ASIAN SEMINARY OF
A PAPER ON ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS
PRESENTED TO PTR. ALBERT CLAVO
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR LEADERSHIP I
BY
PATRICK VINCENT C. TAN
7 OCTOBER 2008
Introduction
Vision is one of the key components every organizational success. A leader who has a clear picture of where he intends to steer the organization coupled with a zest and zeal for his mission can easily fire up an entire organization. But as the weeks, months and years pass by, reality sets in and the “honeymoon” stage is over[i]. One will soon realize the road to the fulfillment of the organization’s vision does not only take passion and intense desire to succeed—it’s not a walk in a park. That’s why for some of us, however well-intentioned we are at our cause, fail to maintain and keep aflame the momentum generated by a catalytic moment and soon find our organization’s fire slowly dimming until finally it gets snuffed out. An ancient proverb says, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” That is why another key component to the success of an organization, as significant as having a clear vision, is having the skill and gift of organization or administration.
This paper will explore the significance and benefits of having organizing skills as a leader, biblical truths about the importance of organizational skills and effective principles for organizing or planning for an organization. I will also be interspersing the principles I have learned in Leadership I class and also my current and past organizing ministry experiences throughout this paper.
The leader as an organizer
I started to lead at a very young age of sixteen, following a traumatic division in our church. Like most leadership stories, my call to leadership was not a personal desire, but more like what we jokingly say of novice leaders in the Philippines, “nautusan lang bumili ng suka naging [leader] na.” I was one of those. I took my leadership role grudgingly, as naïve and untimely as it was then. But never have I thought that this will be God’s means of paving His way to fulfill His purpose for me to serve Him in ministry.
As I grew up, I have realized my desire to analyze and organize things. As a young leader, I enjoyed planning processes, as technical as it may sound—How does one arrive from point A to point B at the shortest possible time and at the most minimal effort. The realization of this passion was more encouraged when I learned to discover what kind of personality I have. I believe that my ability to analyze and organize things traces itself from my secondary personality as a melancholy (first, being a choleric). I few semesters back I took the Kersey-Bates personality test in Pastor Chuck Quinley’s Personal Life Management class. And I found out that I am an INTJ (Introvert-Intuitive-Thinker-Judging) personality. And as people begin to see this God-given ability in me, I learned to enjoy and practice it to the best of my ability, even as I myself am continually learning as a young leader.
An organizer possesses a number of identifiable traits. In his book “Your Gift of Administration”, Engstrom lists 40 identifiable traits of gifted administrators[ii]. Among these is the ability of an organizer “to integrate several ministries, people tasks, and/or projects towards the fulfillment of a long-rage goal.”[iii] Organizers have the ability to see the big picture at work. He has a bird’s eye view of the working enterprise so that he can foresee every foreseeable obstacles and hindrances and divert the work where it will produce its maximum result. Because he is analytical he is detailed and desires the optimum quality of every result and task performed. Organizers have most often goal-oriented. He is undistracted from irrelevant circumstances and would do to the most of his ability to meet the goal. That is why often they are misunderstood as non-people person because they tend to put his goals, for the benefit of the common good, ahead of relationships.
Crisis of ineffective structures
Whenever a crisis in leadership in an organization like a church arises, one of the reason for this can be traced back to ineffective structures. Every church needs effective structures. They just don’t need a structure—plans, programs and processes, they need to be effective structures, that means from point A when a variable goes into the process of change, the variable would come out something better when it reaches point B. And most of the time, churches at one point in their life cycle halt with a danger of stagnation because their systems need to be constantly changing to fit the churches life cycle.
