I’ve been reading Leading From the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson this week. What a great resource this is! I only wish I had read it a few years ago so that I could have implemented some of its perspective in my first ministry position after college.

According to Bonem and Patterson, a Second-Chair Leader is a person in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value throughout the organization(2). Basically it is someone who is a leader but is not the “lead leader.” Success for the Second Chair leader is found through influence and building strong relationships.

There is a great amount of freedom in that and I feel a great sense pride knowing that God has allowed me to gain influence and build strong relationships in every single working opportunity I’ve had. From working at a restaurant to campus security to my current position as a youth minister, being in the second chair (or third or eighth) has allowed me to serve in the most pure form of leadership there is: leading/serving without formal authority.

Have I always embraced this truth? Unfortunately not. I have complained and I have missed or refused many opportunities to look at the big picture. The reality is, thankfully, that God has used/is now using/will use my experiences in the second chair as a “transformational season” in my life. That is an awesome truth that I will and must embrace!

Bonem and Patterson go on discuss the three paradoxes of Second Chair Leadership: subordinate-leader, deep-wide, and contentment-dreaming. In discussing these paradoxes I realized how incredibly privileged I am to be in a second chair role. There is freedom but as the number two (or three or eight) I have a even greater responsibility not just to my particular ministry but to everyone that I come in contact with. I’ll unpack these paradoxes tomorrow.

Until then, Are you in the second chair leadership position where you lead? If so, have you ever looked at this position as an opportunity for growth and strength?

What would it take for you to begin gaining influence and building stronger relationships across your entire organization from your current second chair position today?