How to keep Big Dog Leaders on your Church Staff

There are all kinds of different leaders, but big dog leaders are a different breed altogether. And they need to be treated differently. On the team I lead there are multiple team members who have served as Executive Pastors at other large churches, on Sr. Leadership Teams of large churches, and even as a Sr. Pastor of a church of 1,000 in weekly attendance. So how do you keep that many strong leaders working together on one team?

1. Give them a Seat at the Big Kids Table

Big dog leaders need a seat on the Sr. Leadership Team. They need to be able to influence the direction of the organization not just a segment of the ministry. They need to be given real responsibility and the resources needed to produce real results. Big dog leaders want to get stuff done.

2. Big Vision

Vision answers the question, “Where are we going?” If the next hill you’re taking isn’t big enough and compelling enough to give their life to, big dog leaders will go somewhere else. Big dog leaders only hang around for big vision.

3. Provide Clarity

Clarity isn’t everything, but it changes everything. Big dog leaders don’t stay around in churches where there is confusion, because confusion creates drag on the entire organization and slows things down. If you don’t clear up confusion, big dog leaders will go somewhere else.

4. Turn them Loose

At the end of the day the best way to keep big dog leaders around is to turn them loose and let them lead. They were made to lead and when you don’t let them, they’ll go somewhere else where they can.

5. Listen to Them

Big dog leaders don’t want to just be given tasks and be told what to do. They have ideas that they need to express and they need their voice to be heard. To lead big dog leaders you have to actually believe that you don’t have all the answers. You have to believe in your team, and you have to listen to them. Because, if you don’t listen to them someone else will.

6. Pay Them

This may sound shallow, but if you don’t pay big dog leaders what they’re worth, someone else will. That’s just reality.