Take for example my church where I serve as a youth pastor. (I am using this illustration to show the need for effective structures for an organization to be successful.) There have recent ramblings about the need for effective small groups. For years, there has been a stagnation of membership with an average attendance of fifty people on a given Sunday, in the past 12 months (Our church is 23 years old, and the senior pastor in office for 10 years now). Also ten years ago, the church has developed a discipleship process—a key component of a healthy church—borrowed and modified from the Purpose-Driven Church popularized by Rick Warren in the nineties. And today, we only have one adults small group and three youth small groups. We have a well-intentioned vision, a vision of the fulfillment of the great commission. But having just a vision, however well-intentioned it can be, does not suffice. Organizational structures must be thoroughly checked and evaluated once in a while so that the organization grows. Just as leadership coach John Maxwell has said, “If you keep on doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that’s insanity.”[iv]
There are many effects of ineffective structures and lack of organizational skills in an organization. I can think of the top three consequences of lack of organizational skills: (1) Unrealized vision, (2) wasted resources and (3) unhealthy and unfruitful relationships. Let me discuss each consequence a little:
Unrealized Vision
I believe that an inspiring vision and effective structures go hand in hand in the success of an organization. Without organizational skills that will work its way in making the vision into a reality, the vision remains a fantasy. Thus lack of effective structures in an organization may open a series of bad doors, for one, frustration from its members.
Wasted Resources
Without effective organizational skills, there is poor resource management. Our organizational resources come in many forms: finances, energy, time and manpower. Lack of management and organizational skills disables us to focus our resources on effective processes that produce abundant results. Thus we become poor stewards of the resources God has given us in order to fulfill the vision that he has laid before us.
Unhealthy and Unfruitful Relationships
American businessman Harold Sydney Geneen[v] was quoted saying, “Every company has two organizational structures: The formal one is written on the charts; the other is the everyday relationship of the men and women in the organization.”[vi] And indeed, it is a personal conviction of mine that healthy relationships are the oil that smoothens the organizational machinery of the company. Lack of organizational skills will keep us from tapping into the potential of every person in the community. It is one thing that people go along well and tolerate each other in a community. But it is another thing to bring each person to the realization of their potential for the success of the community. Without a culture of effecting change, sooner or later, the environment becomes a comfort zone for the people who move in it making them resistant to change and improvement.
And it is sad to see people fade out of this life underachieved and depressed because the very institution that Jesus commissioned to become “lights in a very dark place”[vii] fails to provide the right environment where relationships are spurred and built.
Biblical Examples of Effective Organizational Practices
The realization of the significance and application of effective organizational skills does not originate from the pages of leadership or management books. In fact, a book compiled two-thousand years ago hold the same principles in effective organization management—the Bible. I will cite three references of effective organizational skills in the Word of God:
Moses and Jethro
In Exodus 18, we find Moses’ father-in-law and priest of Midian Jethro visiting his son-in-law, after Israel temporarily settles in the desert. And as the head of the Israelite nation, Moses was responsible for managing the disputes and conflicts committed among the people. It is said that “from the morning until the evening” (v. 13) Moses assumed the role of the judge of millions of people. Sensing that Moses was setting himself to a career suicide, Jethro decides to intervene. And I believe it was a divine moment of instruction for Moses.
17Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, 20then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens; 22Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.” (vv. 17-23, New American Standard Bible or NASB)
What a very practical and lesson-filled advice! We could lift from these passages of vital lessons on organizational management.
First, lack of organizational skills will (1) wear the top leader out (v. 17), because there is no proper chain of command and responsibility, thus making the top leader liable for every responsibility in the organization. As in some churches, the pastor is both the preacher and the janitor. (2) Lack of organizational skills will hinder us from empowering our people (v. 20). (3) Without organizational skills the demand will outweigh the supply, thus leaving some people frustrated, their need unmet, not 100% customer satisfaction (v. 23). Therefore with effective organizational skills, the three consequences mentioned above will be avoided and in fact turned into positive effects: (1) enduring leadership, (2) empowered leaders and (3) customer satisfaction.
From this passage we could also identify where organizational skill key role to make Moses’ organization last longer. The principle of “[placing qualified leaders] over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens” (v. 21) was the key to the secret of Moses’ forty-year career as Israel’s leader. John Maxwell supports this when he said, “A leader’s success can be defined as the maximum utilization of the abilities of those under him.”[viii] By tapping into the potential of able leaders and placing or organizing them into a powerhouse enterprise of conflict managers according to their capability, Moses was able to focus on more important things that only he is accountable to, and that is becoming “the people’s representative before God” (v. 19).
The early church
The same crisis of undermanned organization rose up at the dawn of Jesus’ early church that called for effective organizational management systems.
1Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly … (Acts 6:1-7, NASB).
Here again we could see that due to the growth of the organization (v. 1), the need for new and effective systems were needed, not to mention, the expansion of the “leadership base”[ix] for effective organization. Let us again glean valuable organizational principles from these passages.
From these passage we could learn that with every new growth in an organization, new challenges and obstacles arise, and new approaches to the organization of leadership. As the disciples were increasing in numerical growth (v. 1), a conflict arise between to Jewish groups because of unbalanced social welfare for their widows. We need to recognize that organization undergo various stages of growth, each with its own personality and needs that should to be met to move up to the next season of growth. And again, ineffective organizational structure brought about by new seasons of organizational growth led to customer dissatisfaction and distracted leadership (because the apostles were divided in caring for the widow’s welfare and the ministry of the Word and prayer).
A pivotal action was implemented. A new organizational upgrade was made. The apostles, whose primary role is to “devote [themselves] to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (v. 3), selected seven men to “put in charge of (or delegate) [the] task” of “serving tables” (v. 3, 2). The ministry of deaconship began (deacon in Greek literally means the one who serves), they were responsible for the administrative affairs of the early church. And so the crisis was successfully solved, bringing the organization to the next level of growth wherein “the word of God kept on spreading” and “the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly.” Failure to act upon the crisis in a given season could mean a dim future for the organization. Effective organizational skills solved the problem.
Paul on the gift of administration and leadership
My final biblical citation comes from Paul’s instruction to the Corinthian church where he mentions the gift of administration.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostels, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:27-28, New International Version or NIV, italics added).
There are two things we will discover about the gift of administration or organizational skill. (1) First, the gift of administration is God’s gift to the believe according to the grace Christ has given him and an asset to the body of Christ. (2) And second, we are encouraged to practice this gift effectively on the body of Christ.
As we can see, organizational soundness is the way of the Word. It is a valuable gift the church, a gift given and originated from the Master Builder and Architect of all creation.
Complimentary Strengths for Effective Administration
Just as in a team leadership its success does not rely on one person, a successful organization does not solely rely on effective administrative skills. In this section I will discuss the complimentary skills and abilities that compliment an effective administrative skill for the success of the organization.
Clear vision and mission, goals and objectives
The ancient king once said, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” An organization is like a chicken with its head cut off when it lacks a strong vision and mission (not just statements, but a whole-hearted conviction) and clear goals and strategies. In other words, vision is the brain, mission is the heart, organizational/administrative skills are the hands and feet that will channel the vision into a reality. It is the responsibility of the administrator to create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)[x] goals and tangible measures from the organization’s vision.
Healthy relationships
Former United States Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs General Colin Powell is quoted saying, “Organization does not really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.” Indeed, I am convinced that the success of the organization relies heavily on the health of the relationships within the organization. Healthy relationships are clearly complimentary to effective administration because the health of our relationship dictates the willingness of the people to follow your plan.
John Maxwell is often quoted saying, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” We should realize that to lead effectively, and not to mention enjoyably, we must put premium on fostering healthy relational environment in our organization. Maxwell discovered that there are levels in leadership effectiveness depending on how our relationships fare with the people in the organization.[xi] The Five Levels of Leadership are as follows: Position, Permission, Production, People Development and Personhood. In Position, people follow you out of obligation and your influence does not go beyond your job description. This kind of leadership often dictates the corporate setting. Permission allows you to have a following of people who follow you because you have established relationship with them and they like you for it. In Production, people follow you because of your effectiveness in the organization. People Development allows you to have a following of people who follow you because of what you have personally contributed in their life’s betterment. And lastly, Personhood, wherein people follow you because of who you are and what you represent, they respect your leadership.
Accessible Resources
I recall Pastor Chuck Quinley remarked in his class, in the simplest organizational budgeting, the church fund can be allocated into three aspects of church organization: administrative, ministry and missions. The need for accessible resources is crucial to the success of the organization. And resources do not only pertain to finance and funding. Resources can also come in the form of time, energy and manpower. If relationship is the oil that lubricates the movement of the organization, resource is the fuel that moves the organization forward. And it is true, that without resources it is very difficult to work no matter how passionate one leader is or how pure and clear the vision can be—resources really matter!
