Paul Clark

Second chances

We recently invited Don Solin back to the staff of Fairhaven Church.  Don served with Fairhaven as our leader of student ministries for almost 10 years back in the late 80's and early 90's.  He left to pursue a vision for being a senior pastor, which he did for several years.  As he journeyed through that experience, God walked him through some tough days in leadership.  Eventually, God led him to resign his position and, for a time, leave the ministry.  Through that process, Don realized that his gifts and passion are best fitted for leading leaders of students, not leading the church at large. 

We invited him back to Fairhaven as our Pastor of Next Generation Ministries, overseeing the staff leading middle school, high school, and college ministries.  He's found his sweet spot.  He's seasoned, settled, committed and passionate. He's matured through the last 10 years. He's doing an incredible job, and it's a thrill to be on staff with Don. I reflected back though, on some of the churches I've served in.  Not all of them- maybe none of them- would have had the grace and the courage to invite someone who left, to come back. Though God is a God of second chances, we often are not. I'm thankful I can be part of something that's different.  Meet Don Solin...

Why Fairhaven?....Why a Youth Pastor? from kevin batson on Vimeo.

Secrets of my success- LinkIn founder

As I've said, I like to grab good advice from smart people.  Here's a few tidbits from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.

It's okay to be brief. When people ask me about work/life balance, I just laugh. But I try to be time-efficient by scheduling meetings in appropriate increments --15 minutes or less sometimes. I've also tried to build a culture that understands writing brief e-mails is not emotional coldness.

I love quick meetings and short emails!  Being brief does not mean you're non-relational.  Nobody likes to have their valuable time wasted. Be concise, but be human.

Be willing to change course. Entrepreneurs tend to believe, "I've got my idea, I'll go until I die." But I advise them to take seriously the questions about whether their [business] plan is irredeemably flawed and whether they need to change what they're doing. Be diligent about failing fast so that you don't spend five years doing something that's just going to fail.

Always be willing to ask the question, "Is this working?" I am surprised by the level of activity people are willing to endure without ever stepping back and asking, "Am I doing the right things?" Good leaders are not afraid to question the course.

Don't be a perfectionist. I frequently tell Internet entrepreneurs, "If you're not somewhat embarrassed by your 1.0 product launch, then you've released too late." There's value in launching early, getting engaged with customers, and learning from them. That can direct your progress.

As Larry Osborne says, "Good is good enough."  If you wait until it's perfect, you'll miss out on lots of opportunities. The goal is not to start out perfect, but to learn from and get better at each opportunity.

Advice from a toy guru

As I've posted before, I like to find business wisdom from successful business people.  Bob Eckert, CEO of Mattel, relays some of his best advice. I've added my own thoughts in italics.

Don't put off layoffs. If you have to make employee cuts, just get on with it. Procrastination isn't good for anyone. I always say, "bad news never gets better with age."

Always make an outline. Whether you're preparing for a small meeting or addressing a large gathering, do an outline. This approach helped you in junior high, and it still works today. I can't tell you the awkward situations I've seen when people try to ad lib, or get by without notes.  Know where you're going and how to land the plane.

Mind the generation gap. When it comes to managing twentysomethings, remember: With an iPhone and Google, they can get to the truth in about two seconds. So don't try to give them a snow job. I love that.  They're so savvy and connected, they recognize a fake a mile away. Be accurate, be straight, and be real.

Research before hiring. When you're considering hiring someone, find out whom you both know and call that person for his or her perspective on the applicant. Time consuming, but can protect us from big mistakes.  Never short-cut the hiring process- especially the references and background part.

Run efficient meetings. Do the prep work before having a meeting -- it will pay off. Send out any materials in advance. Make sure everyone reads them, and use the meeting to focus solely on the topic at hand. As a type A introvert by nature, I sometimes worry about moving too fast through the agenda, but because I know what I want to accomplish in the meeting, it's at least efficient.  But most people love my meetings, so that's half the battle!

Enforce punctuality. One of my colleagues locks the door at the meeting start time. Trust me, no one ever arrives late a second time. Niiiiice!

