Goal Area #2 - Improving Leadership

Goal - To improve ministry effectiveness by re-evaluating the parish staff organization and leadership.

Damian's Opinion - In terms of survey responses, I can't say that the quantity of responses justifies listing this goal ahead of Goal #3 (which addresses thoughts that Steve brought up in our last two meetings). However, in my view, this goal has a higher priority than #3 and perhaps equals #1 in priority, only because I feel that we must make some changes in the way our parish staff is organized and in the way we handle ministries. If we don't take care of that first, I feel that some of our efforts on other goals will be canceled out by "leadership" issues.

No one should take my thoughts as a personal critique of individuals or in leadership in general. I use the term leadership in the spirit our 7 elements. I believe that fast growth of our parish & its staff has caused some unintended inefficiencies or deficiencies. We need to correct these issues so that we can tackle our other goals (and perhaps improve job satisfaction among staff members).

Potential Objectives Fitting this Goal Area
Once again, I noted the following specific suggestions from the surveys. I would suggest that these could be a starting place for discussion when developing objectives for this goal area.

Ministry Organizational Chart - this has been mentioned so many times, I think it goes without saying. As we do this, I think we need to consider reorganizing staff member responsibilities so that each ministry has someone on staff that is familiar with its work, mission, and current state. We may also decide that perhaps it makes sense to combine a couple ministries together. This would be a very delicate dance, to make sure we don't disillusion anyone if we reorganize in some fashion.

Develop Process for Forming New Ministries - in the past, the process has been to allow ministries to form as needed, perhaps without direct support from staff or other ministries. By pairing new ministry hopefuls (such as the opportunity to support the diocese in Peru) with established ministries and staff members, we give the new ministry the best chance for it to succeed and assure that the activities are coordinated among other groups. Once the ministry has a strong foundation and had processes in place for succession planning, perhaps it can branch out on its own. We need to make sure that we do what we can to assure that ministries are "built to last".

Frame Everything in Terms of Vision - we have a vision statement on paper, but we don't hear much about it outside of the prayers of the faithful. If we believe in the vision statement, we need to integrate it into the way we organize our parish staff, how we organize and direct our ministries, and how we talk to our parishioners. If we can't do that, perhaps our vision statement is wrong.

Have Periodic Ministry Leadership Meetings - the purpose of these meetings would be to give brief updates so that ministries know what's happening with other ministry groups.

Designate Someone as the "Guru" on the Parish Staff - that's the best name I can come up with. In the surveys, a couple people indicate frustration because they ask to help in a ministry, or have a problem with parish records, so they call the parish. Whoever they talk with either doesn't know what to do, doesn't know who to call, or says they will do something but nothing gets done. The parishioner may try more than once to resolve the issue, but it never happens. I've personally met someone in the parish that had this experience. There needs to be at least one "know-it-all" who can make sure these things are taken care of. Either that, or someone who already has this "job description" isn't getting the job done. The net result is a bad "customer experience" for our parishioner.

Improve Parish Staff Communications Skills - some people want more to be communicated. Others want it to be accurate. There have been a couple communications I have observed that give mixed signals to parishioners and am willing to talk about "offline" from this blog.

Rent a Priest - a number of responses lamented the lack of availability of a priest for reconciliation and other needs. People also don't want to wear the priests we have out. We've discussed before the possibility of "renting" a priest, so I added that idea to this list.

Open Accounting - the Finance Council has to find ways to communicate its finances to parishioners in a variety of ways. Some don't care about the details, but others do. When we can't provide them, it gives the appearance that something distrustful MIGHT be going on.

Related Financial Goals to Vision / Goals - if we state a vision or goal, but money is spent differently, then we are communicating mixed messages to parishioners.

Stewardship Fair - Perhaps this goes better under welcoming, but a number of people have suggested having a stewardship fair to make people aware of what the parish has to offer and get others involved. Some examples have been made of places that make it a true "fair" with games and/or rides for kids, treats, etc.

What Do We DO With Our Money - we talk about our needs, but we don't often make what we DO with our money a personal story for our parishioners. If we can somehow personalize what we do with our finances, more people would support our efforts. Also, the parish should frame the charitable support we give other organization as our parish tithe - and it should probably be at least 5%. This models the behavior we seek from our parishioners.