Yesterday morning I was scheduled to do the welcome at Grace Community Church. After the first song, I was scheduled to come on stage, welcome people to the service, and we would continue worship. It was that simple. Before the second service, I was in a meeting in another part of the building. All of a sudden I thought to look at the time. The service had started and I was late. I jumped up and started running for the auditorium. I arrived just in time to hear one of our worship leaders covering for my absence. I was mortified. Thankfully, Dustin covered for me.
The incident, however, served a purpose, because I was reminded of an important principle. No one on our team should be irreplaceable.
Is your staff prepared to recover in the event of a no-show? Do you cross train for every position?
Things can happen. People get sick. People leave the team…sometimes quickly. Scattered brained pastors get distracted.
Take a minute to review your organization. Where are the positions that would still be empty if key people aren’t in their place? What changes need to be made in your organization, so you can continue in spite of any absences?
I think we're about 80% capable of filling the gaps… the one glaring area is tech- when our tech guy is gone, his absence is well noticed, but we've acknowledged it and are working towards filling that gap too. It is more difficult when team sizes are becoming more streamlined.
80% actually sounds like a good number. Tech is a hard area in every church because of the specialty. One thing we've learned is that their are technically minded people who would love to learn the equipment you have if given the opportunity, but most of the time they have to be asked. Thanks man!
I learned a long time ago that there are two kinds of people in the world: those that are replaceable, and those that think they aren't.
Of course, some people leaving does create bigger gaps and more associated pain than others. (I guess that pain goes both ways, now that I think about it)
Ohhh…Can I use that first line? I am fond of saying similar things, but this really nails it.
being merely the bearer and not the originator of said line, I bequeath upon you all bearing forth of this nailed object.
Ha! That's cool. Whoever originated it is a genius!
Use the line!!! Thanks
Yea…I've seen that too. Thanks Jack.
I have mixed feelings about this. I do agree that it's important that we are able to fill in the holes left by no-shows and people who leave the job unexpectedly. Cross-training for some of the day to day things is important. I think every employee should have customer service experience and training on software and systems. Even the higher ups. But in order to maintain accountability and responsibility, people need to also be able to focus in on their own jobs without having to feel like they need to know everyone else's job as well.
I was promoted to the Project Manager position I now hold by doing what you suggest, but in so doing I actually became irreplaceable. People who take the initiative and are flexible enough to "fill in" or be multi-purpose often end up in positions of management and leadership (or at least they should) due to the well rounded and informed perspective they have about the organization. Inevitably these kinds of people become linchpins (thank you Seth Godin) in their workplace, and I think every organization needs those kinds of people as well.
Thanks Jared. You make a good point. Congrats on your promotion and yes, that's what it takes to be promoted these days. While I agree with you about feeling comfortable in what a person does, I think we are in an environment now where all levels of an organization are requiring "linchpins" or linchpin mindsets at least…just to stay effective on a team. Teams are becoming much thinner these days.