Adapted from FORTUNE magazine.  August 31, 2009

Motivating Employees

It’s a fact: Different needs motivate different people. Some crave power, some variety, others want money. Some want constant praise, others to be left alone. It’s crucial for managers to figure out what motivates individual employees. One of these seven things will likely motivate your employees:

1. The need for achievement. These employees want the satisfaction of accomplishing projects successfully. They want to exercise their talents to attain something significant. They are self-motivated if the job is challenging enough, so provide them with the right work assignments and they will consistently produce.

2. The need for power. These employees get satisfaction from influencing and controlling others. They like to lead and persuade, and are motivated by positions of power and leadership. Test their trustworthiness and instincts, and then give them the opportunity to make decisions and direct others.

3. The need for affiliation. These employees derive satisfaction from interacting with others. They enjoy people, and find the social aspects of the workplace rewarding. Motivate them by giving them opportunities to work in teams and be sure to cultivate an environment that is socially rewarding.

4. The need for autonomy. These employees want freedom and independence. As much as practical, allow them to make their own choices, set their own schedules, and work independently.

5. The need for esteem. These employees need recognition and praise. Give them ample feedback and public recognition whenever possible.

6. The need for safety and security. These employees crave job security, a steady income, health insurance, and a hazard-free work environment. Give these people predictable work and good benefits to little risk or uncertainty.

7. The need for equity. These employees see life as “black and white” and want to be treated fairly. They compare work hours, job duties, salary, and privileges to those of other employees – and will become discouraged if they perceive inequities. Be sure to manage equitably.

Adapted from The Manager’s Desk Reference, by Cynthia Berryman-Fink and Charles B. Fink (American Management Association).

Fairhaven at Northmont- here it comes!

Yesterday, our congregation voted overwhelmingly to launch our first satellite campus through acquiring a smaller church on the far north end of the Dayton area.  It's actually a detour from our original design for launching our first satellite, but it seems to be God's Plan A. The church is a struggling congregation in our denomination, having gone through several pastors, dwindling members, and loss of vision and identity over the past decade.  We were asked to consider taking legal responsibility of all assets and liabilities by our District Superintendent.  The only alternative was to sit by and watch a sister church heading for bankruptcy.

Here are a few of the challenges that will make this an interesting journey:

• We need to transition from the current Senior Pastor to a new Host Pastor and hope to pass the baton in a healthy way.
• We'll initiate a new system of leadership based on our Senior Pastor, our Board and our vision. The existing church leadership is on the "mature" end of the age spectrum.
• We must put our own procedures and processes in place using many of the same people who have been steeped in a different, more conservative church culture than our own.
• We'll plan to close the facility for a period of five months while preparing for a fresh start in September.  We'll try to do this without losing the core believers that call this church their home.
• We're going to be looking for the right blend of part-time ministry leaders to lead worship, students and children's ministries.  Finding great people who can begin part-time is a challenge.
• We'll need to redesign their ministries and facility with an affinity to our own branding, while allowing some sense of unique personality. That's a tough balancing act.
• We'll hope to nurture the existing people already there, but not cater to them.  Something bold and new is coming and everyone has to be willing to adapt.

I'm looking forward to the new challenges and working closely with David to see God do something awesome! Like I said, it wasn't on our initial road map, but it's coming at us nonetheless. Life with God is always an adventure, and I'm blessed to be on the journey.  Any suggestions?

Right Person, Wrong Position

In the Nov/Dec edition of Your Church magazine, I have a piece about the challenges of transitioning a staff member from the staff because of failure to meet performance goals.  It's a tough situation to manage.  I hope you'll check it out either in the magazine or on the digital version on the website (p.46).  Be sure to mark the Your Church website and YourChurchblog in your favorites--they do a great job staying on the leading edge of the issues we are facing each day!

Read the article here...

"Master Leaders" by George Barna

I'm thinking of buying the book, "Master Leader" by George Barna.  Anyone read it?  Anybody like to venture a brief review?  

I have so many magazines to read, books that are half-read, as well as my life-long goal of finishing The Civil War series by Shelby Foote (at three pages a night before I get too sleepy, that may not happen).  

