Haydn Nelson at the Phil Baker blog has an interesting post on this based on the Hans Finzel book. Here is part of Haydn's abbreviated synopsis of the top ten mistakes.
1. The top-down attitude – effective leaders see themselves at the bottom of an inverted pyramid.
2. Putting paperwork before peoplework – see people as priority number one; only through association is there transformation.
3. The absence of affirmation.
4. Not making room for mavericks - some mavericks who made a difference include the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, William Carey, Martin Luther King etc.
5. Being a dictator in decisions – dictators deny the value of individuals; the one who does the job should decide how it is done.
6. Refusing to delegate – delegation should match each worker's follow-through ability but nothing frustrates those who work for you more than sloppy delegation with too many strings attached.
Read them all here.
After a conversation I had last night with a very gifted church consultant and missional leader, mistake two really stands out. There is a tendency amongst some churchs to view people as numbers or, perhaps more accurately, objects. When our company, Scene by Scene, worked with the now defunct theatrical company, Livent, this was called the "bums in chairs" approach.
Like Livent, our goal is to fill the chairs. We discuss the numbers after the delivery of our services. Our focus is on increasing those numbers - not on the people themselves. We call the people "our congregation" but in reality they are, for the most part, our audience. Church as entertainment. Perhaps, rather than asking them to tithe, we should just ask them to pay admission - it might be more honest.
