“Leaders are bridges that connect people to the future. They include other’s visions in their own, building alliances and partnerships based on shared aspirations.”
“I think the main source of personal change is pain; this pain may come from disappointment, failure, troubled or broken relationships with family or friends, violated trust, personal weakness, discouragement, boredom, dissatisfaction, poor health, the consequences of poor decisions, loneliness, mediocrity, fear, financial stress, job insecurity, or life imbalance. If you aren’t feeling pain, there is rarely enough motivation or humility to change.”
“The world has changed and the change is permanent.”
“The critical thing to understand about cultural dynamics is that leaders cannot arbitrarily culture in the sense of eliminating dysfunctional elements, but they can evolve culture by building on its strengths while letting its weaknesses atrophy over time.”
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Quotes from “Think Out of the Box” by Vance/Deacon
“…we became the kind of people dreamed about as children. Do you know what that’s called? Fulfillment!”
“The creative person is the one who harnesses the creative process in pursuing the greatest art form of all – meaningful living.”
“Those of us who wish to inspire others must be credible.”
“Change… What seems to be resistance is really fear of another disappointment”
“No one individual is usually smart enough or talented enough to do what an effective team is capable of doing – given the right tools, leadership and recognition. On the other hand, some tasks could be accomplished by an individual rather than a team, eliminating wasted time and energy.”
“The highest creativity occurs in well-organized environments.”
“Don’t let your environment control you. If it’s not right, change it. Either we’re in charge of our environment or it’s in charge of us.”
“There are three essential ingredients in the new cultures we help develop. Each ingredient is embodied in Wizard of Oz Management: brains, courage, and heart. If you wan to be part of the monumental transformation we describe earlier, you must have all three.”
“We have very few inferior people in the world. We have lots of inferior environments. Try to enrich your environment.” Frank Lloyd Wright
“The creative person is the one who harnesses the creative process in pursuing the greatest art form of all – meaningful living.”
“Those of us who wish to inspire others must be credible.”
“Change… What seems to be resistance is really fear of another disappointment”
“No one individual is usually smart enough or talented enough to do what an effective team is capable of doing – given the right tools, leadership and recognition. On the other hand, some tasks could be accomplished by an individual rather than a team, eliminating wasted time and energy.”
“The highest creativity occurs in well-organized environments.”
“Don’t let your environment control you. If it’s not right, change it. Either we’re in charge of our environment or it’s in charge of us.”
“There are three essential ingredients in the new cultures we help develop. Each ingredient is embodied in Wizard of Oz Management: brains, courage, and heart. If you wan to be part of the monumental transformation we describe earlier, you must have all three.”
“We have very few inferior people in the world. We have lots of inferior environments. Try to enrich your environment.” Frank Lloyd Wright
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Renewal and Revitalization
Here's a diagram that will help to explain why one facet of leadership always needs to be coupled with another when it comes to leading churches and schools. Spiritual Renewal and Structural Revitalization always go hand in hand. One without the other simply doesn't work.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Unleashing Service Excellence (part 4 jof 4)
Posted on: 03/31/2008 by Teri Yanovitch
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The key to building member loyalty is to make service excellence a habit. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, "We are what we do repeatedly; therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit." That’s something well worth remembering at all times: delivering service excellence is not just for now, it’s a way of life. When clergy, staff and volunteers focus on these principles and make them a habit, your church will achieve the most powerful result of all – intense member loyalty.
Teri Yanovitch is the co-author of "Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service." She gained customer-service expertise in her work with the Disney Institute, and paired it with quality-management knowledge as an executive with Philip Crosby Associates. In 1991, she began her own firm, T.A.Yanovitch Inc., working with companies such as Nokia, Marriott, Johnson & Johnson and Humana to create cultures of service excellence. For more information, visit http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The key to building member loyalty is to make service excellence a habit. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, "We are what we do repeatedly; therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit." That’s something well worth remembering at all times: delivering service excellence is not just for now, it’s a way of life. When clergy, staff and volunteers focus on these principles and make them a habit, your church will achieve the most powerful result of all – intense member loyalty.
