When you think of a successful organization or company, the first person who comes to your mind is the leader who sits in the first chair. In actuality, the real meat of the organization is found in the middle. Second-chair leaders don’t get the glory attributed to the first chair, but they are (for better or for worse) the key to the future of every organization.
What I am finding everywhere I go is that second-chair leaders are hungry . . . hungry to grow, to develop, to break past barriers that keep them from moving forward. Second-chair leaders don’t always feel like the meat of the sandwich. They often feel like the little chunks of vegetable that can fall out of the sandwich without being missed.
While the vast body of leadership empowering literature is expansive, the majority of it is addressed to first-chair leaders. The fact that many of these books are best sellers tells us that a heck of a lot of sub first-chair leaders are reading them!
When a second-chair leader reads a book about organizational health it typically leads to frustration, because it causes that leader to notice all of the unhealthy signs within their organization, but it doesn’t give them the authority to change them. That has to come from the top. Because of this, second-chair leaders often feel stifled, disillusioned, and all too often this leads to a judgmental and unsubmitted attitude towards their senior leader.
So why is it so hard to be a second-chair leader?
Because most second-chair leaders aspire to be first-chair leaders, and jumped at the chance to serve under a first-chair leader they respected because they thought he was going to spend countless hours pouring into their lives every week. But he didn’t do that, did he? Instead, he gave you a boatload of tasks and complete freedom to accomplish them however you see fit. And by freedom I mean, don’t bother me with questions, concerns, ideas, or requests for my input. Just figure out how to do it on your own and let me know when it’s done so I can give you something else to do!
So what is my advice to second-chair leaders? I have three things to share with you:
1. Read the story of Joseph once a week, study his heart, and emulate it. Joseph was a slave . . . not an associate pastor, a slave! And instead of feeling used (a highly overused complaint of the second-chair variety) by Potipher, he felt trusted by him, and privileged to be counted worthy of that trust. This is why his heart turned away from sin and his feet followed when Potipher’s wife threw the booty at him! Regardless of how you feel you are being treated, your place of leadership is a sacred trust. Keeping your heart clean is a must if you are to have even a chance of developing beyond where you are.
2. Remember John Maxwell’s Law of the Lid. You’ll never take your organization beyond the leadership level of the senior leader. If you try to, you’ll wreck the ship, and you’ll probably be the one to get thrown over board. Stop trying to lead past your senior leader, and simply come alongside to empower the initiates that flow from that office.
3. Negative feedback from a negative person is just negative, but negative feedback from a positive person is constructive. If you want to be heard, become a consistently positive voice. Being a leader is not about seeing what is wrong and fixing it, it’s first and foremost about seeing what is right and affirming it. If you can’t name at least five positive things about your organization, don’t bother mentioning the negative things you see. Your mind isn’t in the right place anyway.
And keep in mind (this one is for free) that you’ve never stood in your senior leader’s shoes. It’s easy for you to think you know what’s wrong and how to fix it when you’re standing on the outside looking in. The day will come when it will be your turn to sit in the first chair. In that day you can implement every initiative in your heart. Just remember that your senior leader felt the same way you do when he sat in the second chair.
Man, all of this sounds like a rebuke of second chair leaders. I really didn’t mean it to be. I’m trying to encourage you. You are the meat of your organization! If you maintain enthusiasm, become a positive and supportive voice, you’ll be able to discern the right way to make suggestions that will take your organization to the next level. The future of your organization depends upon you. Keep your heart engaged, and keep moving forward!
If you are a second-chair leader, I’d love to hear what your unique challenges are. Did my post address them? Are there others I can’t see? Please leave me a comment and let me know. You can also leave me a voicemail by clicking the “send voicemail” tab on the right.
