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“... congregations are not alone in facing seemingly impossible change. At some level, it is simply the way of the world to resist change.” This is a brief quote from Gil Rendle’s book, "Leading Change in the Congregation."
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Essentially, there are three forms of planning, each with different goals, each trying to answer a different set of questions. The Strategic Planning mode is only one of those planning forms. The trick is to use the right form and thereby achieve the best results.
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Smart Goals are Specific; Measurable; Attainable; Realistic; Timely.
How do you develop goals with these components?
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Pastor Nominating Committees know how to ask questions about a candidate's skill set, their experience and perhaps, their theological position. Remember, most clergy can look good for an hour's interview.
But what about their emotional and spiritual maturity? This takes more than surface questions. This paper outlines several approaches to this area that can bear fruit.
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Many times the parliamentary approach to decision-making is not the best; a majority vote or even a two-thirds vote may not be the best road for a group to achieve consensus and move toward a common road of action. After all, is not the goal that the group move forward as a united body, strong in its decision and ready to act?
Here are some approaches to making a decision that might facilitate the group’s acting in a consensus fashion.
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The four quadrant model from Steven Covey's book, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” This reflects how an effective manager will utilize his/her time. Covey diagrams this in the form of a window with four quadrants.
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Quotations from the Steinke book, “Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times”
Understanding Anxiety and Differentiation
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Principles for developing a church staff
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Strategic planning swept into the nonprofit sector in the mid 1980s. Twenty years later, today no organization would dare say it doesn't have a strategic plan. Many now have strategic plans that they can't move forward on.
Too often dozens of meetings fail to produce new insights. Nonprofit staff are often frustrated that "the strategic plan is never used," while many board members feel the strategic plan is simply a validation of what the staff is already doing or has decided. it can feel like old news.
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Conflict is a fact of life. We will always have it with us. But there are fruitful ways to both manage and resolve conflicts. These approaches focus on establishing good communication and maintaining respect.
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Some Interesting Quotes from: "Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Concepts, Techniques, Applications"
by Robert M. Grant; Blackwell Business, 1991
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In an Abilene paradox a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of many of the individuals in the group.
It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and, therefore, does not raise objections.
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In his book, "The Answer to How? Is Yes!" the consultant Peter Blocks write about how asking the wrong questions can kill a project.
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What is a leader to do? How do you negotiate all of the preferences and opinions in order to come up with a plan that all agree with and are willing to support and work on? This is an article by consultants Alice Mann and Gil Rendle.
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The Kairos Group