Teri Yanovitch is the co-author of "Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service." She gained customer-service expertise in her work with the Disney Institute, and paired it with quality-management knowledge as an executive with Philip Crosby Associates. In 1991, she began her own firm, T.A.Yanovitch Inc., working with companies such as Nokia, Marriott, Johnson & Johnson and Humana to create cultures of service excellence. For more information, visit http://www.retainloyalcustomers.com/.
Unleashing Service Excellence (part 3 of 4)
Posted on: 03/31/2008 by Teri Yanovitch
3. Exceed their expectations. Meeting your members’ expectations may satisfy them, but it is not enough to build their loyalty to keep them coming back. You must exceed their expectations so that they feel set apart and valued. You know you will have accomplished this when you hear comments like, "Wow, I didn’t expect them to do that!" or "I felt as if they really cared." And in today’s world, customer service is so bad in most cases, it is not too hard to create a winning feeling.
Calling a member by name is a huge plus. It shows you pay attention to them as an individual. Noticing a member has certain talents or skills that may be put to use in the organization makes them feel needed. Having staff respond back quickly to voice mails and e-mails when a member has a question or request will certainly generate a "wow." And so will clergy standing in the foyer, shaking hands and greeting members after the service.
One of the easiest ways to identify what will amaze and delight your members is to talk with your leadership team and ask them to share the things they have done to delight members, or things they have experienced as members that wowed them. Hearing some of the things may give ideas to others, and some of the things may be so good, you incorporate them into a best practice. I know one church that sends a daily E-votional (e-mail) every morning to its members. The message ties back into the prior weekend’s sermon. It keeps the members connected all week with its Bible verse, paragraph that talks about the Bible verse and questions for the individual to consider. On Fridays, it starts setting up the message for the upcoming Sunday sermon and any special events that will be happening that weekend at the church. "Wows" like this add up, creating a powerful and positive member experience.
4. Make it easy to do business with you. Service problems typically have nothing to do with employee attitudes, but everything to do with broken processes. Many procedures and systems designed by the organization pose a difficulty for the member (and the staff) because they usually have been created looking through the "lens of the organization" or haven’t been thought through at all. Consider the member who needs an approval for something just outside the limits empowered to the staff. Everything stops as the phone call is made to a higher authority to get a response. There is no sense of urgency on the request, and the member waits while the staff moves on to other tasks. The request is finally processed and the higher authority signs their approval. The member got what he wanted, but he wasn’t really happy with the experience.
How do you decide what processes to focus on for improvement? Listen to the top frustrations members complain about. Listen to the top frustrations your staff and volunteers have in serving members effectively. Continuous improvement is the goal.
3. Exceed their expectations. Meeting your members’ expectations may satisfy them, but it is not enough to build their loyalty to keep them coming back. You must exceed their expectations so that they feel set apart and valued. You know you will have accomplished this when you hear comments like, "Wow, I didn’t expect them to do that!" or "I felt as if they really cared." And in today’s world, customer service is so bad in most cases, it is not too hard to create a winning feeling.
Calling a member by name is a huge plus. It shows you pay attention to them as an individual. Noticing a member has certain talents or skills that may be put to use in the organization makes them feel needed. Having staff respond back quickly to voice mails and e-mails when a member has a question or request will certainly generate a "wow." And so will clergy standing in the foyer, shaking hands and greeting members after the service.
One of the easiest ways to identify what will amaze and delight your members is to talk with your leadership team and ask them to share the things they have done to delight members, or things they have experienced as members that wowed them. Hearing some of the things may give ideas to others, and some of the things may be so good, you incorporate them into a best practice. I know one church that sends a daily E-votional (e-mail) every morning to its members. The message ties back into the prior weekend’s sermon. It keeps the members connected all week with its Bible verse, paragraph that talks about the Bible verse and questions for the individual to consider. On Fridays, it starts setting up the message for the upcoming Sunday sermon and any special events that will be happening that weekend at the church. "Wows" like this add up, creating a powerful and positive member experience.
