I had to post about something I learned this summer.
We had an ice-cream truck project, where we rented an ice-cream truck and passed out ice-cream to neighborhoods. It was great.
Well, there was this one family that seemed to have problems with me. It seemed like our every conversation had disdain in it- for me. They didn't feel communicated with during the project. Anyhoo, after the project I wanted to sit down with them to debrief the feelings I was getting from them. They flat out refused. After a long, long while, and a specific phone call from Dan- they decided they would meet with me. The conversation was fine, but they didn't really hear what I had to say and any time I said anything that admitted guilt they only seemed to use it to fuel their ultimate rightness.
So, I was thinking about what I learned from this situation. One thing is that both the man and his wife are business professionals. They are very detail oriented. They do a lot in the business world, and bring that experience to the church. It got me thinking about people like them in church. It really reminded me why it is so important to do everything we do professionally and not with a "whatever" mentality. In their job they spend a lot of time writing e-mails and being scrutinized over the detail they use in e-mail. To them the detail matters. In working on a project and giving out directions, I need to remember people like them. If we are going to serve people in the business world, then we must be professional. The things we do must be professional.
On the other hand, I also made a big note that sometimes people in the business world don't "get" church. They don't get that imperfect people are volunteering their free time to accomplish church. In a job a boss can order his workers to do whatever- but they get paid for it. Church is made of volunteers. A business person should not be allowed to complain unless they are willing to help make it better using the skills they have. There is a big difference between an organization made up of volunteers and one made up of paid workers. We do need to remember t hat. We can still accomplish a lot and do awesome stuff, but it is worth acknowledging.
So that's my story.
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4 comments:
Ha!
I'm not laughing at you, but the situation. Sean and Kevin at Common Ground are not detail-oriented people, and this frustration plays into things pretty regularly here at CG. Becky is extremely detail-oriented, and I tend to tailor things to my audience. Kevin and Sean function in such a way that they see their starting point (A) and their ending point (B) and they ask for people to figure out the middle. Becky likes instructions on how to get to B. I like to figure it out, but when assigning tasks, I don't expect people to figure it out, so I tend to give a lot of what I call "flexible directions" as an option of getting to B.
I think this is because of my experience in the workforce, which is similar to what you described regarding that couple.
I think the appearance of professional-ness is pretty important in a lot of peoples' minds. I don't think that means, suits and ties, but things have to seem like they were done intentionally. They have to not appear thrown together. I think when things are handled intentionally, and sometimes in a detail-oriented manner, achieving excellence is easier because contingencies have been addressed. It's the Boy-Scout "Be Prepared" way of thinking.
HOWEVER, there does need to be room for the Spirit as well as imperfect, unprofessional, thrown together lives and people. I think this is why I try to give flexible directions. There is an expectation of reaching B, and a potential pathway, but I allow for the individual to find their own way. I think that is a pretty key aspect of good leadership...allowing those being led to utilize their individual skills. This is especially good for volunteers because if they can do something and feel it is unique to them (even if they are following your guide to an extent), then it will be much more satisfying to them and they will be more willing to continue to serve.
I think the hard part for being a leader is the first step of casting a vision for a particular project. Letting your volunteers know ahead of time roughly what is going to be expected of them and what they should expect from you. It is saying, "We need to get to B. We are at A. These are the roles that need to be filled. These are what those roles need to accomplish. I [will/will not] be overseeing every aspect of the project. I appreciate any input you feel would help us successfully, excellently, and in a Christ-serving way reach B."
I can be super detail oriented when dealing with things in business, Somewhat detail oriented at home, and alternating with CG and PCTC (Pennsylvania Christian Teen Convention) depending on who I am dealing with.
I love this post of yours!
Geez. I ramble.
I will have to say though, that being detail-oriented is a skill that I think I'm trying to learn. It's something that I naturally keep in the "off" position, but when it comes to work I try to remember to turn it on. I call it my "Matt Caton" filter. I think, "What would Matt Caton say or do for this project." He is very gifted at being detail-oriented and naturally notices many things that I never pick up. So, throughout this past year I've been trying to learn how to think through things the way he would- and that's been helpful.
From this story I mentioned in the initial post, I have seen firsthand how details are important to many people and it's the kind of thing that if you do it well- non-detailed people won't notice, but detailed people will notice mistakes like fingernails to a chalk board. So, you might as well try to keep the mistakes out of it.
And no- you don't ramble.
I never had the chance to work with Matt on anything, but I hear he is detail oriented.
It's a good point about getting to the point where non-detailed people don't notice but detailed people are satisfied and the fingernails on the chalkboard are avoided.
It's about being prepared but not oppressive. Yet another fine line we've dusted off in the church realm.
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