Blog
We aspire to build staff teams of competent, motivated individuals who work in dogged pursuit of a clearly articulated vision. What most of us have are teams with some outstanding staff and some not so outstanding staff, working side by side towards a vision that seems clear, on some days. Most of you are grappling […]
Read MoreWe are one team! Except that the administrative team often feels like a lesser partner in ministry. We do our best to honor and incorporate all voices in communication and decision-making, but somehow the administrative members of the team feel undervalued and marginalized. Are we doing something wrong? Or, is this just the nature of […]
Read MoreA volunteer agrees to complete a task but fails to deliver, or delivers a less than satisfactory outcome. A leader violates an established behavioral standard. What do you do? How do you redeem the situation? Disappointment is inevitable when people are involved in ministry; but disappointment doesn’t have to be the final word. Delivering an […]
Read MoreIn the world of congregations we are good at planning and doing. We enjoy thinking great thoughts and crafting lofty ministry ideals. We are fair at experimenting with our ideas, and taking tentative steps in the direction of our plans. We are great at running programs, running programs, and running more programs. However, we are […]
Read MoreConsider the last slate of candidates nominated for leadership in your congregation. What attributes were sought when recruiting this group? Perhaps you looked for potential leaders who were: invested, good decision-makers, strategic, prayerful, respected, effective communicators, with strong personal boundaries. How did the actual list of nominees compare to your desired list of attributes? Did […]
Read MoreThe problem with most planning is that people simply don’t do what they have declared they want to do. There is a goal setting technique that claims a 300% increase in the likelihood of goal attainment. It is called the if-then plan. Heidi Grant Halvorson, the associate director of Columbia Business School’s Motivation Science Center, […]
Read MoreOur unstated and unexamined assumptions about supervision prevent us from being more effective in the role of supervisor. Myth #1: If I could just get the right people on my team, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time supervising them. The Truth: If you lead a congregation with more than 400 people in average […]
Read MoreWarning: This blog post makes blatant use of leadership gender stereotypes. Read at your own risk! I have led several recent conferences, involving clusters of congregations coming together to explore leadership in large congregations. In these settings there are typically ten to fifteen congregations represented. Each congregation brings a table full of staff leaders. I […]
Read More“We are an organization based on volunteerism, what can you expect? We don’t have money to pay or reward our employees fairly, what can you expect? We are covenantal communities, and as such we are meant to extend grace and mercy to our members and staff, so what can you really expect?” In the world […]
Read More- « Previous
- 1
- 2
Susan's Books
