4 Leadership Styles

The diagram at the top of this blog article illustrates 4 leadership approaches that church and missional leaders can take when it comes to their ministry. Those 4 approaches are created by the way 2 specific leadership concepts relate to each other. If you can imagine that the vertical line represents the concept of Initiative Leadership, either high or low (top or bottom in the diagram), and that the horizontal axis represents the concept of Releasing Leadership, either high or low (left or right), then the 4 resulting patterns represent a style of leadership and the effect each produces in an organization or a movement.

Let me unpack this a bit further with some definition. By Initiative Leadership, I mean leadership that actually initiates something. The old adage (I think I first may have heard it from John Maxwell) is that if you are leading and no one is following you are just taking a walk. Those are true words, and they especially apply to the Maxwell definition of leadership as "influence". However, I think that true leadership is more than mere influence. I think that the old adage could have a corollary such as, Even if people are following you, if you are not actually going somewhere, you are not leading. The good Shepherd leads us beside still waters and paths of righteousness (Psalm 23: 2-3). Those are destinations. Merely gaining a following and enhancing your own influence and reputation is not actual leadership.....that may simply be pure politics! Initiating Leadership is leadership that is going somewhere, has a goal, is attempting to accomplish a mission. It initiates......and if it did not initiate, then nothing would happen.

By Releasing Leadership I mean leadership that equips and releases others into leadership and into the work of accomplishing a given mission. By releasing I mean actually releasing, allowing the persons who have been influenced to move forward with their own initiative and the ability to modify the outcome. (To bring this over into a church growth or church multiplication example so that the distinction between low releasing and high releasing can be understood think of the distinction between a cell leader in a cell church, and a church planter of a new church. The cell leader has been equipped for ministry and does the ministry....but may have to have the cell meeting at a certain place and time and may have to teach an approved lesson....though released to ministry, it is a low releasing model. The church planter has been equipped as well, but is fully released to plant a new work and initiates and plans the work himself/herself. The church planter is on a high release model.)

With these understandings, and referring to the diagram, notice that there are 4 ways that these qualities can relate to each other in a leadership style or strategy. Most of us will have 1 of these styles that will come more naturally to our personalities, but we may want to deliberately modify our approach in order to change the outcomes. Here are the 4 styles:


1. Low Initiative, Low Releasing: In this style, the leader is a caretaker of a dying organization. He/She is not really going anywhere, and is not allowing anyone else to go anywhere either! The leader is either unwilling or unable to influence people to move into a new direction, and has no sense of future strategy for the organization either. This organization or movement is going to die.


2. Low Initiative, High Releasing: In this style the leader is in the role of leader in terms of a position, but either has little vision of where the organization should be headed, or has little influence over the direction of the organization. He/She could definitely benefit from studying John Maxwell's leadership materials, especially about the 5 Levels of Leadership. However, this leader may be comfortable in providing little initiative and in giving permission for the followers to initiate. Usually this represents a Plateaued organization or movement. The reason is that this type of leader usually does not initiate anything but the word "NO". When the followers initiate things that may cause problems, the leader steps in to squelch the new project etc. There are times when this style of leadership can be good, and at the end of this article I will share how a leader can use all of these styles strategically and productively.

3. High Initiative, Low Releasing: In this style the leader is a visionary and an activist. He/She sees where they want the organization or movement to go, and takes steps to lead and influence others in this direction. However, the followers are very much restricted and controlled in terms of their own initiative. From my experience and studies concerning this kind of leadership, I would say that this style can be used for good or bad. It can be benevolent or malevolent. It is the kind of leadership in the military, used to secure our freedoms. Or it can be the kind of leadership in an oppressive dictatorship. It can help grow a megachurch and reach thousands with the gospel. It can be perverted and is the kind of leadership that is distorted in controlling cults. Later I will share where I think this style is most effectively used.

4. High Initiative, High Releasing: In this style there is the highest risk. The leader has vision and takes initiative to accomplish mission. He/She does their best to influence others to see the value of the vision and to equip them to accomplish the mission. But the leader does not control those who pick up the vision at all. No Control. No Control can bring the risk of Chaos. But it also brings the possibility of exponential success. In fact, this is the ONLY style of leadership that has the possibility of Exponential Success. There is no criticism intended here, only an illustration for understanding. The largest church in the world is the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea. Founded by Pastor Yonggi Cho, it had an attendance of 800,000 and was the poster child church for the cell church movement. It reached that level after approximately 40 years. It is an example of a High Initiative, Low Releasing style. On the other hand, the church planting movement in India that was foundational to much of the church planting movement strategy that has been documented in the last 2 decades, reached perhaps 80,000 churches and over 3 million baptized believers in only15 years....less than half the time and nearly 4 times the results....that is what I mean by exponential. One CPM in China that has emerged in the last 10 years has already planted 150,000 churches! (see the book T4T). The style of leadership has been one that was Highly Initiating and Highly Releasing! No 1 organization or person can be said to be the "Leader" of these movements. That is how "Released" they are.

So, I am advocating that missional leaders move toward adopting a High Initiative, High Releasing overall style of leadership with a goal of seeing church planting and disciple making movements multiply worldwide and literally fill the earth, reaching every people group with the gospel. Meanwhile, we can learn tactics from all of these styles and from time to time use them. Here are some times to use the different styles strategically:

A. To kill a program, organization or ministry (if that's really what you want to do!): Use the Low Initiative, Low Releasing style. To paraphrase Billy Hornsby, "Every program is on life support...just unplug it!"

B. To float a trial balloon: Use the Low Initiative, High Releasing style. Let a division or section of the organization have the freedom to experiment with a new strategy. Assess the results and then either nix it if it is not good, or move it to a higher level if it becomes something you want to "Initiate".

C. To train new leaders: Use the High Initiative, Low Releasing style. In training mode we are showing people how to use skills or do a certain work. The level of control needs to be higher during this phase in order to correct mistakes and achieve a high level of performance. Training events and schools function best with this kind of leadership.

D. To see movements born and exponential multiplication: Use the High Initiative, High Releasing style. This should be the over all style for this kind of goal, even if the other styles are used tactically from time to time.


Jesus Christ was the greatest human leader of all time (in addition to being God Incarnate). He used a High Initiating style of leadership once he began his ministry. He gained insight into what he was to initiate through intimacy with God the Father and in extraordinary time in prayer. But Jesus was an initiator...he was not passive! He said in John 5. 19 "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." This verse is sometimes quoted and emphasized as though it shows Jesus somewhat passive...."only" doing a little. But that is taking the verse out of context! He said this not to explain how "little" he was doing, but to explain how "much" he was doing. He was doing far more than the Pharisees wanted him to! In fact he had just said in verse 17 "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too, am working." Jesus only did what his Father was doing....and his Father was "Always at his work". The Father is always initiating. God is not sitting passively waiting to see if the world will be evangelized. He is constantly initiating.

Jesus used a semi-low releasing style in training the 12, but after their training adopted a High Release relationship. He gave the great commission and then moved them forward. The book of Acts is the story of The Word and The Spirit relating to the early church in a High Initiative/High Releasing model. The Word Commands us to make disciples of all nations (people groups). The Holy Spirit fills us and empowers us to do it and gives specific gifts and callings toward this end. It is up to us to initiate our obedience to the Word and the Spirit of God. Ultimately, since it is His Kingdom and not ours, we must adopt a High Releasing stance toward those who we disciple. We must never seek to control those we lead, but rather release them to their own obedience to our mutual Father in Heaven!