“Not My Job” Syndrome

Posted on June 30, 2015 Written by

I’ve heard that saying too many times. I’ve heard it from both church staff and from church members. That saying bothers me. It is an excuse to not do something that should be done but for whatever reason the person feels it is not their responsibility. I’ve seen it said by people looking at trash on the floor of a church or icy sidewalks – “the church needs to get it’s custodian to do his job” or when a person is in the hospital or shut-in at home – “the pastor or deacons need to go visit, that’s not my job.”

 

People who think like this tend to think like employees, even if they are volunteers and members – they are there to do a specific task, they aren’t responsible to do anything outside their areas, and they fear the consequences of taking action so they do nothing.

 

On the other hand, owners will often do things they’ve assigned to others (because that other person is doing something else); owners will take initiative and not wait for things to happen; owners will empower others and even absorb criticism because they know what they are doing is for the best.

 

Church leaders must expect all staff and all members to be owners – of the mission and vision of the church, of the church’s finances and facilities, of the ministries and programs that are the lifeblood of the church. God has entrusted all these resources to us – God wants us to act like owners.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: leadership, strategy Tagged: ,

Board of Directors versus Customers

Posted on June 23, 2015 Written by

The board of directors of an organization is charged with supervising the leader and helping set the strategic vision and goals for that organization. Board members are usually selected for their vision and wisdom. Boards are strategic-thinking with the long view. Sometimes boards are accused of being dispassionate and uncaring about employees and even customers.

 

Customers are sometimes quite passionate about what they want and sometimes even have “what’s in it for me right now” mindset. They have a need for immediate gratification – that’s why they’re in the store. Customers are occasionally vocal about their needs and that emotion can lead to tense interactions.

 

A church is unique in that church members are both board members and customers. Sometimes a member will act like a board member and sometimes like a customer – and sometimes the member will do that in the same meeting.  That puts church staff in a tough position – they have to learn when a member is acting in what capacity. Church staff are caught in-between and that can lead to confusing messages to them.

 

Most of the time, members think and act like customers. That is a good rule of thumb. Church staff need to always think like board members. Leaders act like board members.

All key church committee members must act like board members (that’s what they are in that role). And in church business meetings, members must be encouraged to think like board members not act like customers.

 

Consider your own situation: are you teaching your church leaders to be board members or customers?

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: generosity, leadership, strategy Tagged: , ,

How do you define loyalty?

Posted on June 17, 2015 Written by

“A strong feeling of support or allegiance” is the dictionary definition.

Many people feel that loyalty is when a person adheres unquestioningly to something or someone. In church work I’ve seen this exemplified when staff and members look to their leader(s) and express support for whatever he or she wants to do. And in return, the leaders expect their staff and most members, to follow whatever they say regardless of what it is. That is loyalty to some, but not to me. To me, that can even be a betrayal of trust, the opposite of loyalty.

Loyalty is when a person supports and has allegiance to a person or principle, but is willing to ask hard questions and not be satisfied with simplistic answers. Loyalty is challenging a leader privately on his statements before (and after) he goes public. Loyalty is being willing to speak truth to power knowing it may cost you your job and career. Loyalty is being constructively critical for the benefit of the leader and of the entire organization.

That kind of loyalty helps your leader be a better leader. A leader may not like this kind of feedback but in the long run it will help him or her. After all, it is better for a leader to hear criticism from members of his own team who want the organization to succeed just as much as the leader. I challenge leaders to invite constructive feedback, not just accolades. Constant praise or at least non-criticism does not help a leader grow.

Be loyal by helping the leader be better to help the church be better through appropriate and constructive private criticism and public support.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, strategy, wisdom Tagged: , , ,

Personnel are not Benevolence

Posted on June 16, 2015 Written by

Personnel are not Benevolence

Church staff members have the most important job in the world – teaching and leading church members to tell others the Good News of God’s love. Since church staff have the most important job in the world, there should be some pretty high performance expectations of some pretty qualified and capable people. Church work is not for sissies – it demands the best and brightest. To have less is to imply that God’s message is not that important, that anyone can do it, even caustic personalities.

Churches are commanded to help everyone: those with emotional scars, the hurting and even those who do the hurting. But too often I’ve seen churches decide that the only way they can help is to actually hire that person as church staff. That is wrong.

  • That person’s problems will NOT be resolved by working for a church (in fact, they might be made worse)
  • Existing staff will see that the church hire “just about anyone” and it will degrade employee morale
  • Members who know the situation will continue to feel pity for this person (and have the same feelings toward other staff) and members who don’t know will wonder why the church continues to hire “5s and 6s when they should have 9s and 10s”
  • Society will see the church as a place for “losers” and want nothing to do with it.

I realize these statements are generalizations but there is some truth to them.

I challenge church leaders to stop hiring charity cases and instead hire the most outstanding people they can find. The church can and must continue to help people in need by giving them food, paying for rent and utilities, helping with medical bills, providing counseling and comfort. But the church cannot and must never be an employment agency.

