Three Roles of an Effective Leader

I need your opinion on the following. Is the following subject a column in MPN? Is it worth and entire chapter in the book? Is it the theme of my next book? As usual, some of these thoughts are random. (Those of you who write will recognize that, of course.) Please leave me your input, folks. Thanks.


I have found that there are three common "hats" interchangeably worn by all of the great leaders I've ever been around; three specific areas of focus they have in common. To further make my point, the great companies I've been around (bands, churches, sales teams/departments, etc.) also have a similar balance of those three components.

I've borrowed the following terms from a popular vernacular to make the discussion easier. The three "titles" of great leaders are:

Evangelist – The Evangelist “converts” thinking. He is the guy that gets the team to think a certain way – to change their paradigm. This guy speaks in terms like, “Do something FOR your customer not TO your customer.” Once that mental conversion has been accomplished, it’s time to bring in the…

Teacher – The Teacher delivers practical skills to the team once they believe the system. He’ll help them to understand and memorize WordTracks; teach them when to talk and when to listen. This guy gives the team a greater degree of ownership and succeeds in small and measurable increments.

Preacher – The Preacher is mostly a motivator and cheerleader. He keeps all the conversion work done by the Evangelist locked in place. He’s the “Stick Factor Guy” if you will. The team must often be made to remember what they believe in order for it to remain fresh in their minds. Often when the Preacher is speaking, you’ll get more of the, “Oh yeah… I used to do it that way” than you’ll get “A-Ha”.

I've also come to believe that when you create and environment that has all three of those elements, you're more able to not only attract good people, but to grow them into great people.