Executive Pastor Online

Leadership and Governance

Kevin Stone — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:12:25 +0000

Another groups of resources I share on my Resources Page is a list of Leadership and Governance documents. This section is constantly growing, but I wanted to highlight what I’ve got so far:

Church By-Laws
Cash Flow Management Strategy
Executive Limitations

What am I missing? Is there something that would help you that’s not on the list?

Executive Pastor Online Resources

Kevin Stone — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:39:28 +0000

Over the years I’ve accumulated quite a list of resources available to all of my readers. Part of my desire to put myself out there to help other church leaders, has been to share anything and everything we’ve done here at CCV.

Today, I would like to highlight just one of the resources I’ve made available, a pretty extensive list of Job Descriptions. I’ve recently been writing about evaluating and improving staff member performance. Ensuring that every staff member has an updated job description is an important part of the process. Defining a staff member’s role and holding them accountable for the pieces and parts of their ministry is critically important.

Here’s a list of the job descriptions currently available on my Resources Page:

Administrative Assistant
Arts Pastor
Assistant to the Executive Pastor
Assistant to the Senior Pastor
Associate Director of Human Resources
Associate Pastor
Bookkeeper
Children’s Pastor
Executive Assistant
Executive Pastor
Group Life Pastor
High School Pastor
Middle School Pastor
Pastoral Care Pastor
Preschool Assistant Teacher
Preschool Director
Preschool Lead Teacher
Producer
Production Assistant
Student Arts Pastor
Visual Media Producer
Volunteer Coordinator

Is there a job description not on the list that you would like to see?

The 5 Keys To A Successful Staff Meeting

Kevin Stone — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:24:58 +0000

How often do you meet with your staff? Are the meetings productive? Successful? Over the years we’ve been through many iterations of attempting to have great staff meetings. While I wouldn’t say we’ve “arrived” as of yet; I would say we’re doing a pretty good job right now.

We meet every Wednesday at noon and begin with a brown bag lunch. In our experience here’s what I would say are the top 5 “keys” to having successful staff meetings:

Have a Start and Stop Time – Begin the meeting on time and end the meeting on time. Create an “on time” culture and insist that everyone be at the table and ready at the start time. Also, respect everyone’s schedule by managing the time well, ending the meeting on time.
Have a Formal Agenda – Preferably a few hours before the start of the meeting, publish a formal agenda. It’s important that the staff know what’s on the agenda and even have an opportunity to get things on the agenda.
Develop A “Schedule Of Topics” – We meet every Wednesday. In order to make sure certain things are always covered, we’ve created a schedule of topics. For example, the 2nd meeting of the month we review our strategic plan. Each staff member gives an update on where they stand with their key tactics. To keep the meeting on schedule, each person has a strict 5 minute limit!
Have A Meal Together – Everyone brings their own lunch for the meeting. We believe it’s important that the team have at least 1 meal together each week.
Have Fun! – We always try to keep it fun. The first 10 or 15 minutes of the meeting, while we’re eating, is just having fun together. On our schedule of topics, the 5th meeting of the month (when there’s a 5th Wednesday) is a “fun day.” On these days we usually go out or do something fun together instead of the formal agenda we have for all of the other meetings.

Seems pretty simple doesn’t it? I believe it is.

What’s your secret to having great staff meetings?

A Pretty Good Performance Appraisal

Kevin Stone — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:52:26 +0000

In a post I wrote a while back, Performance Appraisals Are Overrated, I shared my experience with performance appraisals and how I’ve never seen one that’s worth the paper on which it’s written. I’ve never seen a performance appraisal method that actually helped a staff member improve her/his performance.

That’s not really true anymore, I guess. We have implemented a method around here that has worked pretty well over the last few years. At least it’s helped us to improve relationships between staff members and ensure there’s no unresolved conflict. Obviously that results in improved performance.

It wasn’t until I was responding to a comment a couple of days ago that I realized I hadn’t yet shared this resource. So, this morning our Staff Member Feedback Form is now available on my Resources Page.

You can checkout the form, but the idea is this: over time, overall staff member performance is improved through encouraging open and honest communication with one another as it relates to relationships. In our experience one of the biggest contributors to performance issues is unresolved conflict and an organizational culture that allows it to continue.

The emphasis is on the one on one conversations between staff members, not on “filling out the form.” The form should have bullets in each area that can be discussed during a one on one meeting, but not be a “book” that can stand on its own. Every staff member meets with every other staff member to discuss their feedback. It takes some time to get this done, but believe me it’s worth it.

This process combined with a good strategic planning process that includes “key tactics” that are the responsibility of each staff member, is all that’s needed to keep a staff moving forward in a healthy way.

What’s the best performance appraisal method you’ve ever seen?

