There is no silver bullet for building a church culture, but culture savvy church leaders recognize culture shaping requires an intentional process. Church culture is complex, but in its simplest form consists of a set of underlying cultural values. Viewing church culture building through the lens of cultural values can be a helpful approach. What might the intentional building of... Continue Reading
Gallup studies on employee engagement show that regular performance conversations dramatically improves employee productivity, moral, job satisfaction and tenure. Therefore, designing regular and effective performance conversations is an important responsibility of effective staff supervision. Consider questions in these 10 conversation buckets to improve the effectiveness of your regular one-on-one performance conversations. Starter Questions for Performance Conversations #1. Cultivate the Soul:... Continue Reading
Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your silence; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. –Psalm 42:7-8 Depth. It is the essence of the spiritual journey…..to go deeper into God’s love... Continue Reading
Over twenty years ago Jim Dethmer wrote an article that I continue to see play out in churches today. He described the church as having three primary dimensions: Community, Cause and Corporation. Each dimension is found in Scripture and represents how a body of believers is to function. Often the identity and culture of a church can be defined by the emphasis... Continue Reading
“The greatest enemy of intimacy with God is service for God”- Dallas Willard “As ministers, the activity of our lives (“doing” for Jesus) inevitably begins to eclipse the contemplative dimension of our lives (“being” with Jesus) and soon we are engaged in more activity for God than our being with God can sustain.” – Pete Scazzero “Let the Lord, the... Continue Reading
Every profession has its own language. Lawyers, electricians, plumbers and auto-mechanics all have terminology unique to their profession. They use these common terms to create mutual understanding and shape behavior. A common language is especially critical with doctors, firemen, policemen and the military who are in life and death situations where even the slightest misunderstanding can have tragic implications. A... Continue Reading
Many ministers I know wrestle with the difficulty of trying to live a life of transformation and intimacy with God they read about in their Bibles. Most of us long for a deeper inner spiritual life yet regularly experience Dallas Willard’s observation “the greatest enemy of intimacy with God, is service for God.” Ministry by definition is depleting. Without constant... Continue Reading
Performance management, when limited to annual reviews, is frequently a source of great frustration for supervisors and their reports. Annual reviews may feel forced and superficial. Yet, when performance management is done in a comprehensive manner, employees become more productive and annual reviews less stressful. Through extensive research, the Gallup Organization found that supervisors account for at least 70% of employee... Continue Reading
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of effective employee engagement is receiving meaningful feedback. In my experience, the best way to successfully do so is through simply asking questions. Asking questions, either individually or in a group setting, communicates to the employee that their opinion matters and that those in leadership genuinely respect and care about what they have... Continue Reading
In How Great Supervisors Use Employee Recognition To Improve Performance, we looked at how supervisors who provide frequent and meaningful recognition and praise inspire employees to higher performance, engagement and loyalty. Below are 40 ideas for recognizing those you supervise. Learning your employee’s recognition preferences will help you determine which will work for you and which will not. But, don’t... Continue Reading
In the groundbreaking bestseller, The Carrot Principle, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton show definitively how supervisors who provide frequent and effective recognition inspire employees to excel. In a similar study found in How Full Is Your Bucket?, Tom Rath and Donald Clifton demonstrate that employees who receive regular meaningful recognition and praise: Increase their productivity Increase engagement with their colleagues... Continue Reading
In Mentor-Coaching In A Supervisory Relationship we shared how a supervisor that incorporates both mentoring and coaching can more effectively support, develop and improve the performance of their direct reports. A Mentor-Coaching approach is particularly effective in helping the supervisee gain insight and self-awareness into demonstrated behaviors, both positive and negative. Mentor-Coaching Tips For Reinforcing Positive Behavior Step 1: From... Continue Reading
Jim is a Church Organizational Leadership and Management Coach, Consultant and Trainer. Throughout his career Jim has demonstrated a passion for showing Pastors and Ministers how to use organizational tools for church and personal growth and health.
More About Jim“For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:5