My point is that like you, I already have too much to read.  But I am always looking for good learning and inspiration, so I thought I'd just ask before I pulled the trigger.  It sounds interesting:

George Barna and coauthor Bill Dallas invite you to imagine yourself backstage at a conference featuring thirty world-class leaders. As you join them in the greenroom, you’ll be privy to their provocative conversations on subjects including: 

• defining what makes someone a leader 
• knowing how to identify, communicate, and get commitment to vision 
• touchstones for leading effectively
• what to look for and how to measure performance 
• earning and maintaining people’s trust 
• developing character traits that honor God, serve people, and empower self 
• establishing and retaining the moral authority to lead 
• knowing how power is derived and how to use it appropriately

the hunt is on!

Some of you may have seen the post on 9/14 entitled, “8 Things I Learned at MinistryCOM,” in which I wrote:

We must be the largest church around without a professional communications person on staff. I was blown away by how many larger churches have a well-developed communications team. And how important those folks are to the churches they serve. We need a Director of Communications at the executive level. Know anybody?

Exactly 5 weeks later, I’m excited to officially announce that we’ve started looking for a Director of Communication. How did it happen so quickly? Good question.

In the few weeks after MinistryCOM it seemed as if a switch had been flipped in our existing communications staff. Everyone saw not only the huge need for this position but also the amazing possibilities it would bring. Now we just had to convince the leadership (see my series of posts about approaching the big guy). So, after a few meetings where we expressed the importance and necessity of this new position, everyone was on board. And now... THE HUNT IS ON!!!

We’re so excited about hiring someone for this position that we shot a video introducing our church and explaining why we need this position and created a landing page that explains the position. We hope this will help someone see our passion for creativity and communication.

So that leads me to a question (and I’m serious about it this time), do you know anyone that would be interested? If so, send them a link to our Director of Communication page.

www.fairhavenchurch.org/doc

what's in a name?

I've been thinking recently about the value of job titles.  Does every employee need a title? Why?  What value does it add? Which one of us hasn't struggled to wordsmith a job title to fit someone and ended up frustrated? When a prominent XP-type took a job as "Chief Strategic Officer" at a huge megachurch, I thought, "Really?  That's your title?"  That would make me nervous...

Our "Director of HelloMedia," Jeff Clark, called me the "money guy" the other day.  I've referred to him before as our "web guy."  I called our "Director of Facilities," the "building guy."  Who hasn't called their "Pastor of Next Generation Ministries" the "youth guy"?  

Now, women on staff gets a little dicey. Our Pastor of Women's Ministries, Shelley Dulaney, cant be the "women's guy." That just wouldn't work. But she's rarely called by her title.  She's just in charge of women.

My point is that we labor over titles when the reality is that what we do is vastly more important than what we're called.  Our people find their own natural way to understand each person's role, in spite of the fancy titles we apply.  Function trumps formality.  

Next year we're going to be reorganizing our staff around function instead of hierarchy. It will tear down some walls that don't really need to be there. It will help us put the right people at the table, not because of a title or a reporting structure, but because of function.  It's going to be interesting. I'm looking forward to it.

Word for the year: connected

Each ministry year, David gives us a word, or an idea, that he will repeat throughout the year and hope that we will take to heart as we carry out our ministries. Last year's word was "longevity."  We must plan for the long haul.  We must be prepared personally and in our leadership roles for longevity.  This isn't a sprint.

This years’ word is, “connected.” These words are not some cheesy slogan like I remember from a previous church, “Let's reach more in ’94.” It’s intended to be a rallying cry for the staff that will emphasize one of our core values: community.

We’ll discuss it, evaluate it, pray about it, plan for it, and celebrate it. We want to be connected to each other and to Christ, and we want to model that for our church family. We want to do everything we can to connect people to ministry and to Jesus.

As I sat in church this past weekend and looked around at all the people I know and the hundreds that I don't know, I thought about this word.  How can we connect with them?  How can we get them connected to God and each other in a deeper way?

If one word could describe what you're focusing on this year, what would it be?