When I talk about making the move from what I describe as “performative leadership” to “formative leadership” (as I did obliquely in last week’s Dear Partner letter), I regularly encounter a reaction as understandable as it is predictable. First, let me say a little more about what I mean by these terms. Performative leadership is essentially leadership that focuses on certain skills or practices that the leader has acquired through training and practice and now uses on behalf of the organization he or she is leading. In congregational ministry, these are often of the skills of preaching, teaching, pastoral...