Episode Details

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today, we’re talking with Diana Rush, the Senior Director of Build Community at Eastside Christian Church, a multisite church with locations in California, Nevada, and Minnesota.

Are you a middle manager in a church trying to balance the pressures from both your senior leadership and your direct reports? It’s not an easy task, but in this episode of the unSeminary Podcast, Diana Rush, Senior Director of Build Community at Eastside Church, shares powerful insights that will help you manage these tensions with grace, clarity, and effectiveness.

• Balancing leadership tensions. // Mid-level leadership in churches face unique challenges leading both upward to senior leadership and downward to direct reports. Managers in these roles act as translators between vision and execution, ensuring alignment while maintaining strong relationships.
• Knowing yourself to lead effectively. // Effective leadership starts with self-awareness. Leaders must understand their own strengths and struggles before they can lead others well. If unresolved personal challenges go unchecked, they will inevitably affect team dynamics. Seek spiritual formation and growth, asking Jesus to shape your leadership approach.
• Build Trust. // Trust is a critical component of leadership, both with those above and below you in the organization. Demonstrate reliability and transparency to earn trust, ensuring that your team feels supported while also maintaining alignment with senior leadership. Advocate for your teams while effectively translating the vision and strategy from above you.
• Sell vision. // Diana believes that every leader is a “salesperson”, whether they are advocating for ideas with senior leadership or gaining buy-in from their teams. To do this effectively, leaders need to be fully committed to the church’s vision before presenting ideas. Prepare thoroughly for meetings and presentations in order to address questions and concerns while also remaining flexible and making sure people feel heard.
• Make necessary shifts. // One example of how Eastside’s leadership “sold vision” includes how the church transitioned small groups away from increased on-campus meetings to more home-based settings. Although challenging at first, this shift ultimately strengthened the church’s discipleship model, reduced complexity, and allowed for more organic community growth and campus alignment.
• Never waste a crisis. // Be transparent about metrics, as they tell a story about performance. Investigate declines to understand the underlying reasons. Encourage your team members to take ownership of their areas and conduct their own research to find solutions to problems that arise. Difficult situations are opportunities for creativity and improvement.
• One-on-one meetings. // Consistent one-on-one meetings with your direct reports are crucial for growth and alignment. Diana suggests starting with a personal connection to build trust and open the door for candid dialogue. Next, discuss their goals and any challenges they’re facing. Wrap up by leaving space for them to provide feedback to you as their supervisor.

Visit eastside.com to connect with Diana and to follow along with what Eastside Christian Church is doing.

EXTRA CREDIT // Get Your One-on-One Meeting Guide for Middle Managers

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