Learn About Delegating Leadership Styles

Are some leadership styles better than others? The answer to this question depends on the situation. Leadership styles vary according to the need of the group or congregation.

As your church grows and your ministry widens, you will have to expand your reach as a leader. You may need to take on more responsibility while letting go of the tasks that others can handle. This is sometimes known as the Delegating Leadership Style. It is one of the primary leadership styles and almost always guarantee success.

Let’s dig deeper and discover how the Delegating Leadership Style can benefit you and your church, especially when fundraising.

(If you need more tips for fundraising and starting your outreach donor campaigns, check out our extensive resources at DonorWerx.)

What Exactly Is a Delegating Leadership Style?

In short, this is a style of leadership where a group leader gives others the tasks to be responsible for. While he or she is still the overhead CEO or manager, delegating things does two important things:

1) Gives staff more freedom and free rein to work

2) Frees up the leader’s time, schedule and energy to focus on the tasks only he or she can do.

Some leaders are reluctant to delegate for fear that employees may not do the job as well. In these cases, leaders must see the importance of investing in employee training. When an employee gets to decide, they also need to realize the responsibility of this freedom.

It’s thought that the delegating leadership style became popular in the 60s. Throughout the decades, more and more leaders have experienced the benefits and even financial gains of delegating properly.

Leaders who are just learning to delegate tasks should start out slow. It often takes trial and error to know which jobs you are more suited to, and which your staff can handle instead. As you build up delegating abilities, you will also strengthen your style of leadership and be able to look out for pitfalls.

Read our DonorWerx articles on the best TED talks for leadership, where we discuss what your church can do to strengthen pastors and managers on every level.

Definition of Delegation in Church Leadership

As we mentioned above, delegation is the act of assigning responsibility or tasks which someone else on your staff, or your church members, can handle for you. What types of things does this entail for your outreach ministry?

Here are some ideas, though the details will vary as per your situation:

• Emails and communication during fundraisers
• Digital tasks and digital security
• Organizational activities in the lead-up to an outreach event
• Identifying key people such as media and press for your events
• Handling financial transactions or accounting for the church
• Organizing fundraisers
• Social media management for your websites and social pages

The above tasks might be things you are very good at, but remember that your most important job as a church leader is to guide people spiritually.

When you delegate the jobs such as mentioned above, you free yourself for other tasks under your pastoral duties: prayer, meditation and devotional activities or leading guided sessions in the church.

Sometimes, planning your weekly services takes so much thought, prayer and energy. Delegating the other technical work frees your mind to focus better. If you have a family on top of your daily admin duties, delegation enables you to get that quality time with your loved ones.

How to Have an Effective Delegating Leadership Style

Here are some more tips for ensuring that your leadership, when delegating, is effective and successful.

Only Pass on Responsibility to Teams You Can Trust

Leadership delegation is being able to trust that those you choose to spearhead projects can safely make their own decisions. You should be able to leave the projects in their hands and simply oversee from a distance.

If this is done remotely, as so much work is nowadays, it is even more essential that you trust the individual. Therefore, we recommend starting out slow and give tasks in smaller batches in the beginning. As your teams and team-working improve, you can delegate more responsibility.

What should a delegating leadership style look like?

The leader who delegates wisely should be able to:

• Let others have control when necessary.
• Be aware of the “big picture.”
• Allow the individuals and teams to make task-related decisions.
• Monitor activities from a distance.
• Ensure the best results.
• Remain accessible, even when working remotely.
• Contribute spiritual guidance to other leaders and low-tier managers.

How DonorWerx Can Help

Having a strong digital presence can make all the difference to your leadership. Not only do you have a good public presence, but you can communicate and delegate through upgraded tools.

Sustaining and growing your leaders often requires the best support systems in place. At DonorWerx, we are committed to helping you reach your mission goals through strong leadership resources. Visit our blog to find out more.