I’ve realized something recently. Leadership is hard.
Not only is it hard, but it’s probably the most difficult responsibility on the face of the earth.
Why? Because you are not simply responsible for your own skill and craft. You are responsible to mobilize others to accomplish goals and become all they can be.
Worship Leader, your role is shrouded in leadership. I suppose that’s why it’s in your title. You don’t just worship…You lead worship.
You don’t just play music…You lead a band to play music. You don’t just have a personal vision…You cast that vision for others to hear, grasp, and make their own.
In this post I’d like to help you become a better worship leader…in the leadership sense of the term.
I share these insights because I have historically sucked at leadership. With each new service, project, and conversation with a band member, I’m learning.
As a wise sage once said, “Don’t learn from your mistakes. Learn from mine.”
10 Leadership Tips For Worship Leaders
You can instantly improve your leadership today. I recommend you focus on one of these disciplines at a time:
1. Get Crystal Clear on the Vision – Effective leadership begins with a burden, a sense of mission, a call. If you’re not crystal clear on what that is, your team will define it for you. Hear from God. Get clarity.
2. Befriend In-Depth Planning – If you’re not a good planner, you need to surround yourself with someone who is. In order to lead well, you need to know where you’re going. You need to be multiple steps ahead of your team.
3. Communicate the Crap Out of Your Plans – Once your plans are in place, make sure to communicate and communicate often. Be in touch with your team constantly. Make sure your team members have time to process where you’re leading them. Don’t catch them off guard with big projects.
4. Surround Yourself With Help – Just because you’re the leader doesn’t make you great at everything. Matter of fact, leadership will magnify your weaknesses.
As Andy Stanley says, you need to do what only you can do and delegate to others. If your vision is compelling, people will rally around your cause and beg to take part in it.
5. Make Big Asks – On the topic of surrounding yourself with help, don’t be afraid to make big asks of people. The worst that can happen is they say ‘no’.
What I’ve found is that a big ask can awaken the adventure in gifted people who have grown complacent. Your words may just be the catalyst they need to step out.
6. Confront – In order to develop leaders, you need to confront them. They need feedback, coaching, and constructive criticism.
I’ve always shied away from this because I didn’t want to sound like a know it all, and at other times, I really didn’t know what to say. But you need to push yourself to have these conversations. The growth of your people depends on it.
7. Deal With the Details – Your talent may be why you were hired, but your attention to detail and excellence is what will keep you where you are. Think through your area each week and make sure all the details are covered. Excellence begins in the small things.
8. Widdle Away – Sometimes there are people on your team who shouldn’t be. Whether they lack the skill or they lack the ability to submit to your vision, it’s necessary in leadership to let people go.
This isn’t easy, but the more you do it the more you’ll know what type of person should be on your team.
9. Focus on Your Systems – Before you pick your worship set for next weekend and start attending meetings, take the best part of your day and evaluate your systems.
Are they functioning properly? How are you developing musicians? How are you developing worship leaders? How are your events being pulled off? Well executed systems will save your ministry.
10. Never Coast – Always be raising the bar, climbing the next mountain, taking new ground. If the Holy Spirit is constantly moving, you should be too. Don’t allow yourself to get comfortable and get stuck in a rut.
Don’t be overwhelmed. Sure, great worship leaders do more than simply sing and organize music. But you can do this. God has created you to be a leader.
We need you to rise up.
Question: What are some other ways you are growing in your leadership as a Worship Leader? Join the discussion in the comments!
Before i get all serious on you, the wording in number 3 is hilarious (while completely true)
OK, so I’ve been leading worship at my church for almost 6 years now. We’re still small but growing. I am the worship team, just me and my guitar. This used to bother me. Recently God has been showing me that before i can have a full worship team, I need to be able to function on my own and learn every aspect of worship (like running EasyWorship while i play and sing lol) that I can. I need to learn everything i can possibly learn before I take on a team and start leading/teaching a group of people. He’s showing me how to be effective with a little before I can be effective with a lot. Quite honestly, posts like these make me open my eyes and show me things I’m going to have to work on in this process of learning to lead. Out of these 10, I can only say I do 3 of them so i have a lot of work to do. Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned!!!
Hey man, if I were you I’d start getting some people involved with you. That’s too much to handle by yourself!
David- this is great! You are helping me train my new assistant worship leader! I’ve sent this to him as well as my pastor (who happens to be my husband).
Awesome. Thanks Paula!
As you know we are in the middle of a Contemporary Worship re-vamp and focusing in on a solid vision is my current mission. The important thing I’m trying to remember is to make sure the Pastor and other leaders know what my vision is and that they are all on board as well. Things become a lot easier with the support of influential folks in the church.
The thing I find the hardest is letting others come in and help with developing the vision. It becomes your baby and you want to make sure it doesn’t fail so letting someone else come in and help can be difficult at times. However, with out the help of others around you it can be a near insurmountable task to go at alone. So I really agree and resonate with getting people fired up about your vision along with you. This way their desire is to help and see it succeed just as much you want it to.
So true, Tony. A great example of this was the live recording we just did. Our whole staff jumped on board and owned it and so many people sacrificed to make it happen. Even though working through others can be messy and slower, it’s so much more rewarding to do ministry together.
I love doing worshiping ,I just starting to learn how to be one please people if you got some ideas let me knw.
I have heard many things about planning but never to Befriend In-Depth Planning. Leaders are aware of their resources and can adapt as necessary because they have considered different outputs. Worship leaders need to anticipate the demands from the congregation. Ideally many of these plans do not need to be implemented and the leader can focus on the purpose of the church which is to build a stronger connection with God and others in the light of God.