Clergy & Congregational Coach
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Helping clergy and congregations navigate transitions with faithfulness and curiosity

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Posts tagged supervision
New coaching package: supervising staff

Most pastors enter ministry expecting to do the frontline work of preaching, teaching, and providing pastoral care, with a side of meetings. But once they are in their contexts, they realize that they have significant responsibilities for other full-time or part-time staff. Not all seminaries prepare ministers-in-training to perform those responsibilities well. I can help pastors address the questions that will allow them to develop a supervision strategy that fits their leadership style and their context. This package includes a free introductory call, 6 one-hour coaching sessions, and the Core Values Index (a short assessment to help coachees gain awareness of decision-making and conflict styles among other leadership tendencies).

Here are coaching questions we can tailor to help you formulate your approach to supervision:

How do I want to show up as a supervisor? What makes that possible?

  • What is my pastoral leadership style?

  • How do I want and need to show up as a supervisor?

  • What is my conflict style, and how does it affect my approach to supervision?

How do I build a staff team, especially if my staff is part time?

  • What must we covenant around?

  • What is our shared vision?

  • How do we communicate most effectively?

  • Who does what?

  • How can we collaborate well?

  • How do we show care for one another?

  • How do we make decisions as a staff?

  • How do we address conflict effectively?

What help or resourcing do my staff members need, and how do I make sure they have it?

  • How clear are staff members clarity about their roles and their contributions to the larger vision?

  • What level of supervision does each staff member need?

  • What information does each staff member need to do their job well?

  • What person power (e.g., volunteer help) does each staff member need to do their job well, and how do they get it?

  • What tangible resources does each staff member need to do their job well, and how do they get it?

  • What training does each staff member need to do their job well, and how do they get it?

  • What boundaries need to be established if staff members are also church members? For example, which hat is the staff member wearing when relating to other church members? When am I wearing my pastor hat and when am I wearing my supervisor hat with my staff member? What are the limits of information sharing beyond the staff for all staff members?

How do I help my staff members do their best work?

  • How often does each staff member need a check-in from me?

  • How and when do mutual ministry reviews happen?

  • How do I help establish clear expectations and outcomes for staff members? What can staff members expect from me as a supervisor?

  • How do I help establish positive working conditions (including adequate pay) for all staff members?

  • How and when do I advocate on staff members’ behalf? What additional avenues of advocacy for staff members are appropriate and useful?

  • How do I provide gentle challenge and room for staff members to grow?

  • What accommodations do staff members need to feel fully part of the staff and to do their jobs well?

  • To what personal/interpersonal/structural dynamics do I need to be sensitive in order to be a good colleague and supervisor to my staff members?

How do I hire new (non-ministerial) staff?

  • How and where does the church advertise?

  • Does the church hire members? Why or why not?

  • What does the church need this staff person to do toward the shared vision, and which candidates are capable and compatible based on these needs? How do we determine that?

  • Who else should be involved in hiring? What do our personnel policies say?

What do I do when staff members aren't pulling their weight?

  • How do I approach staff members compassionately to get a sense of the situation?

  • How do I determine what help staff members need in order to improve their work, then look for ways to provide it (within reason)? 

  • How do I determine if expectations placed upon staff members are unrealistic (and if so, why)?

  • How do I/does the church create a performance improvement plan with clear dates and benchmarks?

  • How do I/does the church terminate as needed, with compassion and fairness to all involved and in accordance with polity, personnel policies, and/or the church’s organization chart?

The base rate for this package is $975, with a discount for members/alumnae of Young Clergy Women International. Contact me for more details, or schedule a free exploratory call to talk through the possibilities.

Photo by Dawn Kim on Unsplash.

The challenges and opportunities for pastors in supervising staff
The pros and cons of hiring a congregation member for your church staff

Often the B plot (sometimes even the A plot) of a coaching conversation is centered on the dynamics of working with someone on the church staff who is also a congregation member. It’s tricky. Usually it’s unadvisable. But you might inherit such a situation when you start a new call, or you might even have a church member who is both very self-aware and a great fit for an open staff position. This piece I wrote for the CBF blog breaks down the pluses and minuses of having a member in a dual role and gives some guidance for how to navigate the circumstances well. Click through to read.

Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash.