Four Types of People to Recruit to Leadership

Earlier this week, I wrote about the Four Types of People Never to Recruit to Leadership. The flip side of that is to think about the four types of people that we want to recruit to leadership positions.

The Encourager - Encouragers to a team are like air fresheners in the room. They make even difficult situations better. They're optimists. They can carry a worn out leader or team. The Encourager is the guy who meets you at the door with a kind word, and when they say they're praying for you, you know they mean it. The Encourager isn't The Yes Man. The Yes Man won't ever be honest with you. The Encourager will be constructive and helpful even when having difficult talks.

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The Builder - Builders will work to construct healthy teams, healthy systems, healthy ministries. They're different than The Critic, who always points out flaws and faults. Builders will work with what they're given and bring people together, they'll work out policy and procedure, they'll do the hard work of taking what they see as broken and repairing it. Critics will just point. Builders will fix what they see as broken. You know with a Builder that when they point out flaws they'll match it with effort to fix what they see.

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The Unifier - Unifiers will work on bridging gaps between people. Not everyone in a church is going to think alike on issues or ministries. But unlike The Divider (or Pot Stirrer) who will make divisions wider, the Unifier tries to find common ground. The Unifier knows that we have much more in common than we realize. Unifiers are incredible for leadership because they'll join the work of the Builder to bring people to a solution.

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The Confidant - Leaders, let's be honest. Sometimes we need a steam release. We hold everything in, our anxieties, frustrations, victories, hurts, and annoyances. If we don't have a way of releasing the steam valve, we'll blow our top. The Confidant is the kind of person who will take what you have to say, absorb it, and keep it to themselves. They won't use your vulnerability against you. But in a more general sense, Confidants make great team members because they will handle sensitive issues with great care. They're trustworthy.

​Who else would make an ideal member for leadership?

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