The church, more than ever, needs quality and charisma (and by inference must be willing to pay appropriate compensation). The church must set exceedingly high standards for its employees but also for its members. That kind of expectations will naturally draw other high-standard people (both as staff and members) because people inherently want to be part of something really great.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: church staff, leadership, strategy Tagged: , ,

Memorial Letters

Posted on June 2, 2015 Written by

Memorial notes are acknowledgement letters sent by the church to both the donor and to the family of the deceased for whom the memorial gift was given. It is important for the finance office of a church to get these memorial acknowledgements mailed as soon as possible (within a week of receiving the gift). Some members of a church expect to receive a letter from the church and will call the church if they haven’t received anything; for good relations with donors, let them know ASAP about their gift.

 

Memorial gifts are also an additional revenue stream if churches will develop this. People want to give money to whatever cause the deceased person was closely attached to. Churches will be wise to work with families during the funeral preparation time to steer them toward selecting a ministry of the church which can use the additional gifts.

 

This may seem callous but it isn’t. Someone is going to get that money. Why not the church since it will be the church that does the funeral and takes care of the family? Why not encourage gifts to the church cause was most dear to the deceased? All church ministers, especially those tasked with pastoral care, need to be taught how to bring up the subject of directed memorial gifts.

 

Then, when the gifts come in, send out nice and appropriate thank you notes to the donors and gift receipt acknowledgements to the family members.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: accounting, budget, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , ,

Using Ushers in Emergencies (part 2 of 2)

Posted on May 26, 2015 Written by

Here’s an idea to help your ushers know what to do when. Get every usher a clip-on name badge; clip-on badges have a loop which holds the actual name badge.  To each name badge, add three more badges which are the same size as the name badge. Yes, each name badge will be “fat” but they will also be very useful.

 

The three additional badges should be color coded and have specific written instructions on each one depending on the event.

  • Red – fire
  • Blue – violent weather
  • Yellow – active shooter

When one of these events happens, each usher can read his or her name badge instructions, be reminded what he or she is to do in this emergency, and then follow through on them.

 

The name badges are always present because the ushers always wear them. The instructions can be tailored for each usher or area of ushers. The ushers can even talk about this among themselves and train themselves and new ushers in what to do; they can even make suggestions about how to improve this system.

 

This simple system uses some existing volunteers, gives them critical responsibilities, and provides vital helpers during a crisis so that church staff leaders can focus on other things that only they can do.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church safety, church security, facilities, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , , , , ,

Using Ushers in Emergencies (part 1 of 2)

Posted on May 19, 2015 Written by

There are a dozen emergencies that can happen in a church but there are three “big” ones: fire, weather, and active shooter. In every case, people should act differently. In fire, people in the church building need to get out; in violent weather, they need to hide in a low place; and with an active shooter, they need to get out of the building or hide behind closed doors.

 

It is not possible to train every member what to do in each distinct situation and expect them to remember. It is even hard to train staff members what to do. Most churches use ushers to welcome people into the building so use ushers to lead people to a safe place. Ushers are highly visible, they know the buildings and the people, and are usually trained in how to speak to and guide people. Use them in emergencies when you need to move people quickly.

 

This requires you to do some intensive and on-going training with your ushers. They need to know who will give them instructions to act and to stop. They need to know what kind of situation they are dealing with. They need to know where to tell people to go and who will sound the all-clear signal. They need to know how to handle panic-stricken parents or people with mobility issues. They need to know the names and faces of church members who are medical, fire, and police experts.

 

Please develop a well-thought out emergency preparedness plan in conjunction with local first responders (fire and police personnel). There are some guidelines available from your local emergency responders. Work with them to tailor a plan for your facility and your people. Use your ushers for more than just “ushing.”

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: buildings, church staff, facilities, leadership, planning, strategy Tagged: , , , , ,

Does this add value?

Posted on May 12, 2015 Written by

It’s a simple question but it’s an important one. When making a decision, ask yourself that question:

  • Does this add value to my organization?
  • Does this add value to my staff?
  • Does this add value to our goals and mission?
  • Does this add value to the conversation?

 

This is a key question which I ask when I’m in meetings. I want to know if what we’re talking about helps the organization and its missions. Too many times I (and probably you) have been in meetings where an idea is presented and it is received without question because it sounds good, it comes from a person of influence, or there is some money available to do it.

 

I challenge you to not accept ideas just because of their source. Instead, when a concept is presented, determine if it is worth doing and one of the questions to ask is, “Does this add value?” However, don’t get into the cycle of “analysis paralysis.” Make a decision based on the current information and when you have new info, evaluate the prior decision, and then keep the decision or make a new decision. But in every case, ask if this action will add value to the org’s mission.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Filed Under: budget, generosity, leadership, strategy Tagged: , , ,
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