4. Make it easy to do business with you. Service problems typically have nothing to do with employee attitudes, but everything to do with broken processes. Many procedures and systems designed by the organization pose a difficulty for the member (and the staff) because they usually have been created looking through the "lens of the organization" or haven’t been thought through at all. Consider the member who needs an approval for something just outside the limits empowered to the staff. Everything stops as the phone call is made to a higher authority to get a response. There is no sense of urgency on the request, and the member waits while the staff moves on to other tasks. The request is finally processed and the higher authority signs their approval. The member got what he wanted, but he wasn’t really happy with the experience.
How do you decide what processes to focus on for improvement? Listen to the top frustrations members complain about. Listen to the top frustrations your staff and volunteers have in serving members effectively. Continuous improvement is the goal.
Unleashing Service Excellence (part 2 of 4)
Posted on: 03/31/2008 by Teri Yanovitch
2. "Everything speaks" in your physical environment. Everything your members see, hear, smell and touch impacts their experience. Imagine a member entering your parking lot and seeing discarded cigarette butts as they get out of their car, an overflowing trash receptacle or scraggly, wilted and weedy landscaping. All this detracts from your church’s image. It sends a message to the member, "Do I really want to be a part of this organization?"
Now imagine the member walking up the entry path and seeing dirty fingerprint marks all over the front entrance glass door. Once inside, she sees the brochures offering your services and religious news scattered all over the display stand, and when she sits down in a chair or pew, she can’t help but notice the food wrappers and crumbs left from the previous member’s young child.
Consciously or unconsciously, the member is receiving an impression of your church that is not the impression you want them to have. As a church, the message your physical environment needs to send is one of care, trust and order. When your environment contradicts this message, it becomes an intrusion on the member experience. These "disconnects" add up and result in member concern and a weakening of their loyalty and retention.
All clergy and staff need to understand that it is their responsibility to help keep up the physical environment of the church. It is impossible for one person (usually the pastor) to be the one constantly policing the area and picking up the trash. All staff/volunteers need to recognize that the details of their personal appearance, work area and common areas impact the customer experience, and that it is important to ensure the right message is being sent all the time.
Take the time to walk through your church property, starting with the parking lot, looking through the lens of a member, and see what your environment is speaking to you. Then share this with all your staff/volunteers and let them take the "walk," too.
2. "Everything speaks" in your physical environment. Everything your members see, hear, smell and touch impacts their experience. Imagine a member entering your parking lot and seeing discarded cigarette butts as they get out of their car, an overflowing trash receptacle or scraggly, wilted and weedy landscaping. All this detracts from your church’s image. It sends a message to the member, "Do I really want to be a part of this organization?"
Now imagine the member walking up the entry path and seeing dirty fingerprint marks all over the front entrance glass door. Once inside, she sees the brochures offering your services and religious news scattered all over the display stand, and when she sits down in a chair or pew, she can’t help but notice the food wrappers and crumbs left from the previous member’s young child.
Consciously or unconsciously, the member is receiving an impression of your church that is not the impression you want them to have. As a church, the message your physical environment needs to send is one of care, trust and order. When your environment contradicts this message, it becomes an intrusion on the member experience. These "disconnects" add up and result in member concern and a weakening of their loyalty and retention.
All clergy and staff need to understand that it is their responsibility to help keep up the physical environment of the church. It is impossible for one person (usually the pastor) to be the one constantly policing the area and picking up the trash. All staff/volunteers need to recognize that the details of their personal appearance, work area and common areas impact the customer experience, and that it is important to ensure the right message is being sent all the time.
Take the time to walk through your church property, starting with the parking lot, looking through the lens of a member, and see what your environment is speaking to you. Then share this with all your staff/volunteers and let them take the "walk," too.
Unleashing Service Excellence (part 1 of 4)
Posted on: 03/31/2008 by Teri Yanovitch
In the 1980s, quality was the competitive edge. By the 1990s, many organizations had met the quality challenge to the point that most products/services had become commodities. It was difficult to distinguish who had the best bank, cellular telephone, medical plan, rental car or hotel room; therefore, the competitive differentiation came in the branding. Companies worked hard to identify their brand and communicate it to the consumer audience.
