Posted in Church Staff

Discovering You’re Dispensable

I knew it based on experience. Multiple times I’d seen it.

A church can get along just fine after losing a key leader.

I’d studied the principle of dispensable and indispensable leaders in our church’s leadership course, Model-Netics. I’d counseled other leaders about the idea that they, like me, we’re replaceable.

But I didn’t fully realize how dispensable I was until I left a church after 13 years and the phone never rang.

Work-related e-mails and texts from my former church were minimal. The church office didn’t fall apart. People were still ministered to. All the so-called Brian-centric things I’d done while serving there—driven by my particular skill-set and gifts—kept happening too.

After 15 months away, I returned to my former church to celebrate the pastor’s 20th anniversary. The connection and relationships to the people there were still as rich as ever. But it was on the trip, this theoretical idea of dispensability became reality for me.

Was it like my friend Stephen puts it? Was I “a legend in my own mind”?

I’ve blogged on self-deprecation before. And although I suggested it can be a good thing, this post isn’t that. This post is about a biblical truth and a leadership principle:

God cares more about His Church than He cares who gets to lead His Church.

God has plans, and they’ll be accomplished whether you or I are driving them or not.

Being dispensable doesn’t mean you’re not valuable to your church. It means God’s plans and where He places value is different–seen from an eternal perspective. We see it throughout the Bible. God continually raises up new leaders to carry out His purposes.

Learning and dealing with your dispensability is difficult on your ego, but good for your leadership acumen.

Once you realize you’re dispensable, it’ll help your leadership in these ways:

You’ll be less concerned with titles and accolades—less entitlement.
You’ll work harder.
You’ll be less likely to build your ministry as a silo in your church.
You’ll be less concerned with your legacy and more concerned with Christ’s legacy.
You’ll focus less on impressing others and more on making an impression on lives.
You’ll set up initiatives and goals that can be realized long after you’re gone.
You’ll be motivated to serve others on your leadership team.
You’ll figure out how to invest in leaders around you, who can lead in your absence.

It’s not that you and I aren’t valuable; it’s that what we do is bigger than us.

The sooner we understand our limits and finiteness, the bigger impact we’ll make in what we currently do.

If you’re working to make yourself dispensable, then you’re likely working at making your church and service to Christ better.

Here’s to celebrating dispensability.

If You're Going To Miss, Call "Help!"

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto®

One of my standard comments to prospective employees or new staff* is:

I realize you’re going to fumble the ball sometimes, but just don’t fumble without first calling “help.”

It’s one thing to miss a deadline. It’s another to not let people know in advance who may be able to help or do damage control.
It’s one thing to make an error in judgment. It’s another to let those you report to be surprised by the error at the same moment everyone else in the church is.
It’s one thing to not have the skills or knowledge to complete a task. It’s another to be irresponsible by not collaborating with people who can help provide those skills or knowledge. (Click here to read a previous post on collaboration.)

Mistakes will happen. But ignoring or concealing them until the 11th hour isn’t fair to your church or place of business.

You’ve got to determine what’s more important: your pride, or the objective you’re trying to achieve.

Like I have, you will fumble the ball. But when you see the fumble coming, call for help, and see if someone else can take the ball.

Is there a project you’re already behind on?

Is there an assigned task you don’t think you have the knowledge or skills to complete?

Call “help!”

Calling “help” doesn’t necessarily mean you walking away from the task. Sometimes, it just provides others a chance to collaborate with you. Other times, a team leader may determine to reassign the task.

I’ve fumbled the ball, both literally and figuratively, and it doesn’t feel good. But it feels worse when I’ve looked up to the sideline and seen willing, competent people who could’ve helped me if I’d asked.

*Read more about onboarding and orientation for new staff in a recent post.

On-boarding Staff Process

As a hiring manager or leader, there are two reasons you might need to review this post:

1.) You don’t hire new employees often, so you have no system and can’t easily remember all the steps that need to take place each time you do have an opportunity to hire someone.

2.) You’re hiring a lot of new employees, so you need a system and documentation to keep the on-boarding steps consistent.

The goal is to make sure everyone is doing their part to welcome and prepare for new employees. Being prepared on day one and having an orientation in place says a lot to the new employee about your church or organization.

On and Off-Boarding

On-boarding and Orientation Task sheets need to have the tasks a new employee will need in the first six months. On ones I’ve created I have headings of: Before they arrive; First day; Week one; First month; and 120 days. (At the bottom of this post I’ve listed examples of tasks to include on yours.)

The goals is for those we assign these tasks to is to complete the task in the time frame (“before they arrive, first day,” etc). You need to determine which key departments and/or persons need to receive the first e-mail, alerting the staff of a new employee’s anticipated arrival. Then, those people review it to see what they’re responsible for making happen.

This document can be online shared document o so the person responsible can easily see and then mark off what they’ve done. and can be as simple as the person in charge keeping a document and emailing out assignments.

I think it’s also helpful to show the new employee the actual on-boarding sheet. This way they can see what will be done for them, or downloaded to them, and they also can see who they’ll be interacting with for the task.

An on-boarding document can be very simple and only have a few tasks, or it can scale to a very complex matrix of all that a new employee will need to be exposed to as they begin at your church. Start simple, and as you discover more needed and repetitive tasks, add to it.

I’m also a fan of an off-boarding document. It serves the church and the person leaving. It can include things like “Remove them from website,” “return keys and church credit card,” “complete exit interview,” and of course, “host a party.”

A good on and off boarding system will allow your church to not miss any important details, be consistent from employee to employee, and help a supervisor to not have to start at ground zero each time (“what do I have to do with a new employee?”

Sample on-boarding tasks:

Communicate to church the new arrival
Order needed tools for them (business cards, computer, furniture, etc)
Prepare personnel paperwork for them to complete on day one
Make buildings keys
Provide key dates for them to be involved in for first 60 days
Add them to New Member Class invite
Set-up key meetings (1:1 with pastor, ministry leaders)
Take picture and write bio for website
Establish goals for day 60 and 120
Order church credit card
Provide them access and training for Church Management System
Provide tour of buildings

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