Executive Pastor Online

One of the most important components of good leadership is also one of the most difficult.  Have you ever heard the expression, "I feel like I'm being treated like a mushroom"?  Mushrooms are fed a lot of "crap" and kept in the dark ... obviously not good when it comes to communication.

The bottom line is that continuously communicating with everyone is critically important to an organization's overall effectiveness.  But, actually getting this done consistently is very difficult.  Like many of the other difficulties of leadership and infrastructure building, communication must be systemic - happening almost automatically at all levels of the organization.

In fact, communicating effectively is so important senior leadership should establish and document a Communication Plan.  The Communication Plan should be "communicated" to all team members and be continuously available for reference.  Of course, once you put a plan in writing you definitely have to follow it.

The Communication Plan should include communication guidelines/requirements at all levels of the organization.  A typical plan would include guidelines as follows:

Announcements - A vehicle for routine all employee announcements should be established and utilized as much as possible to get the word out to everyone frequently.  Almost anything of interest to the team that is public knowledge can be communicated via e-mail or an internal website bulletin board.

One on One Meetings - On a very frequent and informal basis a leader should meet one on one with each of their direct reports.  This can be done in an actual sit down meeting and/or through routine interaction throughout the week.  Regardless, there needs to be a forum for team leader to team member communication.

Routine Staff Meetings - Every team leader should schedule and conduct routine team meetings.  The two most critical aspects of a "staff meeting" are that they are regularly scheduled and on everyone's calendar well in advance and that an agenda is sent to the team before the meeting begins.  I've asked many a leader if they have a "routine" staff meeting and they immediately respond with a "yes."  But when I ask when the next one is scheduled, I more often than not get a response like, "We try to have them every week or two."  In other words, the leader hasn't made the commitment in the form of a standing appointment on the calendar.  It's important that the team know they can count on a regularly scheduled forum for communication and coordination with other team members.  The agenda piece is just good practice.  People need to know what will be discussed and have the opportunity to add things to the agenda if they want.

Quarterly Communication Meetings - All organizations of any size at all should have a periodic forum for presenting information from leadership to the rest of the organization.  In the past, I've done this via a "Quarterly Communication Meeting."  Around mid-month of the new quarter a meeting is held with all employees.  Again the meeting is scheduled in advance and has an agenda published ahead of time.  Communication in a large group setting like this one is mostly "one way" and should have more of a "state of the business" feel to it.  There can be a brief Q&A time, but actually resolving anything or making a decision in a forum this large is not easy and not really the point of this communication method.

Annual Meeting - One of the quarterly meetings (1^st quarter of the new "business year") can be utilized as the "annual" meeting.  Again, in a state of the business format the previous year is discussed and the plans for the coming year are presented.

Feedback - Another important aspect of good communication includes a method of allowing employees to give feedback to their leadership.  In larger organizations this can be done via a suggestion program of some sort.  Smaller organizations can implement something less formal, sometimes having a feedback segment to a regular staff meeting like a roundtable agenda item.

As important as communication is to the success of the mission, it should be given the attention that many other aspects of the business are given.  Having a formal Communication Plan can help the leader to get it done.

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As you know by now, one of the most challenging things about ministry is "keeping the fire hot" when it comes to getting people interested in serving.  Consequently, we're always on the lookout for new ways to recruit volunteers.

This past weekend, we dedicated our 5 Minute Window to recruiting Arts team volunteers.  Check it out ...

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The more I reflect on my relationship with Brian Jones our Senior Pastor (as his Executive Pastor) the more I realize its uniqueness. I’ve been serving with Brian since the meetings of the core launch team in his living room. And, now more than 7 years later I am his Executive Pastor.

The first time I ever heard about Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV) was when we first moved to Pennsylvania. My wife got on the Internet and found that CCV was meeting in a local movie theater. So, we got in the car and showed up the following Sunday. There was nothing happening. We called the church from the car that morning and left a message. Brian called us back the next day and said that the website was a little off. CCV would (future) be meeting in that movie theater but wasn’t yet. We said, “OK, but you’ve got to be meeting somewhere.” Brian told us that they had been meeting on Tuesday nights in his living room, and we said that we would be there.

