Evaluation Week
It is evaluation week at NCC. I'm meeting with all of my direct reports to do year-end reviews.
It's amazing how a few simple questions can promote such healthy conversation. My goal is to make sure that everybody on our team enjoys their job. I think job performance is really a function of job satisfaction. I'm less concerned with performance than I am with satisfaction!
So one question I ask our staff is what they'd like to add or subtract from their current portfolio? I really want to know what people enjoy most and least about what they do. Too often we try to make people fit their portfolios. I think that is backwards. I think portfolios ought to morph to fit staff--sort of like a pair of shoes.
I also ask staff if they have any issues they want to talk about. It's sort of an open-ended question that allows for honest dialogue. I really want to create an environment where people feel like they can verbalize issues instead of internalizing them.
During a week like this I am reminded of something I've said a thousand times: how much you enjoy ministry is largely determined by who you're doing ministry with.
The most important and most difficult decisions leaders make are staffing decisions. Hands down. They are the riskiest and lonliest decisions.
It's amazing how a few simple questions can promote such healthy conversation. My goal is to make sure that everybody on our team enjoys their job. I think job performance is really a function of job satisfaction. I'm less concerned with performance than I am with satisfaction!
So one question I ask our staff is what they'd like to add or subtract from their current portfolio? I really want to know what people enjoy most and least about what they do. Too often we try to make people fit their portfolios. I think that is backwards. I think portfolios ought to morph to fit staff--sort of like a pair of shoes.
I also ask staff if they have any issues they want to talk about. It's sort of an open-ended question that allows for honest dialogue. I really want to create an environment where people feel like they can verbalize issues instead of internalizing them.
During a week like this I am reminded of something I've said a thousand times: how much you enjoy ministry is largely determined by who you're doing ministry with.
The most important and most difficult decisions leaders make are staffing decisions. Hands down. They are the riskiest and lonliest decisions.
5 Comments:
What do you look for in potential staff? What are some of your "red flags" with regard to candidates? How do you assess a persons spiritual life from and interviewing perspective? Or do you simply hire people that you have observed over a considerable period of time.
Curious Church Planter,
Duke
It is such a "sixth sense" thing, but I look for a relational match and philosophical match and theological match. That is the foundation.
I definitely look for a sense of humor--high up on my list. I love working with people who take God seriously but don't take themselves too seriously!
I actually wrote more extensively about what I'm looking for in a recent evotional--Whistle While You Work. I think you can find it in the Evotional archive @ theaterchurch.com.
Mark
Hi Mark
First let me say that I love your posts and am learning a lot from them. As a Pastor of Children and Youth, I have 3 staff members and we are looking to increase that number. My question is in regards to staffing and your thought process of changing the portfoilo to fit the staff member.
Therefore what drives what they do? So if I was on staff and said Please change what I do because I dont like doing something, then it would change? Dont we as humans have a natural tendencies to default to a nonproductive style? Also, if you focus more on satisfaction than performance, what does evaluation performance look like? What if I perform badly yet love my position?
I hope these questions make sense. Thank you for your time and constantly challenging and encouraging my thought process!!!
Mike
Can you give the questions you ask your staff. We are nearing review time as well.
Mark -
Thanks for taking the time to blog.
I am wondering as your church grows do you see yourself changing your portfolio and delegating hiring of staff to an 'executive pastor'?
Wes H.
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