February 2011
 
Harris Coaching and Consulting            
Thoughts for Leadership and Life

 

 
In This Issue
Mutual Expectations
Resources - U.S. Congregational Life Survey
What is Coaching?

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Friends and Colleagues,


"I was emphasizing writing really good sermons when some members of the Board criticized me for not getting out into the community and meeting new people.  I was blindsided!"

Has something like this happened to you?  you discovered an important expectation only after you didn't do it?

My main article this month focuses on clarifying expectations.  It is so important to develop clear mutual expectations with your governing Board.

The resource I highlight this month is the U.S. Congregational Life Survey and accompanying publications.  I have found it very helpful.

 

As you lead your congregation, how are things working for you?  Would you like to take your leadership up to the next level?  Or are you struggling?  I'd love to coach you, whether things are going really well or not so well.  I'll ask deep questions to help you clarify and focus.  Give me a call or send an email.
 

 
If you know someone who might benefit from coaching and/or my thoughts here, please use the "Forward to a Friend" button in the newsletter (that way you'll avoid problems with spam filters).
 

 
Here's to clarity about how God is leading us!
 

 
Peace,
 

 
Bob
 



 

What Are Our Mutual Expectations?

 

Have you ever done the exercise where you, the pastor,  have members of the governing board write down what they expect you to do and indicate roughly how many hours a week (or month) they expect you to spend on that activity.  For example, a person might put "Sermon preparation - 10 hrs/wk., pastoral calling - 5 hours/week, etc.  Give people about 5 minutes to do this and then compile the results.  Almost always the expectations are all over the map and total well over 100 hours a week.  And the members of the board laugh.

 

Then get serious.  Ask them to identify their top four priorities - those things they really want you to emphasize in the coming year.  A technique I like is to put the top 10-15 responsibilities on separate sheets of paper and then ask people to write their name on four of these sheets.  You can prepare a number of typical expectations in advance (e.g. sermon and worship preparation and leadership, conflict resolution, evangelism) and add additional ones that emerge.

 

Then have a conversation about what they see.  If the church has done a recent mission/vision study, reflect on how what they indicated correlates with the priorities identified in the mission/vision process.

 

In a terrific book on communication, Made to Stick - Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip Heath and Dan Heath stress the importance of keeping communication simple.  They quote Colonel Tom Kolditz, head of the behavioral sciences division at West Point.  "No plan survives contact with the enemy."  While it's essential to plan, anticipating what might happen and how to implement the plan, the key is in being clear about your intent.  "At the tactical level, for colonels and captains, it is...concrete: "My intent is to have Third Battalion on Hill 4305, to have the hill cleared of the enemy, with only ineffective remnants remaining, so we can protect the flank of Third Brigade as they pass through the lines."  They call this "Commander's Intent."  (pp. 25-26)

 

The key goal for pastor and leaders is to clarify the top priorities for you as pastor.  You can't do everything well.  Discuss what emphasizing these top 4-6 things might mean for what you will and won't do. 

 

What will achieving these top priorities look like?  For example, they might say that the most important thing is for you to talk with lots of people and that by the end of your first year, you will have had conversations with 75% of the active members.  Or perhaps you're moving into your 6th year in a church and together you've decided that you must get a strong small group program going.  Then the priority might be that you research into what makes church small group programs really work well and that within four months you have recommendations for an approach to developing a small group ministry.

Request that they pass a motion naming these priorities and that the appropriate lay leader communicate these priorities to the congregation through varied media (e.g. newsletter, email, oral announcement).    

 

Depending on the trust level in the congregation, it might be wise to have some town meetings to discuss them and invite members to suggest priorities that have been missed.  Be alert to those who especially resonate with particular emphases.  Perhaps they could help lead the effort.   

 

Ask the Personnel Committee to adapt its appraisal instrument to reflect these priorities.

By having mutually arrived at priorities, the Board can guard your blind side.  Should members complain that you aren't focusing on something near and dear to them, then you or a Board member can simply point out that this wasn't one of the top priorities.

  

Obviously this doesn't mean that you simply ignore something quite important, e.g. preaching good sermons, but if you're already preaching good sermons and the Board and you have decided that pastoral care for the elderly or getting out in the community and meeting neighbors are more important, then you maintain quality in your sermons but give special attention to the priorities.

  

If there is an area in which you really need to grow, you might use Marshall Goldsmith's Feed-foward process.  I wrote about it in my January 2010 newsletter.  Here's the url for that newsletter:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs032/1102564328120/archive/1102934200919.html

  

 If you'd like some coaching to help you develop a process to set clearer priorities with your Board and congregation, please send me an email or give me a call.I'd love to talk with you.  Call or email me.  We can set up a demonstration coaching session.


If you know someone who might find this newsletter helpful, please forward it to them - and please use the button in the newsletter.


Here's to healthy churches - with healthy leaders!
    
Resources - books and other resources that have been helpful   

   

U. S. Congregational Life Survey

  

 The U.S. Congregational Life Survey is a terrific resource for help in revitalizing your congregation.  It began in 2001 with a survey of some 100,000 worshipers in congregations all over the U.S.   As a result of their research they identified ten strengths of congregations.

These strengths and their research are spelled out in A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations, by Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce.

  

 The Ten Strengths are:

  • Growing Spiritually
  • Meaningful Worship
  • Participation in the Congregation
  • Sense of Belonging
  • Caring for Children and Youth
  • Focusing on the Community
  • Sharing Faith
  • Welcoming New People
  • Empowering Leadership
  • Looking to the Future

What makes this process especially helpful is that your church can do this survey in a typical worship service, send in the results, and then the U.S. Congregations analysts will send back a report showing how you rated in each of these strengths, both compared with other churches in your denomination, but also with other churches your size.

 

It is a very helpful tool for analyzing how things are going and where you might work to improve.  Here is their website.  I encourage you to use it in conjunction with other church renewal tools. Here is its website:

http://www.uscongregations.org/

 

Use it and grow - and should you like some coaching in how to best use it, I'd be glad to work with you.


What books or resources have you found

especially helpful?  I'd be glad (with available space) to share your reviews and/or suggestions.  
Future Issues (monthly)
  • The Mistrust Tax  
  • Mission or Missional
  • Links to back issues are available - email me if you'd like more information  

I hope you have found this newsletter informative and helpful.  Please subscribe to continue receiving it (or unsubscribe to stop).  If you'd like to explore coaching, please email or call me.

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Bob
Robert Harris
Harris Coaching and Consulting