Recruiting and Leading Volunteers

Kevin Stone — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:44:42 +0000

At this point in the growth of our church I still directly lead a number of volunteer teams. In fact, before joining the staff here at CCV I was a volunteer and then a volunteer team leader. I led the Tech Team as part of the Arts ministry and a team that did our land search and purchase way back in 2002.

I was recently having a conversation with a ministry leader on the topic of recruiting and leading volunteers. Drawing on my experience as a volunteer and as a ministry leader myself continuously recruiting and leading volunteers, I gave him a little insight. “You’ve got to vision cast,” I told him. Time has to be spent with people sharing the vision and what the ministry is all about. Share your passion for ministry and what the potential is with the help of the potential volunteer. People are busy, but if they believe they can be a part of something that matters, they will find the time to serve.

I lead a small team of people who show up every Sunday morning at 6 a.m. to setup chairs in our main auditorium. This is a ministry that nobody really sees. It’s the “ash and trash” of the ministry. When we’re all done, we gather for a brief prayer time. I try to continuously keep the vision in everybody’s mind. “It’s not about setting up chairs guys. It’s about serving Jesus.” We pray that God would use our labor in big ways. We talk about people who are far from God they may occupy the seats we just labored to setup.

When I’m attempting to initiate something new and need a key volunteer to step up in some way, the first thing I do is invite them to breakfast or lunch. I want some uninterrupted time with them to give them the “big picture.” I want them to “want” to help accomplish the goal. I want them to actually lead others in the accomplishment of the goal.

Remember, it’s not about replacing light bulbs or emptying trash cans. It’s about preparing the facility to be used by God to do the most important thing in the world. We must help others to understand the significance of the mission!

What’s your secret to recruiting volunteers?

Corrective Action vs. Disciplinary Action

Kevin Stone — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:44:55 +0000

I’ve never been a fan of disciplinary action processes. You know, the process a manager or supervisor is supposed to go through with an employee who is doing something they shouldn’t or not doing something they should. It’s not that I don’t believe performance problems should be addressed; it’s just that I believe the point is not to discipline the person. You know, like giving your 3 year old a “timeout” because they won’t pick up their toys. Or, grounding your teenager for a month because they stayed out past curfew.

As a leader one of my responsibilities is to work with team members to ensure they understand what’s expected of them and that they are clear on their objectives. It’s also important that leadership is clear on acceptable behavior, and of course, unacceptable behavior. A good Staff Policy Manual is a must in helping to get this accomplished.

So, when a staff member’s behavior begins to become problematic it is the leader’s responsibility to point it out. If the behavior continues to be a problem, the leader has to eventually take action. But the “action” should not be in the spirit of “discipline,” it should be in the spirit of “correction.” Hence the topic of this post. The objective in any “corrective action” process is to help a staff member understand that a behavior has to change and to help them in making the change, with the point being to correct the issue and move on. As leaders, we’re not trying to “run the staff member off,” we’re trying to keep them on the team and help them to succeed.

Therefore, the documented process (a subject for a future post) is called “Corrective Action.” It has specific steps that include meeting with the staff member periodically to discuss their performance and how it is improving or not. In many cases there are certain consequences that might need to be put into place to help them improve, but again the objective is improvement not discipline.

Correction versus discipline? Perhaps a subtle distinction but a very necessary one. It’s important to communicate the spirit of the action taken to the staff member, and the name of the process is an important part of doing that.

In my experience Disciplinary Action processes by far outnumber Corrective Action processes.

How about your situation? Do you have a documented process? What is it called?

What Are Your Church’s “Core Values?”

Kevin Stone — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:08:32 +0000

Having a list of “core values” is a very important part of defining the nature of any organizational culture. Core Values are also a very important part of any “strategy.” Stating those things that help define your philosophy or approach as a church (or any other organization for that matter) is an important part of the overall strategy.

Around here we say these are the things we’re “willing to die on the fence over.” They define who we are as a church and what we will always focus on as long as we exist.

Here’s our list:

Biblically-Based - The Bible alone dictates what we believe and practice.
Culturally Relevant – To be effective the church must remain culturally relevant.
Evangelistic – Followers of Jesus are passionate about evangelism.
Church Planting – We will be a church planting church.
Community – Life change happens best in community with other Christians.
Discipleship - Followers of Jesus obey his teachings.
Excellence – Excellence honors God and inspires people.
Grace – We will foster an environment of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.
Stewardship – We will give our time, spiritual gifts, abilities, and finances to extend Christ’s kingdom.

Of course it’s one thing to list your core values, but it’s another thing to actually follow them. Sometimes it’s difficult. For example, often times when we cover a “secular” song, like Bad Company’s Feel Like Making Love as the opener for a series entitled “Our Rotten Sex Life,” we get a little criticism from some. “I can’t believe you’re playing that song in church!” they will say. Based on our core values (specifically Evangelism and Cultural Relevance) we say, “I know, right!”

