By Casey Ross, Director of Ministry Services, Browns Bridge Community Church
My wife and I have been doing Boot Camp twice a week for the past year and a half. I’ve never dreaded something I love so much. Well, actually I love the feeling of finishing it each time. I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Most importantly, I feel healthier and stronger. Well, I did.
We recently bought a bathroom scale. It was my wife’s idea. I had not weighed myself since before we started Boot Camp. The first time I stepped on the scale, I was shocked. I felt healthier and stronger, but I hadn’t lost as much weight as I’d hoped. How could that be?
Although I thought I had the whole picture based on how good I felt, I only had a partial picture. The numbers on the scale showed me the rest of the picture—the part I didn’t really want to see.
As leaders, how do we make sure we see the entire picture? How do we know whether or not we’re truly accomplishing all that we want to accomplish?
You have to have some way of measuring your effectiveness.
One way we measure our effectiveness is by emphasizing stories. In our world, our win is life change. One of the greatest things about our organization is that we continually hear stories about people whose lives are being changed by a growing relationship with Jesus.
But if all we use to evaluate ourselves are stories, we’re only seeing a partial picture. Stories tug at our emotions and motivate us. They give us a snapshot of what our vision looks like when it’s being accomplished. But stories are also very subjective and the emotions they stir can distort reality.
Another way we measure our effectiveness is by looking at numbers. Financial numbers. Attendance numbers. Ratios. They help us compare environments and measure the growth and health of an area.
But if all we use to evaluate ourselves are numbers, we’re only seeing a partial picture. Yes, every number represents a person and his or her story, but numbers can be manipulated to say what we want them to say. They tend to be more informative and impersonal and do not connect with our heart.
In leadership, it’s important for us to have more than one way to evaluate whether or not we’re winning. Both stories and numbers give us that balance. Listen to just one, or one more than the other, and reality can become distorted. Clarity is a powerful tool for any leader.
How are you evaluating your effectiveness?
March 18th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
My current evaluation is a combination of numerical [weekly reports] and subjective [my opinion]. I have access to a spiritual growth instument called GrowthFinder. All members have access to this instrument via the report system we use to get the weekly small group reports. The software is called ChurchTeams. It’s a great organizational tool. I have requested small group leaders utilize the spiritual growth instrument, but I haven’t insisted. I need to raise the bar of expectation. I want to get a handle on the gualitative growth of my small groups.
May 22nd, 2010 at 6:32 pm
With all due respect. After reading your comment I cringed at the thought of making your group leaders fill in your report. I am a manager that uses computer programs to measure productivity and understand your thinking. But I am looking for another way to know the moving of the Holy Spirit in our church. I wish I could offer a solution. But don’t burden your volunteer leaders with yet another thing to do that may not give you what you need to know. We co-lead a once a week group and it is a very time consuming task. Perhaps some face to face time with the leader and a word of encouragement would tell you more than a computer.
Don’t misunderstand I am in the same boat with you.