This decade, with numerous brands offering similar quality and services, the competitive differentiation is in the customer experience. The same holds true for churches. What makes a positive member-experience and how do we consistently deliver this experience to our members? Customer service is more than a smile and good eye contact. Members are looking for someone to confidently take care of them and their needs. If there is a concern, they want someone who can resolve the issue. Do you have the processes and internal culture to differentiate your church? Let’s look at four service principles that lead to ongoing member loyalty and retention.
1. Look through the "lens of the member." Because members have their choice of where to fulfill their spiritual needs, your church has to convince them that it truly cares. An engaged, caring clergy and staff (including volunteers) raises a member’s confidence that the church is looking out for their best interests. The member trusts that when he is told by one of those individuals that this is the right place for him, it’s done with his interests at heart. On the other hand, if the member senses a lack of caring, he or she questions the motives behind any spiritual discussion.
Ask people to consider these two simple questions when they interact with a member: What are the emotions? What are the needs? In most organizations, the treatment of members is the same – kind of a "next in line" mentality. By understanding the member’s emotions first, then meeting the needs, clergy and staff will be in a better position to build an emotional attachment.
For example, take the family with young children. It may be the church’s desire to have an uninterrupted, quiet atmosphere without distractions. Therefore, the ushers are instructed to separate families with children to another service time or designated area of the church to accomplish that purpose. Yet, not every family will fit this mold; for instance, if a family has children that are very well-behaved. If the situation is not addressed skillfully – looking through the lens of the member with children – an usher can easily alienate that family to not feel welcome at all. The usher is perceived as the "church cop" vs. the welcoming face of the organization. Taking the time to train volunteers on how to look through the lens of the member and determine better ways of how to address the emotions (feel a part of the church) and meet their needs (be with their children) will go a long way in retaining people.
Are the emotions and needs of a young couple contemplating marriage, for example, the same emotions and needs of an older couple preparing for a second marriage? Obviously not – the young couple’s emotions are those of excitement, anxiety and uncertainty. What they need from your team is some sense of excitement, too, but also, conviction, and a thorough explanation of the wedding process and pertinent details.
The older couple’s emotions may also be of excitement, but more confidence and knowledge of the marriage process. What they expect to receive is concern, care and experienced consultation skills. The end product is the same – a happy couple – but the individual member experience is unique.
It’s also easy to look through the lens of the organization instead of the member’s lens when handling concerns. As staff, we often can’t understand why a member is upset over a procedure or policy. "Don’t they know it is for their protection that we require the name stickers of children in Bible school to match up to the sticker of their parents before releasing them?" "Don’t they know it will take us time to adequately research their statements if they believe a donation has not been recorded?"
Probably not. Remember, it is not the member’s responsibility to see through our lens; it’s our responsibility to see through the member’s lens and understand their emotions.
In the 1980s, quality was the competitive edge. By the 1990s, many organizations had met the quality challenge to the point that most products/services had become commodities. It was difficult to distinguish who had the best bank, cellular telephone, medical plan, rental car or hotel room; therefore, the competitive differentiation came in the branding. Companies worked hard to identify their brand and communicate it to the consumer audience.
This decade, with numerous brands offering similar quality and services, the competitive differentiation is in the customer experience. The same holds true for churches. What makes a positive member-experience and how do we consistently deliver this experience to our members? Customer service is more than a smile and good eye contact. Members are looking for someone to confidently take care of them and their needs. If there is a concern, they want someone who can resolve the issue. Do you have the processes and internal culture to differentiate your church? Let’s look at four service principles that lead to ongoing member loyalty and retention.
1. Look through the "lens of the member." Because members have their choice of where to fulfill their spiritual needs, your church has to convince them that it truly cares. An engaged, caring clergy and staff (including volunteers) raises a member’s confidence that the church is looking out for their best interests. The member trusts that when he is told by one of those individuals that this is the right place for him, it’s done with his interests at heart. On the other hand, if the member senses a lack of caring, he or she questions the motives behind any spiritual discussion.
Ask people to consider these two simple questions when they interact with a member: What are the emotions? What are the needs? In most organizations, the treatment of members is the same – kind of a "next in line" mentality. By understanding the member’s emotions first, then meeting the needs, clergy and staff will be in a better position to build an emotional attachment.
