| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Many people flinch at the mention of evaluation, and with reason. Research shows that in many workplaces, the main effect of employee reviews is to hurt productivity by annually lowering morale. In congregations, staff evaluation too often is conducted as a popularity poll with anonymous respondents rating staff performance on the basis of subjective impressions. In effect, staff members are encouraged to feel that they report to dozens of semi-invisible bosses who can invent new things to blame them for at any time. This approach raises stress even for popular staff members and does little to improve performance.
A second reason to dislike staff evaluation is that people who are in conflict with a staff member often propose evaluation as a way to express unhappiness. For the staff, this ploy turns evaluation into a harbinger of doom, like the arrival of the priest in an old movie. Evaluation is a poor way to deal with conflict, whether the conflict is really about staff or (as is often the case when a staff member is criticized) the congregation itself is divided over an underlying issue.
A third reason to dislike evaluation is that supervisors often wait until they have decided to fire someone before engaging in evaluation seriously. As a consequence, evaluation becomes associated with the notion of "building up a file" to protect against lawsuits or other conflicts after discharging an employee.
Understandably, some clergy and staff erect rigid boundaries around themselves and refuse to be evaluated or (more often) simply never get around to it. Volunteers do the same thing, sometimes expressing surprise at the very suggestion that their performance ought to be evaluated. In frustration, boards sometimes insist on punitive or inappropriately quantitative systems of evaluation, in the hope of cracking down. Such rigid, unilateral approaches to the subject of evaluation often express underlying tensions needing to be addressed directly-perhaps with the help of a consultant-before evaluation can become healthy and constructive. Increased emphasis on evaluation is rarely a good first step in conflict management, though it can be helpful in stabilizing a relationship that is working reasonably well.
To be constructive, evaluation has to become a routine, non-threatening part of congregational culture. This can happen when leaders stick to a routine of serious, periodic evaluation, and set an example of openness to feedback and respond to it by learning and improving their performance.
Read more from Dan Hotchkiss » |
| | CAN THESE BONES PODCAST: ERIC BARRETO |
In this episode of "Can These Bones," co-host Laura Everett talks with Eric Barreto, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, about training students to parse Greek verbs and become wise readers of Scriptures and communities.
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| | MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND THE CHURCH NETWORK'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE |
July 18 - 21, 2018 | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | New Orleans, Louisiana
Register now for The Church Network's 62nd Annual Conference! This three-day event promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking time, offering you multiple ways to network with church leaders, find a mentor, get a sneak preview of emerging technology, and hone your skills. You'll have opportunities to get started on certification requirements and to participate in continuing education. Whether you are new to church leadership or a veteran, it's an event you won't want to miss!
Learn more and register now » |
| | IDEAS THAT IMPACT: EVALUATION |
Is there a way that we can do clergy evaluations without sweating our way through the process?
Read more from James Howell » |
| Assessment doesn't necessarily mean judgment. Measuring success should be a collaborative inquiry. Read more from Maria Mallory White » |
| If you are considering using a 360-degree assessment tool, a senior manager at the Center for Creative Leadership has three questions for you: Why? Why now? Why you? Read more from Craig Chappelow » |
When Better Isn't Enough: Evaluation Tools for the 21st Century Church by Jill M. Hudson
Many sociologists and a growing number of church scholars have noted that we live in a time of transition -- from the modern era to the postmodern. Whenever a shift of this magnitude occurs, it leaves all of life, including the church, in flux. We instinctively strive to stabilize the situation by re-establishing what has worked in the past. Increasingly, however, congregations are finding that the same old things done harder or better don't seem to make a difference.
Author Jill Hudson argues, "We must identify new criteria for success, and perhaps even for faithfulness, and hold ourselves accountable to them." Approaching the postmodern era as a tremendous opportunity, Hudson identifies 12 characteristics by which we can measure effective ministry for the early 21st century. Based on those 12 criteria, Hudson has created evaluation tools, "an early measuring stick," to help congregations evaluate their work in this new era. Not everything of the past is ineffective and best discarded, she says, nor will everything we try in the future be successful. But by faithfully listening for God's guidance and carefully evaluating progress using Hudson's tools, looking at the ministry of the whole people of God as well as that of the professional staff, congregations can improve their ministry, help members and staff grow in effectiveness, deepen a sense of partnership, and add new richness to the dialogue about the congregation's future.
Learn more and order the book » |
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