Team Leadership Practice, Challenges and Mitigation: A Case Study of Christian Church International, Diocese of Murang'a

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the issue of Team leadership practice, challenges and mitigation: The case of Christian Church International, Diocese of Murang'a. Many organizations face challenges associated with leadership styles. Leadership styles may lead to organization's inefficiency or efficiency. The many leadership challenges found in many churches today is as a result of lack of teamwork. Many leaders favor the old one-man style of leadership as opposed to team leadership. The ultimate outcome of that is inefficiency and mediocrity when it comes to performance. The aim of this study was to assessteam leadership practice, challenges and mitigation: A case study of Christian Church International, Diocese of Murang'a. This study was anchored on shared leadership theory (Conger & Pearce, 2003). The theory advances a need for a leadership approach where power, authority, influence and decision making is not a responsibility of one individual, but rather the whole team within organization. The method of research used in this study is quantitative research. Through purposive sampling, the researcher sampled 25 pastors, 16 church elders and 10 church members. Instruments for data collection were questionnaires. The reason for this tool was to allow freedom in answering the questions. Data from the field were analyzed using two computer soft wares: Microsoft Word and Excel.  The results showed that team leadership was practiced in Christian Church international, Diocese of Murang'a.  It was being evidenced in the sharing of responsibilities, decision-making and working relationships. It was also clear from the study that team leadership might have been influenced by some factors such as maturity, education, and environment. Concerning team leadership challenges the respondents cited competition, selfishness, pride, disloyalty and others. In mitigating the challenges dialogue, joint activities, praying, and fasting were employed.