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Leader's Insight: Supporting Leaders When You Disagree

Successful "second chair leaders" play a challenging part.

Keeping your role as a second chair leader in perspective is important, especially when you may not agree with everything that your leader says or does. Leadership editorial resident Abram Book caught up with West University Baptist Church associate pastors Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson, authors of Leading from Second Chair (Jossey-Bass, 2005) to discuss "managing up." In the second part of this interview, Bonem and Patterson talk about the challenges of supporting their senior pastor during periods of disagreement, advocating their own ministry while maintaining a "whole church" view, and leading successfully without drawing people away from someone else's leadership.

How do you support your leader when he does something you don't agree with?

Patterson: With the words "yes, sir." (laughter)

Bonem: To me, it starts behind closed doors, with just knowing him and knowing his heart, and knowing that on the core values level we're really on the same page. It's also important to me to distinguish ...

March
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