Church staff meetings can evoke many different types of emotions for those who are on the leading or participating side. The name is a generic term that denotes a meeting to solve problems and learn together. However, not all staff meetings are equal, and the experience can vary drastically from one organization to the next.
Staff meetings are beneficial, though, especially to churches. Church strategic planning and programming are vital to the health and growth of that church. There is weekly Sunday programming, event planning, and department management of ministries. With so many moving parts in leading a church, a great staff meeting can add much value to the quality of the experience.
However, many church staff meetings can feel like a chore. One reason is that staff meetings can be poorly planned or easily derailed. So, here are 5 ways to keep staff meetings on task:
1. Don’t Meet Just to Meet
Many church staff meet to just meet. They book a staff meeting at the same time every week with the same people whether it is necessary or not. This happens especially as the church grows. There is so much happening in the church that they feel the need to meet every week. But as the church grows, the senior leader doesn’t have as many small tasks to keep them busy, so they feel their job is to host meetings.
The problem with this type of thinking from the senior leader is that they end up creating more work for the staff. For instance, the leader may create a meeting to share simple things that need to be fixed. Meeting to inform staff of smaller items is not always necessary. Some church staff meetings could be solved through email alone. This can be another demotivator. The leader needs to decide if the meeting is needed or if it can be communicated more effectively.
2. Create a Rhythm for Church Staff Meetings
The leader must establish what to expect in staff meetings. Temperamental leaders create tentative followers. Establishing a rhythm means that if there are 2-3 necessary meetings a month, those meetings must have a primary and secondary focus.
For example, one staff meeting might focus on prayer time for staff, with a secondary focus on writing “thank you” or “praying for you” cards to volunteers. Some calendar planning could occur at the end of a calendar check-in. The other staff meeting might heavily focus on the calendar so that staff are prepared to have that conversation. Knowing what to expect helps staff mentally prepare and gives the meeting purpose.
3. Have the Calendar Logistical Plan in Place
When a meeting is a brainstorming session from scratch, it can greatly demotivate the staff. While the creatives will enjoy this type of meeting, the managers and detail-oriented leaders will despise a brainstorming session. A more effective plan is for the leader to gather ideas from some creatives before the meeting. The managers, processors, and detail people also require a calendar plan when they meet. This is the “track” for the “train.” Many leaders want to build the track while the train is coming. They want to brainstorm creative ideas, plan the calendar, and develop “how-to’s.” This can be very frustrating.
The better plan is to build the track first. This means that the team knows that a baptism is happening on a certain date with a default theme. Once a date and theme are set, then the team can work together to figure out the extensive plan of execution. But if the leader walks in with a blank calendar and an empty idea bank, it will demotivate the staff.
The leader must construct the track of the calendar and have a generic idea of what’s happening before going into church staff meetings. During the meeting, the creatives and the executors can work together synergistically.
4. “Honor the Time” Rule
Another massive problem that churches encounter is that staff meetings usually exceed the allocated meeting time. Yet again, the leader might think that they need to have long meetings to “make it worth everyone’s time.” This thinking fails as the leader forgets that their staff already have lengthy task lists that they need to complete.
An extended meeting adds more work to everyone’s plate and reduces productivity on essential tasks. A better strategy for any leader is to announce the end time at the start of the meeting and then declare the intention to respect everyone’s time. This helps the staff know that their time is valuable and the meeting will not deviate significantly. When unnecessary commentaries enter the meeting, the “honor the time” rule will enable the leader to keep the meeting on task. They can say, “Thank you for bringing that up. We will need to table that for the next meeting or we can schedule another meeting with those who need to know this because our agreed-upon finish time is noon. I want to honor everyone’s time in this meeting.” This reassures the staff that the leader will strive to keep the meeting on schedule and that it will be productive.
5. Tag Some Conversations as Off-Line (Post Meeting)
In larger meetings, when a topic or question only involves the leader and a few other people, it should be reserved for another time, such as after the meeting. Members can quickly lose attention when a new conversation arises that doesn’t involve everyone else. The leader must inform the staff that they can tag that conversation for later and that it can be discussed once the official meeting is over. This will keep the meeting on task.
A successful staff meeting requires a well-thought-out agenda, a start and end time, and action points. Leaders must come prepared because they want to solve problems and see action happen.
The leader will need to have their staff answer two questions: “Do you feel this meeting was a productive use of your time, and why?” These two questions will help the leader understand how to motivate their staff to accomplish the most in the least amount of time.
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