For example, take the family with young children. It may be the church’s desire to have an uninterrupted, quiet atmosphere without distractions. Therefore, the ushers are instructed to separate families with children to another service time or designated area of the church to accomplish that purpose. Yet, not every family will fit this mold; for instance, if a family has children that are very well-behaved. If the situation is not addressed skillfully – looking through the lens of the member with children – an usher can easily alienate that family to not feel welcome at all. The usher is perceived as the "church cop" vs. the welcoming face of the organization. Taking the time to train volunteers on how to look through the lens of the member and determine better ways of how to address the emotions (feel a part of the church) and meet their needs (be with their children) will go a long way in retaining people.
Are the emotions and needs of a young couple contemplating marriage, for example, the same emotions and needs of an older couple preparing for a second marriage? Obviously not – the young couple’s emotions are those of excitement, anxiety and uncertainty. What they need from your team is some sense of excitement, too, but also, conviction, and a thorough explanation of the wedding process and pertinent details.
The older couple’s emotions may also be of excitement, but more confidence and knowledge of the marriage process. What they expect to receive is concern, care and experienced consultation skills. The end product is the same – a happy couple – but the individual member experience is unique.
It’s also easy to look through the lens of the organization instead of the member’s lens when handling concerns. As staff, we often can’t understand why a member is upset over a procedure or policy. "Don’t they know it is for their protection that we require the name stickers of children in Bible school to match up to the sticker of their parents before releasing them?" "Don’t they know it will take us time to adequately research their statements if they believe a donation has not been recorded?"
Probably not. Remember, it is not the member’s responsibility to see through our lens; it’s our responsibility to see through the member’s lens and understand their emotions.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
OK, So Policy Based Governance Isn’t for You…
· The constitution, bylaws, and other governance documents (afterwards referred to simply as “governing process”) need to be seen as “works in process.”
· The governing process should be viewed as being subject to change. Conditions change and institutions must be adaptive or become obsolete/irrelevant.. For this reason every governance document should be regularly reviewed and a “last revised date” should be prominently displayed on every document.
· Changes to the governance process should be made with an eye to moving into the future, not merely preserving the past.
· Changes made in the governing process should be made in times of institutional calm. This is when minds will be thinking at their clearest.
· Changes to the governing process should not be made during times of institutional turmoil or crisis. This is when the governing process is of the greatest value to the institution. The governing process will provide clear direction during those times when judgment is most clouded and reason is most unclear.
· All documents in the governing process need to be as short, succinct and clear as possible. Flowery verbiage only serves to confuse matters, not clarify them. Clarity, not eloquence, is what is most important.
· Do not define terms or processes in your governance process that are defined elsewhere. An example of this might be for removal of staff from office. It is better/easier to simply say “in accordance with the Handbook of Synod,” than spell out a detailed policy which is very, very rarely used in the life of any church.
· Every governance document should be spelled out in progressively more detail by succeeding governance documents.
· Some documents in the governing process need to be more difficult to change than others. These are the things that might be looked at as being “incontrovertibles.” For instance… The constitution may say that only pastors trained and rostered by the LCMS are eligible for a call to serve the congregation. The bylaws may speak to the call process and committee. And documents pertaining to pastoral duties may spell out in further detail the gifts and talents specifically desired in fulfilling that position.
· Remember, according to Lutheran theology, the congregation owns the ministry, the pastor administers the ministry. Another way of saying this is that the congregation determines what ministries are to be performed, the pastor determines how best to perform those ministries.
Level | Governance Document | Who Owns the Governance Document? | Adaptability to Changing Needs |
1. | Constitution | Voter’s Assembly | Remains constant or nearly constant |
2. | Bylaws | Voter’s Assembly | Moderately adaptable to changing needs/opportunities |
3. | Pastoral Accountability | Governing Board | Somewhat adaptable to changing needs/opportunities |
4. | Board Policy Manuals | Pastor or (not “and”) Governing Board* | Quite adaptable to changing needs/opportunities |
5. | Job Descriptions | Pastor or (not “and”) Governing Board* | Quite adaptable to changing needs/opportunities |
6. | Staff Policy Manuals | Pastor | Very adaptable to changing needs/opportunities |
Here are some helpful hints …
· If possible, begin refining your constitution and bylaws by first of all coming to agreement on the organizational chart. This will provide a greater level of clarity in terms of what the congregation is hoping to achieve and how they have agreed to achieve it. It will save you pages and pages of explanations. (An example of how this might look is included, but you will want to tailor one to your individual needs. If you would like another example that works, let me know. I'll be happy to e-mail it to you.)
· It is strongly encouraged that organizational charts include lines depicting supervisory/advisory relationships (as well as any other organizational relationships the institution may think are important)..
· *To eliminate conflicts of interest, your institution’s organizational chart institution should make provision that no person, board, or committee will be supervised by more than one person/entity. (No one ever said this was going to be easy.)
· Balance responsibility and authority. In other words, if you give someone the responsibility to do something, also give him/her/them the authority to so what you have asked him/her/them to do.
Once this is completed you are well on your way to being able to begin defining (or redefining) your governance process verbally.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
You May Be Interested In Knowing...
It has recently come to my attention that this blog has garnered the attention of quite a few people - people who themselves are exploring leadership/governing issues.
You may be interested to know that as part of my coursework toward certification, one assignment is to assist not-for-profits in streamlining their governance process. This might include such things as executive coaching, constitution and bylaws review, or possibly even assisting you into a new form of governance. If you or the institution you serve would find this helpful, you will be interested in knowing that this assistance is available to you as a free service (until I'm certified). This will be available on a first come, first served basis. Until the assignments are completed.
(September '07 - I would like to express my appreciation to the three organizations who took me up on this offer. Thanks for helping me complete the assignment. Not only was it a pleasure to work with you, but I am especially gratified that your experience with policy based governance has proven to be so helpful. God willing, it will serve you well for many years to come. PSZ)
You may be interested to know that as part of my coursework toward certification, one assignment is to assist not-for-profits in streamlining their governance process. This might include such things as executive coaching, constitution and bylaws review, or possibly even assisting you into a new form of governance. If you or the institution you serve would find this helpful, you will be interested in knowing that this assistance is available to you as a free service (until I'm certified). This will be available on a first come, first served basis. Until the assignments are completed.
(September '07 - I would like to express my appreciation to the three organizations who took me up on this offer. Thanks for helping me complete the assignment. Not only was it a pleasure to work with you, but I am especially gratified that your experience with policy based governance has proven to be so helpful. God willing, it will serve you well for many years to come. PSZ)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Finding the "Right Time"
Finding the "Right Time" to make changes to the governance structure of any institution is a question that often plagues people. Generally speaking the answer is this... Since constitutions and bylaws were designed to provide stability in times of uncertainty, crisis, and upheaval, organizations should only think about changing or modifying their form of governance when things are going fairly smoothly. Put another way, the time to change sails is not when you're sailing through rough seas. Since we are sailing through rough seas right now, this would be a good time to batten the hatches, secure the deck, and stay the course. (There will be more on this another time.)
However, this is the right time to begin thinking about and studying various forms of governance. This way when seas do calm again (and they will) we will be poised to move forward in a timely manner.
However, this is the right time to begin thinking about and studying various forms of governance. This way when seas do calm again (and they will) we will be poised to move forward in a timely manner.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Yikes! Do we have to go through all those hoops?
If you're like me, after having read the article you're probably saying to yourself, "Yikes! Do we have to go through all those hoops?" The answer is no (at least in my opinion). But within the article, there are many useful ideas which are worth considering. Some might be very helpful.
Where to begin? That will be a question our leadership will be answering over time as it engages in looking at our governance documents (process). These posts have been merely to introduce us to current leadership philosophy with an eye to 1) what we hope to accomplish in this world for the Lord and 2) then developing a document which helps clarify (and achieve) our respective roles as we work together in His kingdom.
Where to begin? That will be a question our leadership will be answering over time as it engages in looking at our governance documents (process). These posts have been merely to introduce us to current leadership philosophy with an eye to 1) what we hope to accomplish in this world for the Lord and 2) then developing a document which helps clarify (and achieve) our respective roles as we work together in His kingdom.
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