How would you answer the following question?
The teams in my church are currently:
a. Running smoothly
b. Hitting some bumps but we’re getting by
c. Experiencing chaos
Now: if we asked the people on your teams the same questions, what would they say? Would their answers match up with yours?
You see, as leaders and managers, it’s easy to get into a bubble and think that what we’re doing is working when in reality it’s not. The two biggest contributors to chaos within your teams are lack of clarity and lack of systems.
Clarity creates a roadmap of where your team is going and what each person on the team is responsible for. Without clarity, people waste sideways energy creating their own tasks and goals that may not actually contribute to the accomplishment of overarching ministry goals.
How do you create clarity?
1. Help staff and volunteers know what the “win” looks like in their respective role.
2. Create clear priorities so everyone knows what they’re aiming for.
3. Create clear responsibilities for each team member.
The second problem that creates chaos is a lack of systems. Not sure what a system is? A system is a set of processes and tasks a person or group of people follow to produce an outcome.
If you find need to call meeting after meeting to address issue after issue, you’ve got a systems problem. Another indication of a systems problem is you continue to put out the same fires. In other words, recurring problems and challenges provide evidence of a systematic problem that needs a solution.
How do you create a system?
1. Gather everyone impacted by the problem together.
2. Start with the end result in mind. A great place to start is by filling in the blank to “it would be great if ____________.” That answer becomes the outcome you’re trying to achieve.
3. List out all the things that need to happen to make that outcome a reality and who is responsible for each task.
4. Determine the list of tools used to implement the system.
And voila! You’ve created a system.
The best tools allow individuals and teams to communicate seamlessly without friction. My Church Place allows your congregation, staff, and volunteers to effortlessly share prayer requests, praise reports, announcements, team messages and more, all from an easy-to-use dashboard.
Learn more about how My Church Place can serve your church at mychurchplace.com.
