Last week our staff attended an innovative network meeting in Richmond, VA. The theme was "Miserable Ministry." Specifically, miserable ministry jobs. The speaker at the meeting was discussing Patrick Lencioni's book "Three Signs of a Miserable Job" and helped us evaluate the working environments we are responsible for.
Here are the 3 signs of a miserable job mentioned in the book that he highlighted during his presentation:
- Anonymity - Your staff may get this feeling if they feel that you don't care about them. Do you show an interest in your staff members? Do you know what their hobbies are? Their aspirations or interest? I can really relate to this. I've had several managers over the years that I felt did not take an interest in me at all. I often found myself working half-heartedly for them, which ended up making the environment miserable for all parties.
- Irrelevance - It is important for your staff to see that the work they do is making a difference in the lives of others. Are you helping them see the connection? Whether it is a custodian or the frontman for your worship band, every staff member should see how the work they do directly impacts others. The speaker (a pastor) told us he shared a story with the parking lot attendant of how someone came to Christ in their ministry and how he reminded the staffer (the attendant) that if they weren't helping guests find parking spots the person might not have made a decision that day.
- Immeasurement - Every employee should have the ability to assess for themselves their contribution or success. If your staffer has no way of measuring how well they are doing on a given day or week, they must rely on the subjective opinion of others, usually their manager, to gauge their progress or contribution. Measuring success purely by the numbers is a big #FAIL. A good manager must help his\her staff measure the little things that make the difference. From counting smiles to positive feedback comments on surveys, leaders should be looking for ways to help staffers measure improvement & ultimately knowing when their job is well done.
This presentation was really valuable to me and will help me become a better leader. If you want to check the book out on Amazon, go [here].
Labels: Books, Church, Issues, Leadership, Personal
Good post. Thanks for sharing.
Ha Ha! I have this book because I needed to figure out if I was miserable at a job I was in for good reasons.
be glad you have one, period