Leading from the Second Chair … with a New First Chair

You probably played musical chairs as a child. You may still have flashbacks to those anxious moments before the music stopped, wondering whether you’d be able to find a chair. But at least you knew the rules of the game.

When a transition of first chair leaders takes place, the rest of the team knows that the game will change, but they’re uncertain what the new rules will be. Leadership transitions can be particularly difficult for second chair leaders as they try to understand and adapt to these new rules.

For executive pastors and many others on a team, leadership transitions may create one of four confusing scenarios: 

• Diminished responsibility. A high-capacity leader may have had significant responsibility and autonomy under the previous senior pastor. But the new senior pastor either wants to be more involved in decisions or takes on some of the tasks directly. The second chair experiences this as a lack of trust, but the reality may be that the first chair has never worked with an executive pastor or wants to understand how the church functions.
• Actions and words don’t match. Second chairs who have worked with the same first chair for years can almost anticipate what their boss thinks or wants. When a new first chair arrives, the learning process starts over, and wise second chairs pay attention to everything they say. So it’s confusing if the first chair’s actions don’t match their words. This may seem like hypocrisy, but the new leader may just be processing their uncertainty out loud.
• New direction. Some new senior pastors arrive with a clear sense of direction and priorities, either as a result of their own prayerful assessment or a mandate they received when they were hired. If the second chair was not part of these initial conversations about direction, they may feel like they’re playing catch-up, especially if they believed the church or ministry had been moving in a positive direction.
• Relational shifts. Obviously, relationships will change with a transition in first chairs. But second chairs often don’t think about the many different dimensions of change: communication styles, meeting frequency, speed of decision-making, and much more. The new leader may be more private or more open about their feelings, may be more or less encouraging, and will have different hot buttons. These differences are not good or bad – they’re just a change from previous norms.

None of the characteristics and behaviors described in these scenarios are indicators that the first chair is wrong for the role or that the second chair should develop an exit strategy. But they can be significant stress points in the early weeks and months of a leadership transition.

In these moments, adaptability and relationship building are essential. Second chair leaders need to hold loosely to their old play books. The phrase “this is how we used to do things” should be said far less often than “help me understand” or ”tell me more.” Time spent getting to know each other should be given equal footing to time for making decisions. The simple guidance in James 1:19 – “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” – should be top of mind. And throughout a season of transition, every leader should take advantage of their greatest resource, the wisdom and peace that is promised to all God’s children.