Resources - books and other resources that have been helpful
Anytime Coaching: Unleashing Employee Performance - by Teresa Wedding Kloster and Wendy Sherwin Shire
Might a pastor or other congregational leader be a coach without formal coach training? Kloster and Shire, both also graduates of the Georgetown University Coaching Program and experienced consultants and coaches, assert that the most effective managers are informal coaches in the day to day interaction with their colleagues and those they supervise. They don't wait for an annual review to give feedback to a subordinate but interact daily, taking advantage of the many opportunities to coach subordinates in the moment to moment activities of the normal course of work. While they might use formal sessions for in-depth coaching, the immediate use of coaching tools is extremely effective. Kloster and Shire describe such effective managers as Anytime Coaches.
While they write for managers in a large bureaucracy, e.g. governmental agency or business, I think the most effective pastors instinctively use the model that these authors present in this volume.
"The model for Anytime Coaching has four interrelated practices: observing, inquiring, listening, and responding. At the center of the model is what the practices achieve: day-to-day performance improvement . Supporting and surrounding the four practices are two other elements: the coach's self- and organizational awareness, and ongoing personal growth and development. The model is dynamic in that the four practices are interrelated and depend on each other. An anytime coach interweaves observing, inquiring, listening, and responding into powerful conversations that cause day-to-day shifts in employee performance ." (from the Introduction)
Observing involves noticing what's going on and having a conversation about those observations. The authors stress the importance of giving positive feedback. Too often pastors don't bother to notice what people are doing well and express their appreciation of their efforts! Of course, a pastor might also observe that things aren't going well and initiate a conversation about it. "Sue, you have been really frustrated with the new software we got for the church. Let's talk about what's going on." Effective observation involves paying attention to non-verbal cues as well as simply listening to what a person says.
Inquiring - involves asking powerful questions such as those I describe in the main article in this newsletter. Good questions open new doors and strengthen relationships.
Listening- the authors advocate what they call "extreme listening." I learned this skill as "active listening." The idea is that you are listening for much more than the words. You are paying attention to the person's emotions, to what they tell you about the organizational norms, etc. You are giving the person your complete attention and really hearing, not composing an answer to rehearsing a prepared speech. Kloster and Shire caution us to be aware of those "listening biases" which keep us from hearing what the person is telling us. This involves growing in our own emotional intelligence.
Responding - Once you learn to listen really well, you can respond much more effectively. "When you respond to someone, you deliberately consider what words or questions will move the conversation forward, encourage learning, and create the desired results." (chapter 5) They spell out a number of scenarios by which you can make conversations more productive in various situations. For example you might learn to make much more effective requests of congregational leaders.
Throughout the book they provide simple exercises which help you assess your skills in each of the areas and improve.
In short, this book gives pastors valuable tools for leadership. If you are a pastor, you aren't a lay leader's supervisor, but you must be in a continuing conversation about what the leader is doing and how you might you work together to carry out the mission that God has offered you. You will have to work a bit to translate the corporate jargon to a congregation, but the effort is well worth it. Follow their process and you will be a more effective congregational leader (as well as a better leader in other parts of your life!)
One yellow flag: the authors are working on a revised version so copies seem to be a bit limited in supply. I noticed a number of lightly used copies on Amazon for around $10 including shipping. I am working on a longer summary for a group of coaches; if you'd like a copy of that longer summary, please email me.
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