Transforming Ministry Jobs with Drucker's Principles
How Jack Beatty Highlights Drucker's Management Lessons
~ 1000 words - Which google says you can read in 3.3 minutes. Test yourself.
If you thought I was a Peter Drucker fanboy, the bigger one is Jack Beatty. He wrote several articles and a few books pointing to Drucker’s wisdom.
During my book clean-out, I came across The World According to Peter Drucker, which has this summary of the big blue—Management: Tools, Responsibilities, Practices—that Drucker compiled in 1973. I found it very relevant for church leaders.
So here it is straight, and with translation for church leaders:
Straight: The Six Common Mistakes made in designing managerial jobs.
Church Leader: substitute ministry jobs.
Straight: “Since any managerial job is likely to be “terminal, It must be big enough to keep the manager challenged. Designing a job that is too small is an invitation to the manager to “retire on the job.”
Church Leader: All ministry jobs aren’t terminal, but they do need to be the right mix of challenge, skill, and engagement to keep the leader operating at a high level.
I've seen the power of Drucker's principles in action when coaching Senior Pastor Smart Succession. As part of the process, we designed the role of the next Senior Pastor with a 'Faithful Flow' that utilized the new leader's strengths. This approach kept them fully engaged, driving the organization forward rather than resting on its past accomplishments. It's a testament to the effectiveness of Drucker's principles in our church context.
For staff pastors and directors, their role must encompass the doer and developer portions of any role that drives themselves and others forward. (Click the link for the past doer/developer dilemma)
Straight: “Worse than a job that is too small is a job that is not really a job. That would be an “assistant to” job.”
Church Leader: We usually don’t have this with Senior Pastors, but I have observed some roles with little direct work other than attending meetings to “coordinate the others.” Color me skeptical there. Something else is up if the role involves constantly calling others into meetings or keeping communication lines clear.
I have seen this when a low performer has “Peter Principled” themselves through the ranks but now needs someone to oversee the real work the principal team member was supposed to do.
When a recession comes, one of them is in for an awakening. At least, I hope good resource stewardship prevails.
One often discovers this sort of “fat” in the staffing when a pastor remarks, - “If that person left, we would not replace them. We would enlarge their assistant’s role.”
Do a mental audit today to determine.
Story continues after the ad…..Don’t worry, its very short.
Many of my Senior Pastor clients are off this month on a study break, sabbatical, or vacation.
July is slow.
So, if you want to have a conversation, it’s a good time to discuss your ministry's and church's future.
Just email me at dave.travis@generis.com and we can set up a time.
Story continues….
Straight: Managing is not “full-time” work. The manager needs something to do when he’s (or She’s) not managing.
Church Leader: I mostly agree. However, I do know that overseeing a large team in a multisite context requires a lot of time. Even those leaders need to stay current on their skills when pastoring people or serving another team regularly. Staying locked into an oversight role only limits one's perspective of what is happening on the ground or in the field.
It may be developing a cadre of volunteer lay leaders in an area, serving in a rotation for visitation, small group coaching, or leading something else that helps build a leader's muscle. Just ensure that this muscle-building does not supersede the role of helping manage others on the team and the volunteers.
Straight: “It is a mistake to design a job that requires continuous meetings, continuous ‘cooperation and coordination.’” The job should be such that one person can do it and the people (they) manage.”
Church Leader: Job design is a bit of a lost phrase and concept, but we all seem to understand the pressing need for team cooperation to pull off certain tasks, events, and experiences. The Covid season broke down many of the barriers between the silos in many churches, but I see them creeping back in. Those put in the middle between two power silos feel the brunt of the dissonance, which tends to lead to higher turnover. It is better to give responsibility and accountability to the best leader regardless of the tenure or seniority factor. The question should be: Who can lead the team to get the consistently best outcomes?
Straight: “Titles should not be used instead of a raise – or in lieu of a job.” A title should only be changed with the person’s function, position, and responsibility change.”
Church Leader: Here is what I typically see, and this is normal. Titles tend to stabilize, but whether someone sits with a top- or middle-level team changes frequently. Staff role organization is always a moving target.
People give all sorts of logic to their staff organization. I have been around long enough to have heard it all. And if you think your way works better than another person’s, I am all for it.
Staff structures need to change when churches grow, take on new team members, add sites, and add significant programs.
Straight: “Jobs should not be widow makers.” Drucker described the origin of the term as a ship that tended to get out of control and kill people. His rule was that if two people who had performed well in previous assignments failed in a row, then it is the job design, not the people.”
Church Leader: Sometimes those impacted are the crew, not the captain, but I agree that some arrangements and key roles may have fit one leader’s gifts perfectly well. Further, they often grew up with the organization in such a way to handle those responsibilities. But now, as they seek to replace that valuable leader, something needs to change so that the whole mission is not hindered.
There are a few Senior Pastor Smart Succession ™ clients who fit this characterization as well. In most of those cases, they have been solid communicators but even better at administration and keeping the whole picture of the church's future front of mind. They will seem impossible to replace until you consider splitting the role into Lead Pastor and the team surrounding them to help propel the mission farther, faster.
Many of you enjoyed the last Drucker series, but we are moving to a new topic next time.
Thanks for reading.
On the Generis Next Sunday Podcast with Jim Sheppard and Frank Bealer:
The Most Misunderstood Parable About Stewardship