There is fine line between replication and imitation. In the context of musical worship in church being on one side of this line is a good place to be, but being on the other is dangerous and can demean the intentions of the worship leader. I know I'm arguing semantics, but only for purposes of clarification and categorization.
Replicating the original version of the music you are leading is a good place to be for a few reasons, but there is one that stands out to me the most. It is good to replicate a song because it is how the author intended it to be played. Does it have to be played exactly how it was produced on the album? No, but it should be close enough to the original so anyone who hears your version will recognize it. One of the biggest peeves of mine in worship ministry is when people change the lyrics or music to a song. Honestly, if you don't agree with the lyrics or like the music enough to play it as it was written, don't play that song. I don't want people changing the way I wrote my songs so why would any other author want the same?
Imitation is similar to replication, but instead of replicating the music you are imitating the worship leader. This can be a huge mistake. No longer are you worshipping and leading the people in your own way, but rather trying to imitate the way the other worship leader leads because you think it looks cool or because you want the response you saw him or her "get" out of the people: scripting times to lift your hands, going into drawn out leads or ad libs, or even praying prayers that they pray in the middle of their sets. That's not how we are to lead the people of God. Our ministry is not a science project or talent show. We are ministers of God required to be humble; to lead with sincerity and integrity.
Remember that God can use you, your personality, and your music style to lead others into worshipping Him. You don't need to rely upon yourself. Actually, don't rely on yourself at all. You're just in front of everyone to lead them in song and teach them the truths in the songs. That's it. No more. No less. God draws His people into worship. There is no need to imitate other worship leaders because they get great responses out of the people and you want to see that too. Allow God to work through you as His instrument that He uniquely designed to be its own.
Instead of imitating other worship leaders take tips from their leading (i.e., what do they do to be less of a distraction? What do they do to help lead the team? What do they do to better lead the people?). Instead of being a copycat learn some of their techniques and implement it into your own style (i.e., chords, strumming patterns, dynamics, scales, etc.). Let them help you become a better leader and not a better performer.
The fine line between replication and imitation that I mentioned earlier is a line that is easily distinguishable by you and for you only. I don't recommend going around pointing out who is replicating songs or imitating worship leaders. In fact, I would suggest to you that if you do just that, you will put yourself in a position where you are distracted from your own ministry, trying to point out the "fakers" or "less holy" worship leaders, even to the point of destroying your ministry with your own pride.
Leading worship isn't about making sure you look like a worship leader from Hillsong. That's their example for people to follow during their song sets. Leading worship is about about you worshipping God yourself and having others follow your example during your song sets. Lead the people. Don't lead them on.
Blessings,
Nick
