Tim Spencer

Serve. Grow. Lead.

Scoreboards & Accountability

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score_boardIf you’ve served or led for any length of time, then you’ve probably watched a key initiative come up short. Maybe a ministry plan was doomed from the start. Perhaps it was slowly and quietly smothered by competing priorities.

What happened? The whirlwind of day-to-day activities consumed most of your time and energy, leaving little margin for important and strategic things.

Ministry 4DX is the application of Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to church growth and revitalization. It leads your team to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. 4DX includes:

  • Discipline #1 – Focus on the wildly important
  • Discipline #2 – Act on the lead measure.
  • Discipline #3 – Create a compelling scoreboard.
  • Discipline #4 – Create a cadence of accountability.

Create a compelling scoreboard. Since each ministry area or department has 1 or 2 wildly important goals (WIGs), it makes sense that each team will use a scoreboard that measures important lead measures for those goals.

The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure (attendance, participation, etc.) in the right direction.

For example, a departmental scorecard for community might have five lead measures for new leaders and groups that point to one lag measure—attendance. The team’s time and energy is spent on the first five items with the expectation that average attendance will go up.

Create a cadence of accountability. Each ministry area or department can schedule weekly LAUNCH meetings to help create a cadence of accountability.

Typical meetings are no more than 20 minutes and include quick reports from everyone. Here’s a typical agenda:

  • Pray for each other.
  • What are the 1-3 most important things I can do this week to impact the scoreboard?
  • Report on last week’s commitments.
  • Review and update the scoreboard.
  • Make commitments for next week.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Use 4DX to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. Create a compelling scoreboard and a cadence of accountability.

Resources

Ministry 4DX, Part 1

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whirlwindIf you’ve served or led for any length of time, then you’ve probably watched a key initiative come up short. Maybe a ministry plan was doomed from the start. Perhaps it was slowly and quietly smothered by competing priorities.

What happened? The whirlwind of day-to-day activities consumed most of your time and energy, leaving little margin for important and strategic things.

Ministry 4DX is the application of Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) to church growth and revitalization. It leads your team to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. 4DX includes:

  • Discipline #1 – Focus on the wildly important
  • Discipline #2 – Act on the lead measure.
  • Discipline #3 – Create a compelling scoreboard.
  • Discipline #4 – Create a cadence of accountability.

Focus on the wildly important. Each team needs wildly important goals (WIGs). And because team focus is quickly diluted, it’s important that ministry departments and teams have no more than 1 or 2 WIGs at the same time.

Ask the question: What do you need to focus on above all else? For example:

  • Evangelism WIG – Train 1,000 people to share their 1 story and memorize 1 verse, and get their commitment to share with 1 person by 8/1/16.
  • Worship WIG – Grow the 11:00am service +45 by 8/1/16.
  • Community WIG – Grow LIFE groups +80 by 8/1/16.
  • Service WIG – Mobilize 150 people on short-term mission trips by 8/1/16.

Act on the lead measure. Every goal needs a measuring stick, but not just any measuring stick. Placing your focus on the right measure is one of the most important things you can do to improve execution.

What’s the difference between lead and lag measures? Here’s a quick definition:

  • Lead Measure – Something that leads to the goal
  • Lag Measure – Something that measures the goal

The key idea is to take weekly stock of several lead measures, then show the lag measure they impact. Over time, positive movement in the lead measures should impact the lag measure (attendance, participation, etc.) in the right direction.

Take a look at some lead and lag ministry measure examples:

  • Evangelism Lead Measure—1×3 Outreach Initiative Commitments—impacts the Lag Measure—Baptisms
  • Worship Lead Measure—Invite Cards Distributed—impacts the Lag Measure—Worship Attendance
  • Community Lead Measure—New Groups Started—impacts the Lag Measure—Groups Attendance
  • Service Lead Measure—New People Mobilized—impacts the Lag Measure—Missions Participation

So what’s the Big Idea?

Use 4DX to execute on your most important strategic priorities in the midst of the whirlwind. Focus on the wildly important and act on the lead measure.

Resources

Set SMARTer Goals

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light_bulbMany goals fail because they aren’t clear, don’t seem important or aren’t likely to happen when you need them to. The solution is to use SMART criteria to make goal setting, well, smarter.

SMART goals use a mnemonic acronym to guide the setting of objectives:

  • S = Specific
  • M = Measurable
  • A = Achievable
  • R = Relevant
  • T = Time-Bound

The first use of SMART criteria to describe goal-setting occured in the November 1981 issue of Management Review in George Doran’s article, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.”

Doran wrote that objectives should be:

  • Specific – They should target a specific area for improvement. Exactly what do you want to accomplish? Who, what, when and where?
  • Measurable – They should quantify or suggest an indicator of progress. How will you track your progress? How much and how many?
  • Achievable – They should aim for a realistically achievable result. Do you have what you need to achieve your goal? Is your goal too challenging? Is it too easy?
  • Relevant – They should be goals that matter. Does your goal matter to your supervisor, team and organization? Is your goal aligned with organizational vision and values?
  • Time-Bound – They should specify when the result can be achieved. When will you achieve your goal? What is your time limit?

How do your 2016 goals stack up against the SMART standard?

Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It’s a fact: SMART goals make goal setting smarter.

And that’s the Big Idea.

Resources


Source

“SMART Criteria,” Accessed August 20, 2015, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria.

Stop, Start, Continue?

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green_lightWhat do you need to stop, start or continue?

Visualize the idea of making ministry adjustments as a traffic light:

  • Red = Stop
  • Green = Start
  • Yellow = Continue

Stop. At the top sits a red light, signaling the question: What do you need to STOP doing? If a ministry plan isn’t working or measuring up, then it’s something you need to stop doing. Recognize that doing something new can’t happen until you stop doing something else.

Start. At the bottom sits a green light, representing the question: What do you need to START doing? This is the question to ask when needs aren’t being met, when people can’t find a place or can’t get connected or when current ministry falls short with your church or community.

Continue. The middle light is yellow, asking the question: What do you need to CONTINUE doing? As you review your action plans, look for ministry that’s doing what it’s supposed to do and reaching the people it’s supposed to reach.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Evaluate ministry methods, strategies and plans with the stop, start or continue exercise:

  • What do you need to STOP doing?
  • What do you need to START doing?
  • What do you need to CONTINUE doing?

Resources

Energize Your Daily Routine

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alarm_clockIn recent weeks as my family has moved from one city to another, my daily routine has been thrown completely out of sorts. Thankfully, that period is ending and I’m finally able to reassert some positive order on my schedule, my morning routine and my daily priorities.

I’ve already written about questions I ask myself every day, but there’s more to my schedule than that. So let me detail some personal growth steps I’m committed to take in my daily and weekly routine. Perhaps there’s something here that resonates with you. If not, brainstorm some ideas of your own.

Some intentional daily habits I’m building include:

Beyond those habits, I’m working on some vertical and horizontal focus points.

On the vertical side, I’m praying that God will:

  1. Fill Me (Control Me) with the Holy Spirit Each Day – Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. – Ephesians 5:18 (NIV)
  2. Lead Me to Rest Fully in Him Each Day – I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5 (NIV)
  3. Guide Me to Live Worthy of His Name Each Day – Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. – Colossians 1:10 (NIV)

On the horizontal side, I’m asking God to help me:

  1. Love Others Each Day – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. – John 13:34 (NIV)
  2. Value Others Each Day – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. – Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
  3. Give Freely to Others Each Day – And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. – Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)

So what’s the Big Idea?

Build intentional daily habits with a personal growth plan and both vertical and horizontal focus points.

Resources