is likely to be forced to deal with the matter
at a time which may be unhelpful or inconvenient to them. It is better to have a potentially
difficult conversation with someone about an issue in a private place, when you feel
resourceful rather than for this to later emerge at a time of its choosing, as perhaps towards
the end of a larger meeting when it is late, emotions may be high, people are tired and want
to go home.
• Be willing to make decisions that, to others at least, might appear uncaring. Leaders must
accept that sometimes they will be unpopular and the decisions they make might cause pain
to others.
• Recognise that the extent of ‘decision pain’ will be affected by when and how a matter is
dealt with. Making someone redundant by a one line text at 4pm on Christmas Eve is much
more harmful than a face-to-face conversation a few days earlier or indeed after Christmas,
with time given to explain the decision and support the individual. Good practice is as much
to do with the ‘how’ of leadership as it is to do with the ‘what’.
• Engage when necessary in difficult conversations where negative reactions might be
anticipated, other people may be adversely affected, emotional responses feared, or personal
control threatened.
Tips for Success:
1. If you find difficult conversations daunting, seek coaching support, and recognise that with
practice these become easier.
2. If when thinking about a matter you find yourself considering delaying a decision or an
action, challenge yourself. Are you hoping this will go away, thereby avoiding a difficult
conversation and the consequences of acting?
3. Remember that as a leader how you do something is often as important as what you do.
4. If you do not attend to something at the right time it is highly likely it will attend to you,
normally at a time that is unhelpful.
5. Be prepared to talk about tensions held by yourself and others.
6. Ensure that prayer, time to listen to God and discernment are embedded in the culture.
7. Look after yourself.
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