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Problem Solvers Need Not Apply

We don’t need more problem solvers. What we do need are more problem avoiders.

As a leader, what if you were effective enough to solve problems before they even presented themselves?

Like many leaders, in an interview for my current position, I remarked that I was a “problem solver.” I thought this was a good skill. However, I’ve come to find out that my supervisor (Jim Baker @sacredstructure) believes that problem avoiders are more valuable than problem solvers. And I’ve come to that same belief.

Problem-avoidance begins with asking the what, where, when, why, who, and how questions (5 W’s) in advance of initiatives.

Doing the five things below, in a systematic, strategic, and preventive way, will lead to problem-avoidance:

  1. Get perspective from others.
  2. Consider possible problems in the planning stage.
  3. Consider the pitfall possibilities in the initiative’s implementation.
  4. Ask the “5 W” interrogative questions at each stage of initiative roll-out.
  5. Always evaluate (post-mortem autopsy) your work and ministries.

Regularly engaging these five simple exercises will lessen the amount of time you spend problem-solving and improve your leadership skills in problem-avoidance.

 

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Can a part-time employee still be effective?

Hiring at a part-time level is purposeful in our ministry setting. It’s a part of our strategy to manage our resources until other factors drive us to full-time positions. We refer to it as “incrementalism.”

There are typically gains with small, incremental steps in both cost and efficiency. This is true of most ventures, but employee hours especially.

We’ve found if you have the right part-time people, and they’re managed well, they can produce far more results than their hours suggest.

Here are four key things a supervisor should ensure his or her part-time employee is doing so their hours can be maximized:

Anticipate

  • Last-minute boss tasks and other tyranny of the urgent matters;
  • Post-meeting tasks—and give time to address them;
  • Deadlines. Schedule out the time slots to hit deadlines. Annual budget submittals, Disciple Now, and VBS shouldn’t surprise you;
  • And avoid black holes. Give yourself a time limit for activities that tend to eat up time, such as Facebook, trips to the break room, engaging certain people in conversation (we all know people who can’t end a conversation).

Delegate

Ask yourself: is this the most effective use of my time? I’ve had to realize that although others may not say or do things like me, their work is still adequate.

I have to delegate and pass things along so I can focus on mission-critical initiatives. This is true for part-time employees as well. Which five-minute tasks could they give away?

You don’t always need position power to delegate. Be creative in determining who could willingly accept a task (there are capable and called volunteers).

Advantage Moments

Typically small in length, these can be fulfilling if used properly:

  • Mean-time tasks (phone calls, making copies) in between meetings or over lunch;
  • Group-like tasks;
  • E-mail templates (i.e. volunteer schedules, regular scheduling of meetings and agendas) See Michael Hyatt’s post to learn more about these;
  • And use computer shortcuts (find tutorials or ask a “geek”).

Meaningful Moments

  • Develop weekly Must-Do, Should-Do and Nice-To-Do task sheets;
  • Know what you have planned each day, before beginning the day;
  • And block out time every week for projects. Don’t try to squeeze in preparation for a presentation in between fielding e-mails from church members.

Whether the part-time role is a minister or support position, you can manage their limited hours to produce more than part-time results.

P.S. If you want your part-time role to go full-time, make your supervisor notice you. Let them see the amount of work you’re producing. They can’t ignore quality and results for too long.

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5 Ways to Leave a Church Well

After seven years of service at my church, I was granted a sabbatical leave. For those eight weeks, I scheduled activities, learning opportunities, rested, concentrated spiritual connection time, journaling, Christian counseling, and one writing project.

The writing project was my theological, philosophical, and methodological construct for how a minister could leave a church in a God-honoring way. Primarily, this was for me. I wanted a well thought-out accountability system for whenever it was my time to leave. I wanted to leave well—my time to leave came within three years.

After seeing first-hand and hearing horror stories of ministers leaving in ways that damaged the church they left behind (whether voluntary or forced), I determined I wouldn’t do that.

Culling resources from other leaders (not a lot had been written on the subject), searching Scripture, and simply thinking through things that make sense to do when you love the local church, led me to these points:

• Stop citing God for your pettiness.

• Lose your delusions of grandeur.

• Be willing to take the road less traveled—the high road.

• Finish well, including your work and appointments.

• Write an Apostle Paul-style resignation letter.

The closing thought to my article was this:

We can choose to leave well. Our impact at our “former” churches shouldn’t be measured by the chaos we leave behind. There are no spiritual medals awarded for causing the biggest wake at our former places of service. We have to determine that our leaving will cause the least amount of disruption. Better yet, what if our leaving can glorify God?

 

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