STAFF RELATIONSHIPS AND EMPLOYEE CULTURE

Small group exercise Have you had experience working for and with a positive leader? Describe the person. What was that experience like? Have you had experience working with a leader whose style was based on criticism or micromanaging? What was the experience like?

Healthy Church Workplace Encourages engagement Fosters retention Builds on strengths Works toward the elimination of workplace silos

THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP Staff meetings Staff relationships Communication Professional and spiritual development Employment relationship vs Pastoral relationship vs Personal relationship Dealing with conflict Resent among staff when roles are muddled

Leadership Function Builds strong relationships with staff, volunteers, parishioners Builds trust Communicates belief in mission Models excellent communicaion Provides professional development Fosters stability and hope Is positive

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE “Adeptness at managing ourselves and our interactions with others. (SHRM program notes, June, 2008)

Levers for Engaging People Selecting for talent Setting clear expectations Praise Defining the team’s mission MASTER LEVER is getting each person to play to his or her strengths Stats come from a survey of 198,000 employees and further studies of teams by others. However, only 20% of those surveyed indicate that they can put their strengths to work everyday and 17% said “most of the time.” (GO BACK TO PG 24 OF BUCHKINGHAM BOOK AFTER SLIDES ON STRENGTHS FINDER AND BUCKET) Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

PASTOR’S/LEADER’S ROLE Team Building Staff Relationships Communication Professional and Spiritual Development

LEADER’S ROLE cont. Establish a leadership team Employment relationship vs Pastoral relationship vs Personal relationship Professional and Spiritual Development Other…

Leader’s ROLE cont Staff meetings Parish meetings Staff and parishioner collaboration Conflict in the parish and among the staff

Pastors/supervisors cont: Creating ill-defined expectations and responsibilities Hiring right person for the wrong job Talking instead of listening Being judge and jury Rescuing instead of coaching Expectations: Using hazy terms to give what you consider clear instructions, assigning task to more than 1 person, setting expectations the person can’t meet. Role of pastors is complicated. Pastors need to be clear abut roles, yet these delineations are not always clearly defined in any given situation.

Strengths and Engagement in the Workplace The strengths revolution You learn little about excellence by studying failure Clifton Strengths Finder profile (Naming your strengths) Taking action – How to use strengths to make a tangible contribution Based in Positive Psychology rather than medical model psychology. 34 themes of talent 2,000,000 people have taken this survey Taking action means putting our strengths to work Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

STRENGTHS VS WEAKNESSES “Which will help you be most successful: building on your strengths or fixing your weaknesses?” 41% say building on strengths 59% say fixing weaknesses Leaders need to focus on strengths Building on strengths is not “pie in the sky or Pollyanna” thinking it is simply what works better. Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

SUPPORTING AND EVALUATING STAFF BASED ON STRENGTHS Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

Directing & Supervising Develop reasonable expectations. Communicate your expectations clearly. Give negative and/or positive feedback frequently. Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

Directing & Supervising Encourage employees to ask questions and get clarification when necessary. Ensure that employees get proper training to do their jobs. Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

Coaching & Counseling Help employees identify their strengths and weaknesses Suggest ways for employees to use their strengths for the maximum benefit of the organization. Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

Coaching & Counseling Suggest ways the employee can gain knowledge and skills in areas of current weakness. Motivate employees through job enrichment and recognition. Copyright(c)2013 by Carol Fowler 3/7/2013

Managing Conflict Conflict is not to be avoided Conflict is an essential step in coming to the best decisions and solutions in planning and operations Mine the conflict Work past the discomfort Always work to build trust in the midst of conflict Avoid artificial harmony

Some Sources of Conflict Micromanaging Abdication of decision making Overreacting Being dismissive Lack of clear expectations

SMALL GROUP EXERCISE What are the qualities and traits of healthy working relationships?

QUALITIES AND TRAITS OF HEALTHY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS CLEAR EXPECTATIONS RESPONSIBILITY AND OWNERSHIP TRUST, HONESTY AND RESPECT

QUALITIES AND TRAITS OF HEALTHY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS (CONTINUED) THE PRESENCE OF APPROPRIATE BOUNDARIES QUALITY COMMUNICATION ACCOUNTABILITY

QUALITIES AND TRAITS OF HEALTHY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS (CONTINUED) WILLINGNESS TO ADMIT ERROR AND SEEK ASSISTANCE PARTICIPATION MUTUAL COOPERATION

QUALITIES AND TRAITS OF HEALTHY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS (CONTINUED) INCLUSIVITY AND THE VALUING OF DIVERSITY SENSE OF HUMOR AND PERSPECTIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT APPRECIATION AND AFFIRMATION

EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION CHARACTERISTICS OF INEFFECTIVE MEETINGS CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE MEETINGS

PRE-MEETING CONSIDERATIONS Agenda preparation Physical arrangements Time needed Clarity of purpose

DURING THE MEETING CONSIDERATIONS Roles of participants and leader Time Frame Prayer Agenda content and process, including the need for flexibility

Closure: Next steps Delegation Evaluation of meeting: What did we do How did we do it? Eliminate the need for the “parking lot” meeting.

CONSENSUS DECISION MAKING MAJORITY VOTE CONSENSUS AS UNANIMITY CONSENSUS AS INCLUSION PROCESS IN A DECISION