Great vision in a toxic culture is like serving a fine meal on a dirty plate.
Dr. Sam Chand
During my years at Leadership Network, I had the privilege of overseeing our publishing program. This meant I got to work with our publishing partners in creating book series that addressed the most pressing issues and innovative models of church leadership. The list of authors we worked with is long and impactful. You’ve probably been influenced by one or more of the books through the years.
Last week, I had the opportunity to connect with one of the authors that wrote not one, but three books in our series, Sam Chand. Sam was a guest resource for our Leadwell Senior Pastor Next Generation Cohort, a group of younger senior pastors in growing churches. These gatherings are always designed around the challenges and opportunities of the leaders in the group.
Typical to any growing organization, the challenge of building and growing a strong culture is present and Sam’s book, Culture Catalyst (originally titled Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code) provided some foundational concepts for not only developing a healthy culture but avoiding and/or addressing a toxic culture.
Sam always opens with this statement - “Culture - not vision - is the most powerful factor in any organization.” and further references Peter Drucker’s quote - “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Bottom line … a strong culture is the bottom line.
In his work with some of the largest churches in the US and as a coach to their senior pastors, Sam identified seven important factors that shape organizational culture - Control, Understanding, Leadership, Trust, Unafraid, Responsive, and Execution.
Control.
People function most effectively if they are given control (or authority) with responsibility. If they are held accountable for a task without having the means to accomplish it, they’ll fail, and they’ll be terribly frustrated. On the other hand, if control is concentrated in one person who makes all the important decisions, the organization experiences a significant bottleneck. In a healthy culture the leader gives clear direction, assigns tasks, delegates authority, provides resources, and then has a reasonable reporting procedure so people can stay on track until the task is finished.
Understanding.
Every person on a team needs to have a clear grasp of the vision, his or her role, the gifts and contributions of the team members, and the way the team functions. Each person should be able to clearly articulate each of these vital aspects of the team’s life.
Leadership.
Healthy teams are pipelines of leadership development. They recognize that an organization is only as healthy as the pool of rising leaders, so they actively seek to discover those who show leadership potential, develop resources to equip and inspire leaders, and carefully deploy them in roles that inflame their hearts, challenge them to excel, and propel the organization to new heights. Note: many church teams focus on training people to accomplish tasks, but they neglect the essential role of developing leaders.
Trust.
Mutual trust is the glue that makes everything good possible. Without it, a team quickly disintegrates into a gang of people protecting turf and building alliances. Trust may be freely given, but it is usually earned over time as people watch each other respond in good times and bad. Integrity and consistency provide a firm foundation for relationships to thrive. This is especially true in times of difficulty—struggles reveal a person’s true nature.
The “rest of culture” after a few notes about what’s coming.
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One of the key drivers in hiring new leaders is cultural fit.
In succession conversations, this often favors internal candidates who know, live and breathe the culture. But there are also times when what the church may need is a culture reset. How do you figure out what your church needs? The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. I’m partnering with Dave in bringing the Pastor Smart Succession process to come alongside you and your church as you enter the succession zone. We walk with you each step of the way as you shape a “framed fit” for your current leader’s future and gain confidence in selecting a successor that will lead the next chapter of your church’s seamless story.
If you are beginning to think about succession, I’d love to connect and learn more and share more about how we can help. You can schedule a call here.
Also, if you are looking for a community of peers to navigate church, leadership and life with, consider applying for one of our Leadwell Cohorts.
2024 Groups are Forming Now:
Senior Pastors Finishing Well - Fall 2024
Senior Pastors Next Gen - April 16-18 (National Community Church)
Executive Pastors - April 9-11
Cohorts are by invitation only. If you are interested, contact me ASAP either via email at greg@ligongroup.com or by scheduling a call here.
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Unafraid.
Corporate courage is an incredibly appealing trait, but not an easy one to foster. Healthy teams foster the perspective that failure isn’t bad and conflict isn’t the end of the world. Great leaders welcome dissenting opinions, as long as they are pursuing a solution. In an unhealthy culture, people feel insecure and believe they need to avoid any risk, or find themselves walking on eggshells around some people.
Responsive.
Teams with healthy cultures are alert to opening and closing doors. One individual may not spot them but somebody on the team usually will. For teams to be responsive, they have to develop a consistent process for working together, with communication lines that are wide open. The larger the organization grows, the greater the energy that needs to be invested in being responsive. Being responsive requires energy and workable systems to make sure things don’t fall through the cracks.
Execution.
It is much easier to make decisions than actually follow through and implement them. But when people don’t see the fruit of their discussions and decisions, they lose faith in each other and become discouraged. It’s not a big deal if something doesn’t happen because someone is sick; however, system-wide, consistent failure poisons the atmosphere. To be sure that follow-through becomes the norm, leaders need to define goals very clearly, including who, what, why, when, where, and how, and progress needs to be followed up on. Ironically, a pursuit of excellence is a catalyst for healthy relationships—people develop trust as they see each other hit deadlines and overcome challenges as they execute
So, back to the question in the subtitle of this post - “What’s for lunch at your church?” And a follow up, “Do you even know?” Sam has developed a free online culture survey that you can use with your team here. The leaders in the Leadwell Senior Pastor Next Generation Cohort used it with their staff and were amazed at the results - both affirmed in some areas and surprised in others.
Stay tuned for more on culture in the next post.
For more posts like this, check out the monthly articles I write each month on my Ligon Group blog, Leadwell Next.