Shaping a Healthy Parish Culture: The Leader’s Guide to Team Management

Thirty seconds, that's all you get. Every week, to open up our team meeting, everyone gets thirty seconds to share with me what they are working on that week. Not everyone needs that much time, while others need to limit it; however, it gives me a good sense of people's workload to help them. I picked up this tip from a friend who was trying to help me improve my meetings.

I currently manage five employees (both full and part-time). For the majority of my career, I've overseen volunteers, so managing paid people is somewhat new. Regardless, I have learned that when you manage others, it takes work; however, having a team is so much better than going to ministry alone.

It does not matter if you have a team of employees or volunteers; how you treat your team is critical to your ministry's success. If you want to empower others to continue the mission of the Church, you have to learn how to manage their time, skill set, and ability to work with others. To do that effectively, you need to:

CULTIVATE TRUST

Trust is the foundation of every healthy relationship, especially for a team. While people might listen because of your position, they won't give it their all if they don't trust your competency and whether you care about them.

If you want to cultivate trust, you must ensure that COMMUNICATION IS CLEAR. As the leader you have to make sure people are talking to one another and if important decisions are being made, that information is being shared to the right people. 

In addition to communicating, you must ensure EMPATHY is a value. By teaching your team to listen to one another and affirm their emotions, you are letting the team know that they matter. Try to schedule regular check-ins where you listen to what they're tackling. You don't have to have solutions for all of their problems, but acknowledging their situation will show them that you care. 

With empathy and clear communication, your team will have more confidence in your ability to lead them through uncertain times. Your staff (volunteer and paid) will see that you are making decisions with the bigger picture in mind. Their willingness to follow you and do more will increase.

INVEST IN THEIR PROFESSIONALISM

To tackle the ever-changing landscape of parish ministry and to stay on top of trends, a leader needs to know how to grow. If you want your team to keep up with your growth, you must INVEST IN THEIR FORMATION. That means putting aside time and money where you can send them to workshops, sign them up for classes, or buy them resources that will help them grow. When you invest in your team's professionalism, they develop the proper skills and confidence to address anything that comes their way.

And, if you have staff, investing in someone's growth and leadership also means COMPENSATING THEM FAIRLY, providing them with the proper benefits, and ensuring that they never have to wonder, "Can I afford to work in ministry?" If your parish has a limited budget and can't afford a salary increase, look at offering more vacation and work with local businesses (e.g., gym or daycare facility) that would be willing to partner with you so that you could offer benefits in place of financial compensation.

Having a staff (even if they are volunteers) does cost money; however, the investment is worth it. While money doesn't solve all problems, ensuring that your team doesn't have to worry about it is critical. When your team can focus on the mission and not on how they will support themselves or their family, you have someone completely invested.

CREATE A HEALTHY CULTURE

You can have trust in the team; however, if the culture isn't healthy, suspicion and gossip will erode everything you've built. As a leader, you set the culture, and if people are not MANAGING THEIR TIME, RELATIONSHIPS, AND RESOURCES properly, you'll discover poor behaviors that lead to a toxic culture. And if not addressed properly that toxicity becomes obvious to the rest of the parish.

If you want a healthy culture, you must ensure you CELEBRATE SUCCESSES, ADDRESS POOR BEHAVIOR, AND IDENTIFY HEALTHY HABITS. What are the values you want to uphold? What does it look like when your ministry is growing? What does it look like to attack the problem and not the people? What's the environment you want to create for you and your team?

Managing others involves commitment, and it's not for everyone. However, when you dedicate yourself to the team by cultivating trust, investing in their growth, and upholding healthy behaviors, the impact you can have on those you serve is endless. Don't be afraid to improve your managerial skills. If you need assistance, set up a free consultation so that we can point you to resources that can help you flourish.

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