Birkman Leadership Styles

In my work in developing local campus ministry leaders with Campus Crusade for Christ around the globe, one of greatest lessons I tried to pass on was the importance of adapting a leader’s natural or preferred style of leading to the context of their ministry. Often younger leaders either tried to follow the leadership style of a more senior leader that they admired or reacted to a leadership style of a senior leader that had offended them. Often a cultural model of “leading” may have a great impact on developing leaders from among university students in one context but fails in another cultural context.

As a consultant, one of the tools I use is the Birkman Method. Roger Birkman has identified three styles of leading: knowledge specialists, directive managers, and delegative managers. A person may have an intense preference for one style or they could have a balanced preference. This affects their perspective on whether one style is “good or bad.” It may also affect their view on issues such as spiritual authority or decision making. (If you have your Birkman report you can find your natural or preferred style of leading on the Interview Guide top right column. The scores reflect the intensity of your preference with 1 being the least preferred and 10 being the most preferred.)

When we look at the Bible and see examples of leaders it is very easy for a person to pick examples of leaders that fit one’s own perspective. Of course when we look at Jesus we often see him fulfill the roles of a prophet, a priest and a king. I can compare these roles to Roger Birkman’s three styles of leading. A prophet is like a knowledge specialist bringing truth and wisdom to our lives which points us toward a future; a priest is like a delegative manager serving as our representative to a higher authority then ourselves, and who empowers and serves us to accomplish the responsibilities’ that we own; while a king is like a directive manager serving as a representative, of a higher authority then themselves, and uses their authority so that we might accomplish a shared outcome. Which style is right? I believe it all depends on what God’s purpose is for His people who are being led at that moment. The issue is to develop a flexible style of leadership in light of God’s purpose, our context and the people who God has asked us to lead.