The New Structure of Leadership: Pyramids vs. Circles

THIS EPISODE

Have you ever tried to roll a triangle? Circles make better wheels than pyramids do. This analogy is a clue for movement thinking. Within the new wineskin, the circle is the fractal for structure, a community of interdependence that is open and reproducing.

Pyramids are closed systems with CEOs, managers, and workers. The circle, however, changes the leader’s role to that of a facilitator, catalyst, equipper, and coach. Movements are composed of many circles, or a fractal-like network of networks. Join us as we explore the structure of leadership in the new wineskin

THIS MINISERIES: MICROCHURCHES AND THE NEW WINESKIN OF LEADERSHIP

We are reimagining the Church as a decentralized network of multiplying missionaries and microchurches that fill a city or region with the fullness of Jesus. For most of us, that requires a shift from the centralized form of leadership that we’ve been using to a decentralized one.

Centralized

• Churches look and feel like a pyramid. Hierarchies are built for control. Top-down leadership ultimately communicates, “We can do it; you can help.”
• Power is collected, especially for the organization and a few at the top.
• A few lead, and everyone else follows.

Decentralized

• Authority and ownership are extended out to the edges, and those circles are reproduced.
• Power is treated as a currency that is available to everyone. The goal is for everyone and every expression of the church to reach their maximum influence.
• Everyone leads, and everyone follows.

This decentralized form of the Church requires a new wineskin: a culture of decentralized, polycentric leadership with flat structures. In this miniseries, we will dig into the source, structure, scorecard, speed, and skill of leadership in this new wineskin.