We quickly connected with Brian and the rest of the group working on planting this new church. I connected with the Arts guy on the first night and quickly became one of the first 2 sound guys. After lots of preparation we launched our first service on Sunday, October 1, 2000.

The point is that from the very beginning Brian and I connected. We had breakfast regularly and he asked me to “lead stuff” from time to time. As the church grew Brian eventually asked me to become his Executive Pastor. I said yes. Now I am serving alongside him and having the time of my life! He trusts me and I him. And, I’m not planning to go anywhere.

But, what if I did. Is this position one that could be advertised for and recruited like any other? Could Brian hire a recruiting firm, interview a bunch of candidates, extend an offer, and hire a new Executive Pastor? The longer I do this job … answer this calling, the more I believe that this is not how it would go down. I’m not saying that I can’t be replaced. I’m just saying that it would be very difficult. In fact, if Brian ever went anywhere it would be difficult for me to stay and serve the next Senior Pastor.

How many examples do you know of where a Senior Pastor has successfully replaced their Executive Pastor?

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Are you a fan of 360 degree performance appraisals?  Does the anonymous nature of the feedback bother you?  We're nearing the end of the process now and it's been interesting.  The assessments have been published and the staff is now reading, considering, and responding to their feedback.

I’ve done this a number of times and this time is no exception. In my case 98% of the assessment is right on, accurately identifying both my strengths and weaknesses. However, there are a few comments that “sting” a bit. I’m not necessarily surprised by them. It’s just a little difficult to see them in writing and to have to deal with them. Ouch!

A typical 360 degree review includes a self assessment and assessments by an individual’s manager, peers, and direct reports. Of course, in the church direct reports most often include a number of volunteers. The assessments are typically completed anonymously; assessors provide feedback without identifying themselves. In fact, the data is collected online and processed by a “third party company” (C3 Statistical Solutions) ensuring the anonymity is maintained.

The obvious advantage of anonymous feedback is that a person gets the “straight scoop” on the perception of others. In my experience there are a number of things a person thinks that they are not necessarily willing to tell me to my face. It is, never the less, important that I know about these perceptions in order to improve my relationships and overall effectiveness over time. Make sense?

Here’s the issue … especially in the church shouldn’t everyone be expected to speak the truth to one another face-to-face? In Matthew 18 Jesus teaches us how to workout our differences. Isn’t it true that if one is not willing to say it to a person’s face it shouldn’t be said anonymously in a review?

The truth is no matter how good we are at creating a “speak the truth to one another” culture in the church, there’s always going to be a certain amount of opinion that is not shared. There’s always going to be a certain amount of unresolved conflict. It’s the human condition. We’re all still sinners, remember?

So what do I say to the people that are thinking, “How do I resolve the conflict if I don’t know who gave me the feedback?” Good question! I’ve struggled with this question since I was first trained in giving and receiving feedback using 360 degree assessment tools. Here are a couple of facts. The chances are good (especially in a larger organization) that if one person is thinking it, others are as well. Therefore, the issue is not who said it … it’s what do I need to do to address it? And, in practice, there is plenty of opportunity to have one-on-one discussions with the team providing the feedback to ask questions about the feedback. Most often, especially in a healthy environment, people will “come clean” and help a person better understand what it is about their behavior that resulted in a criticism or observation.

In my opinion, doing an anonymous 360 on a regular basis is the best way to improve over time. It’s not painless, but it is the best way to really understand how what I am (or am not) doing affects others.

What do you think?

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Our staff is actively engaged in completing 360 assessments of one another. What a challenge! We've done this type of review for the last couple of years with marginal success. The biggest problem being that they are so much work, getting them done on time is practically impossible.

This year we're working with an outside company that provides a web-based tool to get the job done. We've been able to customize the assessment and it includes automated e-mail reminders.

So far, I would highly recommend these guys. The company we're using is C3 Statistical Solutions. They have been easy to work with and, so far anyway, an excellent resource.

Our reviews (reports) will be generated this coming Friday and will be delivered next week. We'll see how it goes.

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