This post is from the article, Correcting Ministry Performance, at SpiritualLead.com.
In the last post we talked about achievement. And while every ministry and enterprise needs achievement to fulfill its mission, and achievement is expected from your team members, there is a dark side too. In the last post we said, "Achievement is the methamphetamine of endeavor. In small doses meth energizes. But soon it becomes the focal point of experience and all of life now centers around the experience meth provides. Achievement, left as the end result of enterprise or ministry can do the same thing. And, in the end, what was an energizing experience of achievement becomes the very same substance that destroys."
So, if compliance is fundamental and achievement is essential, is that all there is to be satisfied with your team's effort? Or is there more? What happens when compliance simply runs the team to a dead end and simply doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results (Ben Franklin's definition of insanity) becomes the activity de jour? What happens when achievement has turned in on itself and like flesh-eating bacteria is consuming the body for more energy to grow in order to consume more energy from the body? Something has to change. But what? Perhaps its time for innovation.
Innovation
Taking an existing service or process and making it better is innovation. In the 1980s Japan rocked the U.S. manufacturing world with products reflecting quality and reliability at a competitive price. Many U.S. manufacturers struggled to complete. Whereas a decade before Japan had been synonymous with poor quality, now products manufactured in the U.S. were being flipped to the mat and gaining that same reputation. Japan was now being hailed as the exemplar of quality process. What happened? Innovation. Due in part to the quality process steps introduced by Edward Deming, Japan innovated itself into excellence.
When team members are unable to fulfill their roles to meet leadership standards and expectations, and the issue is neither compliance nor achievement, innovation may be what's lacking. Organization or relational barriers may be preventing team members from getting work accomplished. Sometimes working harder and being more careful isn't the solution. Sometimes finding a better way to do the job is what's required. Staff need to be challenged with the fact they have been selected not just to do existing tasks well, but to find better ways to deliver ministry.
Innovation is, however, only one side of a coin. The other side is creativity and we will look at that in the next posting. But as we look at innovation, keep in mind it is limited to finding more efficient and effective ways of doing the SAME thing. That's the heart of managing. And while managing is essential to get the best use out of available resources, it is still managing--not leading. Leading is influencing others to transform into something they never knew was possible.
The rich young ruler in Mark 10 apparently had a dilemma. He wasn't satisfied with his traditional system of worshiping God and finding completion in compliance. Remember, innovation is taking what we already do and finding a better way to make it work. The rich young ruler was looking for an innovative solution. "Master, what must I do (using existing methods) to inherit the Kingdom of God?" Great innovation question. Master, what can I do to be a better Jew and inherit the Kingdom of God?
Jesus wasn't offering innovation and perhaps the young man was beginning to sense that. To him, innovation was finding a way to be more consistently observant, less sinful and thus more righteous. Jesus didn't give him an innovative answer to his dilemma. "Young man, come, like a child in your innocence, sell all that you own and follow me." That was NOT innovation.
Now, keep in mind, in the administry of the Kingdom of God, innovation is a good thing. It's being a good steward of the resources you have. But innovation has little to do with influencing others to God's agenda for their lives. The rich young ruler could not innovate his system of religion into conformance with what Jesus was teaching and requiring to be be lived out.
Innovation has its place in being a good steward of your ministry but is that all you want from your ministry team? Next post -- Creativity
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