Of course just as many come up to us after the service and say, “I can’t believe you played that song in church! I’m glad I came today. This sure isn’t what I remember church being like when I was a kid!”

Oops! An un-churched person actually enjoyed the service. Crazy isn’t it?

How about your church, do you have a list of Core Values?

Legacy Management Team

Kevin Stone — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:04:16 +0000

One of the things I love about my ministry is the opportunity to help start and lead new church plants. Consequently, I’ve had the privilege of serving on a few new church management teams over the years. Legacy Christian Church has been in existence since 2009, and I’ve been honored to be on her management team since the beginning. We meet quarterly either by phone conference or in person up in Allentown, PA where the church is located.

These guys are doing some good stuff in the community and in helping people become followers of Christ. We met again last week over lunch up in Allentown. Richie Merritt is the Lead Pastor. I’ve enjoyed getting to know his staff and him over the past few years. They’re an enthusiastic team that absolutely loves the community and helping people to experience the love of Jesus.

Legacy is still an externally supported church plant. If you’re interested in learning more about them, check out their website HERE.

Legacy is one of many Orchard Group church plants (like us) here in the northeast. If you are interested in learning more about Orchard Group, check out this recent post and their website HERE.

Church planting is a HUGE part of our DNA here at CCV. We have a church planting strategy and are in the planning stages of a CCV church plant at some point in the future.

Never Make A “Rule” You’re Not Prepared To Enforce

Kevin Stone — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:15:04 +0000

One mistake I see many leaders make is in the area of making “rules.” What is a rule, really? When I was in corporate, the Human Resources Manual or Employee Handbook, depending on the organization, always had a list of “Major Work Rules.” If an employee broke one of these rules, they would be facing “corrective action up to and including termination.”

The good news is, most of the time these work rules were pretty strictly enforced. An employee stole something or got in a fight at work and they were terminated. Piece of cake. Right?

The leadership behavior I see that is an issue is the tendency of leaders to try and solve problems by making rules. Obviously this is sometimes necessary, but I would say most of the time it’s not. To make matters worse, a leader will make a rule and 2 or 3 months later everyone has forgotten about it, including the leader that made the rule. What happens? The leader loses credibility. The organization learns that what the leader says today won’t be the case in a few weeks or months.

This is obviously bad for everyone. A leader who loses credibility becomes ineffective. The staff reporting to the leader begins to get “jaded” almost rolling their eyes when the leader makes yet another rule.

So, never make a rule you’re not prepared to enforce. If the rule is “no employee can park in the lower lot,” keeping the spaces open for guests, an employee who does needs to hear about it. They must at least be asked to move their car. If on Mondays all staff must wear a tie in the office, there shouldn’t be anyone in the office on Monday without a tie. Right?

What a “pain.” I say a healthy organization should be short on rules and high on expectation. Most people will perform according to organizational “norms.” Those few who don’t need a little direction, or even something more severe depending on the issue. Keep things simple and deal with the exceptions. If a rule is really needed (and sometimes they are), make sure you’re prepared to enforce the rule. If the rule no longer makes sense at some point in the future, don’t just stop paying attention to the issue, revoke the rule. In the same way you established and communicated the rule, communicate why the rule no longer makes sense and formally revoke it.

What’s the craziest rule you’ve ever seen that was never enforced?

How To Document A Strategy

Kevin Stone — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:44:17 +0000

Documenting a strategy is one of the most important steps in any “plan and execute” leadership culture. I will blog more about a “plan and execute culture” in a future post, but for now suffice to say that it’s one of the most important aspects of a healthy leadership culture, be it in or outside the church.

The purpose of a strategy is to succinctly communicate to the reader “the plan” for accomplishing something. At the organization level, the strategy is the “Strategic Plan.” The strategic plan communicates the mission, vision, core values, critical strategies, objectives, and tactics. The combination of all of these “statements of the plan” is the strategy (or plan) for getting it done.

A subset of the strategic plan is a number of other strategies dealing with specific areas of the strategic plan. For example, here at CCV we have 9 core values that help to communicate those areas of our strategic plan that are “non-negotiables” for our church. One of those core values is “We Will Be A Church Planting Church.”

Consequently, we’ve documented a Church Planting Strategy. This strategy breaks down “the plan” for church planting here at CCV. It’s that simple!

A strategy should state the plan in whatever detail that is needed based on the particular area. A strategy includes the who, what, when, where, why, and how of a plan to do something. Start with a sentence of fact that states the plan. From there, give the details of the plan in enough detail to commit the organization to actually doing something. If it makes sense, give a time line and sequence of events. What must happen and in what order? Are there key milestones to communicate about the plan? Who will be involved in accomplishing the plan?

You get the idea. Take a look at the Church Planting Strategy I’ve used here as an example and go from there.

If you have questions or would like more specific information, post a comment or contact me.