- You are afraid of killing programs.
You are afraid to eliminate things in fear that people will get upset and will stop giving or leave. Let them. I guarantee that if we looked under the hood of your church, we could identify numerous things that could go on the chopping block, enabling your community of faith to become more streamlined and focused on your mission. Trust me, the dollars and members can and will be replaced. Don’t allow a few long-standing members to hold the future health of your church hostage.
- You haven’t clearly defined your staff values.
Average staff members perform above their skill set in vibrant staff cultures, but even highly talented staff members deliver substandard performances in unhealthy staff cultures. Staff culture is king. I’m shocked by how many senior pastors haven’t clearly defined their staff values, and then hold annual 360-degree performance appraisals that measure how well staff members are adhering to those values. Reviews aren’t foreign to churches. What is foreign is placing just as high a value on the staff culture as an individual staff member’s performance.
When we do annual 360-degree performance reviews at our church (meaning everyone reviews everyone), we ask each staff member to answer three questions about the other staff member, and then share those answers in a one-on-one meeting. Here are those questions:
- What is this staff member doing well?
- What could this staff member do to improve?
- What can we do to improve our working relationship?
(Read 9 more growth blockers in this Outreach article)