“No one hopes for a crisis, and rightly so. Certainly, this applies to teams and organizations. Most leaders would probably say one of their primary responsibilities is to prevent a crisis from occurring.
However, a powerful lesson for organizations can be found smack dab in the middle of a crisis. It isn’t uncommon for a leader to say, “our team had never pulled together more than when we were facing a crisis.” Maybe it’s the prospect of going out of business or dealing with a public relations catastrophe or even a natural disaster that causes people to rally.”
– Pat Lencioni
WEBINAR RECORDING: CLARITY IN A TIME OF CRISIS
A Team Approach to Leading Your Parish through the Coronavirus Pandemic
During this webinar, Amazing Parish coaches provide practical ideas and insights to help your team create clear direction for responding to the evolving priorities of your parish.
WEBINAR RECORDING: SURVIVING OR THRIVING
Rethinking parish leadership in a time of crisis
IDEAS TO MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTHY CULTURES
The temptation during a time of crisis is to go into panic mode. We want to remind you to stay true to foundations of a healthy organization that you have built. Now, more than ever, you must lean into your core cultures of prayer, teamwork and discipleship. It might look different for a time, but be creative! When experiencing physical distance from one another, a greater intentionality is necessary and over-communication becomes essential to stay connected. This will look different from team to team. Below, see what we have put in place at Amazing Parish to stay connected as a team and maintain that foundation of the three “Building Block” cultures.
PRAYER
Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
– Romans 12:12
Our team continues to join in prayer daily to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet and offer our personal intentions. We now close with The Memorare to pray in particular for our country at this time. We invite you to pray with us on Fridays at 3:03pm MST during Divine Mercy Hour. Click here to join the zoom call, or find us live on Facebook.
TEAMWORK
For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors.
– Proverbs 11:14
Meetings are more important than ever and we have increased the length and frequency of ours. We are using Zoom for our weekly tactical meeting and our daily morning check-in (check out the screen shot of our team from this week!). We’ve added an additional afternoon check-in to ensure we are prioritizing what is most important.
DISCIPLESHIP
A friend is a friend at all times, and a brother is born for the time of adversity.
– Proverbs 17:17
We are now meeting for “Team Lunch” together on Zoom every Tuesday to continue checking in with each other on a personal level. We also frequently exchange group text messages to cheer each other on and make each other laugh.
WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW
In this time of crisis, your parish’s answer to “What is Most Important Right Now?” has likely changed. Part of the art of leadership is knowing when to pivot your plan – and we would say that this seems like a time to do so. To help you get started, we suggest exploring the following defining objectives, and personalizing them to accomodate your parish needs. An updated meeting plan with these objectives can be downloaded here, also available here without Standard Operating Objectives, or by clicking the scorecard image. Alternatively, use the blank scorecard to develop your own top priority.
Top Priority: Lead the Parish Through Coronavirus Crisis
Defining Objectives:
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- Communication & Leadership from the Pastor
- PLT Supporting the Pastor
- Plan for Sacraments & Events
- Finances & Giving
- Serve the Poor and Those in Need
- Over-Communicate the Plan to Parish Leaders
- Over-Communicate the Plan to Parishioners
DIVE DEEPER INTO ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH
During this time, choose something new to read or listen to to deepen your teams understanding of organizational health! Below are a few suggestions to get your started, but stay tuned as we add more that our our team comes across in the coming weeks.
BRUSH UP ON TRANSITION MANAGEMENT
Many parish leaders struggle to navigate their team through transitions, never-mind transitions through a period of crisis. Refresh your skills in effective transition management with this simple model and accompanying study guide.
START YOUR PLT OR FULL-STAFF BOOK CLUB
by Patrick Lencioni
In Pat’s latest book, The Motive, he shifts attention toward helping leaders understand the importance of why they’re leading in the first place. In addition to provoking readers to honestly assess themselves, he presents action steps for changing their approach in five key areas.
Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars
by Patrick Lencioni
During a time of crisis, some of the dysfunction in our parishes can come to life. Pat’s fable brings to life ways to rally people in a time of need.
FOLLOW THE TABLE GROUP PODCAST
At the Table covers a number of crucial topics for any team in great bite sized segments. In his simple and approachable style, Pat tackles every topic related to the world of work (and some that aren’t). From culture to teamwork to building world-class organizations, Pat brings his wisdom, humor, and insight together to provide actionable advice for leaders everywhere.
We suggest starting with Episode 21: What’s Your Rallying Cry?
