One of my first churches was under a senior pastor who had formal authority but led in a more charismatic way, which ended up contributing to a church split. This pastor lacked the ability to lead the staff well. He avoided addressing problems, giving helpful feedback, and using nonviolent communication when there was disagreement. Instead, he would talk about staff members to congregation members, the board, or other staff.
This created a triangle effect in conflict, leading to disrespect on the team, poor communication, and eventually a church split. The people-pleasing and the avoidance of actually leading the church caused even greater destruction over time. Even though approaching staff members with hard feedback would have been difficult, it would have been easier than the outcome of not addressing it at all. Leadership is hard, but not leading is worse.
Because of this leadership, the staff became divided, and the church followed. The district superintendent had to step in, and the final result was the removal of the senior pastor from his position.
What I wish the senior leader would have done is address the staff directly and give the hard, uncomfortable feedback needed, instead of talking around the person. This would have helped empower the staff to lead their ministry areas well, knowing the senior pastor would be honest about their work and honest with them as they led the church together.
The church was left in dismay, and many members either left the church or the Wesleyan denomination completely. Insecurities and lack of communication deeply affected the outcome, causing greater suffering for everyone involved. It took years for the church to heal and find the right person to become the next senior leader. Because of the lack of leadership, the church lost its vision, mission, and goals, and what they preached and believed was not practiced within the leadership itself.