In 2021, I was privileged to grab lunch with and take a short interview with Clyde Meador. I had known Clyde from his work at the IMB, but even more as a member of the church I was serving at. He was well-loved and respected as a leader at the IMB for decades of faithful ministry.
Clyde died in 2024, and is missed by everyone who shared ministry and friendship with him. Below are the notes from my interview on 5 important lessons of leadership. You can read more about his ministry at https://www.imb.org/2024/04/26/longtime-international-missions-leader-clyde-meador-dies/ or read his blog at https://clydesthoughts.wordpress.com/.
For my interview, I shared an encouraging lunch with Dr. Clyde Meador, where he shared from his decades of leadership experience on the five most significant lessons he has learned about leadership.
After stints in the business world and as a pastor, Clyde and his wife Elaine served as missionaries and in a series of IMB leadership roles in Southern Asia and then as the Regional Leader for Central and Southern Asia. For the last 20 years, Clyde has served as the executive vice president of the IMB under presidents Jerry Rankin, Tom Eliff, David Platt, and Paul Chitwood – including a couple of stints as interim president in between – before retiring (for the second time) in 2020.
1. INTEGRITY AND TRANSPARENCY:
Dr. Meador started off his list by speaking on the importance of integrity and transparency in a leader, saying, “If we are not who we say we are – if we don’t own up to who we are – there’s no way we’re going to lead.”
There are different ways to respond to questions and challenges from the people you are tasked to lead. It is often natural to respond defensively to with a secretive and closed approach. However, Clyde shares that in his experience people will respond and follow with more trust if you can allow yourself to be vulnerable and share as much information about a problem as possible, even being honest about the limits of what you can share.
Integrity and transparency also indicates the willingness to face up to, admit, and correct mistakes. Dr. Meador advises those he mentors to form an accountability group to share about the issues they are dealing with and invite hard questions to identify weaknesses and maintain integrity and transparency.
2. I AM A SUB-LEADER
Clyde went on to emphasize the importance or recognizing our stewardship of leadership under the ultimate leadership of Christ, saying “the task is His, not mine.” As leaders placed by Christ into His mission, we must follow His lead. The work we are called to do is dependent on His empowering – it cannot be done without Him. Particularly, he remarked on the act of giving over control to Christ, and that what we give over to God is always transformed and empowered by Him.
3. A REAL LEADER IS HUMBLE, SERVING, SHEPHERDING, & LEARNING
True leaders exhibit the same character as Christ, who exhibited humility and service. We discussed the mix of character and behavior that is described here, and Dr. Meader shares that “faith worth imitating is faith that produces obedience.”
As he continued to consider the practices of a leader, Clyde points out that good leadership often consists of balancing three different core tasks: shepherding, strategy, and communication. We have to balance those tasks according to situation and according to the needs of those we’re leading. “At a particular time, you know, somebody may really need shepherding today – and they need a good kick in the pants tomorrow.”
4. A LEADER IS COURAGEOUS
Dr. Meador next shares about a leader’s need to correct others firmly but in grace – “challenging wrong, speaking the truth in love – and at the same time, forgiving.” He notes that it is often difficult to confront someone where they are wrong, and that many leaders aren’t willing to do that.
As a guide for how to confront well, he quotes the popular adage, “praise publicly, correct privately.”
5. MY CHOICE IS TO TRUST
Finally, Clyde advises that leaders start from a default position of trusting those that they lead. “I have found that it is much better to trust the… people I’m seeking to lead, and you have to earn my distrust.” While many leaders are hesitant to trust untested team members with important tasks or force their team to progressively earn trust – Clyde’s experience shows that those he has led responded well to an assumption of trust from the start.
MORE FROM DR. CLYDE MEADOR For more insights from a wise, godly, and experienced Christian leader, Clyde has a new blog at https://clydesthoughts.wordpress.com/