If you are following this series you know that I invited our staff to evaluate my leadership. As I said in Part 1 of this follow-up series, we gathered for lunch after a regularly scheduled staff meeting. Essentially the luncheon was to accomplish three things.
- Help me understand some of the comments better. They were actually very open to sharing details.
- Give my commentary to the feedback I received.
- Present my current action plan to address some of the concerns.
Yesterday I shared their feedback. Here are some of the general comments I gave them from their feedback. (The most consistent theme was about my Blackberry, which is why the dominant comments are addressed to that issue.)
- My phone gets email, text messages and phone calls, and I receive lots of them. I am trying not to look during staff meetings or longer planing meetings, but I never know when my wife or the boys might be calling. (I wish I could figure out how to get Blackberry to temporarily turn off a function or if it had a “meeting mode”.)
- The staff often comments that they like that I’m always accessible. I can’t be always accessible and always 100% attentive in meetings.
- I never use my Blackberry when I’m meeting someone for the first time or counseling someone. (Most the staff didn’t know this and felt better about knowing it.)
- I’m a hugely multi-task oriented, so I can listen and do something else at the same time.
- I will never develop as close a relationship with female staffers as I have with male staff members. It’s a matter of personal accountability.
- It is harder to give feedback when you don’t pay attention to details. That’s something I need to work on personally.
- My management style is to hire the right people and let them do their work with limited oversight and input from me.
- I am open to delegating if others can help me figure out what I can give up that I’m currently responsible for doing.
We discussed these comments, which I had prepared in advance of the meeting, and here are some conclusions and action steps as a result:
- I want to get 100% approval on the listening issue next time I solicit this feedback. I will work on this.
- Please know that I do care deeply for the staff and would never want you to think I’m not interested.
- Blackberry accountability started with my son Nate. I wrote a blog about it HERE. My goal is to be more disciplined in this area.
- I try to be accessible leaving my door open and welcoming “drop in” visits, which happens often throughout the day. If, however, the meeting is unplanned I reserve the right to keep working as we talk. If it’s a scheduled meeting our conversation will be my only activity.
- Personality differences are huge in working together. Even the staff differed on how they want to be managed or interaction they want with me, based on their personalities. I will commit to learning more about their personal needs in this area and I ask them to take into consideration my personality.
- I heard “loud and clear” that I need to invest more in the staff and help them not only come up with problems, but actually solve them also. I will attempt to improve in this area.
Okay, so that concludes, for now, this process. What are your thoughts?
I worried I may should clarify if there are any comment readers who don’t personally know Ron! This man LOVES his staff, he loves all of us! I know what it is like for your heart to care so deeply about the people you work with, but to have your actions not always doing a perfect job of showing it! Just wanted to clarify!
K
Ron, I love reading your blogs about leadership because we are so similar. One time someone politely told me at Hope to ask the other staff about their lives……….what a thought. I frankly didn’t feel the need or have the time (subconsciously or course). I thought I was a relational person until I was “in charge” then I was busy! I am relational if my “to do” list is done otherwise I am task focused. I am praying for you (and for me if I am ever in leadership again) to get stuff done and care all at the same time! One day you will have to have an email sifter person, you know that right!!!!!! You have been awesome not to go there already but the day is coming! Thanks for being an awesome leader of our church!!!
K
I have just found this whole process amazing. I have knows senior pastors that would call the feedback you received as rebellion and would be looking for replacements. I pray tons of good fruit would come from this.
On the blackberry issue. I don’t think it is rude if everyone in the meeting can check their blackberry. But if I can’t, and you can, it is a clear sign that you think my time is less valuable than yours.
Carl Thomas’s last blog post..Post-Service Percolations
Just because something is an “age-culture” thing does not make it good.
Try this experiment – ask 15 – 20 teens/young adults to think of an adult who is important to them, then ask them why this person is special.
How many will say some variation of “because they listen to me”?
We are losing that in society today. We are losing that human connection… that looking into someone’s eyes and seeing tears… that reaching out and giving a pat on the shoulder… that shared smile.
Those are things that are lost in an email or twitter or text.
The Blackberry issue has more to do with age-culture than most of us realize. It is totally acceptable for most teens and 20-somethings to check their phones and send text msgs while conversing with someone.
In another context (yours, it sounds like) the very same action will be assigned a moral value and called “rude” or “inconsiderate”. I bet if you did a poll of the church itself and asked specifically about the Blackberry the responses would correlate to age and cultural context strongly.
That being said, sounds like much of your staff is taking it like Teri. Being a pastor is like living in a fishbowl where everything you do is not taken at face value but rather interpreted and given moral/spiritual significance. You would have no idea that people were irritated with your Blackberry usage had you not asked!
Perhaps your staff will have to get used to you not being 100% accessible so that you can be more “present” for them in the moment. Tough decisions.
Ben’s last blog post..Innovation and Creativity in the Church
Interesting.
Frankly, I think it is rude to be with someone and they take a dozen calls/texts during your time with them. That is saying to me that you do not value my time or the time you are spending with me.
I can totally understand an emergency or dropping in on someone during a work day. But for idle chatter when you are supposed to be tuned in to me, it is inconsiderate.
There is nothing wrong with someone waiting for a reply to a non-emergency. Instant access is not a good thing 99% of the time! And voice mail/inbox can hold a message. Patience is still a virtue.
And so is making a person feel valued by giving them your attention.