Our choices matter when it comes to leadership styles in music ministry. On Sunday mornings in churches across America, music ministries come together to assist gathered communities in their sung praise of God. Members of these music ministries consist of people of various ages, races, ethnicities, education levels, socio-economic backgrounds, orientations, upbringings, etc. In essence, ordinary people from virtually all walks of life.
Directing groups of people can be challenging, especially when the differences among them are many. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” While I believe this to be true, we are still human, and there are differing opinions about how to rehearse, what music to choose, and who should sing the next solo verse.
Leading music ministry can be very difficult. If the director doesn’t have a clear leadership style that is consciously or subconsciously supported and embraced by the members, the week-to-week issues can be overwhelming. And if we’re unclear about our own leadership style or even how choosing one can help alleviate issues, we can easily feel trapped without an escape strategy.
Let’s explore what leadership styles exist and how intentionally choosing one can make a huge difference in the way our music ministries ultimately function.
Leadership styles versus management styles
Successful leadership is highly dependent on the style of leadership chosen by the director. A leadership style is the overarching general approach used by a director to motivate their members. To some extent, the chosen leadership style is dependent on the director’s personality, their values, and their skills. However, even though directors may naturally gravitate to a certain style, effective directors will choose the style they believe will best serve their ministry at any given time.
Leadership styles differ from management styles. While leadership styles are general, overarching approaches to guiding members, management styles are much more rooted in actual interaction with members. Leadership styles are more long-term perspectives that focus on “what” and “why,” while management styles are more short-term strategies that focus on “how.” Thus, helping the ministry understand that we exist to help the community sing falls under leadership. How the director teaches a new song for Christmas or resolves a conflict with another member falls under management. (See this prior article on six important management skills for music ministers.)
Six basic leadership styles
While many leadership styles exist, we will be focusing on what many analysts believe are the six most common. These leadership styles are often discussed as they exist in the corporate business world, but I’ll explain how each can be applied to music ministry.
The six basic leadership styles are:
- Authoritative leadership
- Delegative leadership
- Transformational leadership
- Transactional leadership
- Participative leadership
- Servant leadership
Let’s explore the differences between each of these leadership styles in music ministry.
Authoritative leadership
Not to be confused with authoritarian leadership, authoritative leaders are visionaries. They plot a course of action and lead others towards fulfilling that vision. These leaders consider themselves mentors to their team and, through guidance and feedback, they adapt and amend the vision to achieve the goal.
The authoritative leader is prone to micro-managing and inherently doesn’t allow for members to influence the vision. While this style may produce positive results in some music ministries, it’s not my first choice for music directors because it doesn’t include thoughts or ideas from members in creating the vision for the ministry.
Delegative leadership
As the title infers, the central focus of the delegative leadership style allows members to create their own initiatives. This style works in settings where competency is high among members and micro-managing is not necessary. Delegative leaders allow their members to do their own thing and only jump in when challenges arise. Because of the lack of outside direction, this style can cause disagreements among members. Newcomers can also become intimidated and struggle with this form of leadership.
Delegative leadership may work well for very small ensembles with extremely competent musicians that do not need much assistance from their director. However, it’s not a practical leadership style for larger music programs or programs that include various levels of competency among the members.
Transformational leadership
Again, as the title infers, this style of leadership focuses on change through creating a group vision that generates unity among members. These inspiring leaders instill passion as members are led to reach their highest potential. They are leaders of transformation who bring out the very best in others. Transformational leaders focus on the future, change, and people.
Transformational leadership is a terrific choice when communities are facing change, perhaps through the clustering of parishes or when a new music director arrives. With a great emphasis placed on members helping to create the vision, this type of leadership style can be extremely effective for music directors. Once the transformation is complete, however, another style may need to be implemented.
Transactional leadership
This leadership style emphasizes structure, a leader-created vision, and a clear set of rules with distinctly defined rewards and punishments. This style is designed for groups that may lack motivation and can find success by establishing routines, policies, and procedures that help produce positive results. When the rules are followed, rewards are shared.
Transactional leadership may work effectively in communities where the director has existed for many years and has created routines and practices that produce positive results; however, because collaboration doesn’t exist anywhere in this style, it is not a good choice for leading music ministry.
Participative leadership
This style of leadership, known as the democratic style, utilizes collaboration to high extreme. By sharing decision-making power and responsibility, these leaders build high trust among ministry members. Members create a shared vision, feel ownership of the ministry, and greatly commit to that vision. Strong communication is pivotal when this style is used. Members are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas on important topics and issues.
Participative leadership can be a very good choice for some music ministries, especially those who utilize different leaders or when leadership is shared. The most important element of this style is that a firm level of trust is created amongst members. Without it, members may resort to unhealthy behaviors. Still, if true collaboration happens, accountability will soar.
Servant leadership
Clearly stated, this style of leadership puts the welfare and needs of the ministry members first, ahead of even the director’s needs. These leaders seek to help members reach their highest potential by helping them increase their abilities. Servant leadership is deeply rooted in ethical decision-making and emphasizes the success of the entire ministry instead of a select few members. Problem-solving becomes easier to achieve because members feel cared for, and as a result, creativity within the ministry increases.
Servant leadership is the best style of leadership for music ministry when collaboration is desired. These leaders understand what it’s like to walk in the shoes of other members. This modeling creates an atmosphere where all members care for each other. True passionate and loving ministry can easily flow from this style of leadership.
What are the best leadership styles in music ministry?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula for determining the best leadership styles in music ministry, but there are considerations that can provide some assistance. Determining the best style, or combination of styles, for you and your ministry requires some reflection. For some of these reflection questions, it’s important to think as a member, not a director.
- How well do you know your members, their needs, and their expectations for how the ministry should operate? Things like age, work schedules, musical experience and competency, knowledge of liturgy, etc., will impact what style is the best fit for them.
- Do members desire a role in decision-making or creating the vision for the ministry, or are they more comfortable with being directed?
- How are the relationships between the members of the ministry?
- Is change within the parish eminent?
- What leadership style does the pastor utilize?
- What leadership style is most attractive to you? Why? What do your instincts tell you would work?
There is no right or wrong decision when determining what leadership style is best. If you use one style and the results aren’t what you expected or it doesn’t feel right for you, change to another style. Remember, the most effective leaders will employ different leadership styles from time to time, depending on the situation or circumstances. While one over-arching style will likely emerge as the norm, a director may adopt any given style to best suit the ministry.
The best music directors and ensemble directors make intentional decisions about leadership styles in music ministry. If you use a well-determined style, it may be time to consider if it’s producing desired results. If you’ve never given thought to your own leadership style, now may be the time. Whatever your situation, employing the right leadership style will undoubtedly make a huge difference in building success within your music ministry.
Steve Petrunak is a founding board member of CLEF and director of music at St. Blase Catholic Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan. ˆHe has worked in music ministry for more than 40 years and is the co-author of “Managing Music Ministry: Beyond Notes and Chords.”
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