That Elusive Culture
12/04/10 17:55 Filed in: Tips
How would you describe the culture of your church or organisation? I was speaking to an associate pastor of a large city church and I asked him that question. I found his answer to be somewhat confusing. On the one hand he painted a glowing word picture of energy and vision and their church’s distinctive. On the other hand he made it clear he felt unsupported, was told what to do, [“put in a box” was the way he described it], and he was unclear about how to develop his own role and ministry.
I fed back to him both these perspectives, and asked him which one was mostly true. There was a prolonged silence. I waited. Eventually he cleared his throat, ummed and ahhed, and said probably the latter. The “brutal honesty” which is so necessary according to Jim Collins (author of Build to Last and Good to Great), is not easily come by. And it has been well enough noted that every organisation is dysfunctional – it’s simply a matter of how much.
Why is organisational culture dysfunctional? Because humans are fallible, have blind spots, don’t communicate perfectly, don’t get on with everyone, misunderstand others – and more. Besides, culture must change, must be dynamic; yesterday’s answers do not and cannot solve today’s problems.
Coaching forms one part of organisational culture – a key part. It is a tool that facilitates change in the organisation because it has a learning and leadership development focus. A coaching culture has some key distinctives: people seek to develop themselves and grow; the organisation supports them. A coaching culture is a culture that asks questions, that gives permission to ask those questions; indeed, encourages the asking of them.
This means a coaching culture is an open culture – openness and exploration is encouraged. It is also a culture of interpersonal respect. There is no “them and us” between senior pastors and associate pastors and interns. While there is positional distinction, there is no hierarchy. And because a coaching culture is a culture of encouragement, there is a commitment to investing in the lives of others for their on-going growth.
My associate pastor friend was not supported. He was not asked questions to further his growth, his opinion was not solicited – he was simply told what to do. The senior pastor did not invest in his growth. There was no provision for staff coaching, for peer coaching or for external coaching. There was a standardised package for discipleship, and no commitment to developing leaders. Here are some questions to move things forward:
I fed back to him both these perspectives, and asked him which one was mostly true. There was a prolonged silence. I waited. Eventually he cleared his throat, ummed and ahhed, and said probably the latter. The “brutal honesty” which is so necessary according to Jim Collins (author of Build to Last and Good to Great), is not easily come by. And it has been well enough noted that every organisation is dysfunctional – it’s simply a matter of how much.
Why is organisational culture dysfunctional? Because humans are fallible, have blind spots, don’t communicate perfectly, don’t get on with everyone, misunderstand others – and more. Besides, culture must change, must be dynamic; yesterday’s answers do not and cannot solve today’s problems.
Coaching forms one part of organisational culture – a key part. It is a tool that facilitates change in the organisation because it has a learning and leadership development focus. A coaching culture has some key distinctives: people seek to develop themselves and grow; the organisation supports them. A coaching culture is a culture that asks questions, that gives permission to ask those questions; indeed, encourages the asking of them.
This means a coaching culture is an open culture – openness and exploration is encouraged. It is also a culture of interpersonal respect. There is no “them and us” between senior pastors and associate pastors and interns. While there is positional distinction, there is no hierarchy. And because a coaching culture is a culture of encouragement, there is a commitment to investing in the lives of others for their on-going growth.
My associate pastor friend was not supported. He was not asked questions to further his growth, his opinion was not solicited – he was simply told what to do. The senior pastor did not invest in his growth. There was no provision for staff coaching, for peer coaching or for external coaching. There was a standardised package for discipleship, and no commitment to developing leaders. Here are some questions to move things forward:
- What are the positive and negative impacts regular coaching might have for the staff?
- What costs are being paid (by the individuals and the organisation) by not providing coaching?
- In what ways do we see (or not see) Jesus functioning as a coach with his disciples?
- What options do supervisors have in creating a coaching (i.e. empowering) culture?
- What options do supervisees have in creating a coaching culture?
- Who needs to be convinced in the value of coaching to see it brought into the culture?
- What’s the next step you can take to move your culture towards empowerment and coaching?
Comments
WA Workshop Postponed
03/11/09 22:02 Filed in: Events
It is with regret that we inform you that the Workshop #1 training event scheduled for Monday, Nov 16 is being rescheduled to early 2010 (details to be announced).
A sudden family death has meant that the lead trainer is no longer available for the workshop and we will not be able to offer another workshop until early next year.
We will refund any money deposited or credit it for the next workshop. Please let us know via email what option you would prefer.
Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
Sincerely,
Dave Zovak
Novo Coaching
A sudden family death has meant that the lead trainer is no longer available for the workshop and we will not be able to offer another workshop until early next year.
We will refund any money deposited or credit it for the next workshop. Please let us know via email what option you would prefer.
Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
Sincerely,
Dave Zovak
Novo Coaching
Novo Coaching landing in WA
23/10/09 21:32 Filed in: Events
Novo Coaching heads West with Workshop #1
A subset of the Novo Coaching training team is heading to Perth to run our Workshop #1 on November 16th. We hope this will be the first of many visits as we are partnering with other Christian coaches and leaders to promote coaching as powerful means to develop and empower others.
If you know anyone who might be interested, please have them visit our website or follow this link to an information and registration form: Novo Coaching Workshop #1 in WA.
Any advice for Melbournites visiting the wild West? We do know a few locals, but we're always keen for counsel.
A subset of the Novo Coaching training team is heading to Perth to run our Workshop #1 on November 16th. We hope this will be the first of many visits as we are partnering with other Christian coaches and leaders to promote coaching as powerful means to develop and empower others.
If you know anyone who might be interested, please have them visit our website or follow this link to an information and registration form: Novo Coaching Workshop #1 in WA.
Any advice for Melbournites visiting the wild West? We do know a few locals, but we're always keen for counsel.
Weblog Kickoff
11/09/09 14:54 Filed in: Welcome
Welcome to our Novo Coaching Weblog!
We want to hear from you. We will post monthly tips, comments, and questions and invite your engagement. As we're just getting started, we're keen to hear what topics, issues or questions you've got related to coaching. Your input will help guide our development of training and resources.
Thanks again for your partnership in develop Christian coaching throughout Australia. May God be honoured in all we do.
-The Novo Team
We want to hear from you. We will post monthly tips, comments, and questions and invite your engagement. As we're just getting started, we're keen to hear what topics, issues or questions you've got related to coaching. Your input will help guide our development of training and resources.
Thanks again for your partnership in develop Christian coaching throughout Australia. May God be honoured in all we do.
-The Novo Team