Constant evaluation
Man is naturally fearful of change, but it sure is necessary for improvement. IBM’s Thomas Watson Sr. once said, “Once an organization loses its spirit of pioneering and rests on its early work, its progress stops.” An organization must continue to evolve to meet the times, so it is constantly relevant to meet the needs of the people dependent on the organization. It is important for an organization to constantly evaluate its performances—its best practices, its ineffective strategies—and by that way constantly streamlining it so that the organization will achieve its maximum potential that produces maximum results.
Best practices in organizational management
Here are some tried and tested practices for effective organizational management.
Appreciative inquiry
Appreciative inquiry or AI is an organizational development process developed by David Cooperrider that guides the people in the organization to a constant evaluation of the organization’s best practices.[xii] What is good about appreciative inquiry is that this development process highlights the organization’s strengths and spurs a culture of constant improvement of the organization’s systems.
AI organizational development process is composed of four phases. (1) Discovery is where we identify the best performances and practices that contributed to the success of the organization. This could be an event, a practice or even a group of people involved. (2) Dream is the phase where in principles and values are lifted off the organization’s best practices for concretization and will be used as key ingredients in future practices of the organization. (3) Design is the more tedious part of the process wherein we make concrete steps in the replication of the best performances in the future. This requires planning and strategizing. (4) And lastly, Destiny, the actual implementation or execution of the proposed design in phase three. These now becomes a cycle of constant improvement leading the organization towards the fulfillment of its vision.
SWOT Analysis
The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis or SWOT Analysis is a classic strategy development process developed by business consultant Albert Humphrey and it is equally effective even today.
The SWOT deals with four aspects that concern an organization. Strengths identifies the strengths inherent to the organization. Characteristics such as a clear vision, healthy relationships and accessible resources can go under this category. Weaknesses identifies the organization’s inherent weaknesses that may be detrimental to the organization’s future. Conflicts, low resources and other aspects that discourages the growth of the organization may fall under this category. Opportunities are external conditions that are helpful in achieving the organizations objectives. Seasons in the economy, time and trends, and physical aspects of the organization that can be exploited to its maximum capability may be identified with this category. And finally Threats are external factors that will be detrimental to the success of the organization. One should remember that Strengths and Weaknesses are inner attributes of the organization, while Opportunities and Threats are external conditions present around the organizational environment.
If the vision of the organization is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely), the SWOT Analysis may be used to generate a string of relevant and workable strategies. To further simplify, we can create strategies by coming up with answers to the following guide questions: (1) How can we use each Strength? (2) How can we improve each Weakness? (3) How can we exploit each Opportunity? And (4) how can we diminish each Threat?
Road mapping
This is the latest organizational development process I have learned from a seminar conducted by the pastor who was instrumental to the redemptive transformation of the Anito Motels in the Philippines. The concept of road mapping comes from the idea that an organization is a vehicle and the process is the road that directs the organization to its final destination which is the fulfillment of the organization’s vision. Road mapping just like a physical road allows you to only move forward. Road maps allow you to see your destination even when you still have not arrived there. It allows you to know where you are and adjust your bearings to reach your destination at the shortest possible time.
He presents 24 step by step process gives the organization a framework to work with in developing a home-based system that is personally fit to the various attributes of the organization. He groups these steps into three phases as follows: (1) Crafting includes the time of listening to the need and the direction of the organization, writing and documenting them for review. (2) Cascading includes casting the vision to the leaders and then to the organization, small group discussion and brain-storming. (3) The implantation part focuses on executing the plan and undergoing in continuous assessment and evaluation of the plans.
Road mapping also guides you to develop indicators and identify manifested behaviors that tell you where you are in the organizational journey.
Conclusion
Without effective administrative organizational skills, as I have presented in this paper, an organization can be on its way to stagnation and fade away to mediocre existence. That is why as a leader I am constantly learning how to come up with ways in developing processes and evaluating them to produce the organization’s maximum potential. I feel the accountability of being God’s steward of His gifts and calling that I should not let the ignorance to the need of effective structures and systems rend the church or a ministry ineffective to fulfill its commission and vision. My dream is that more and more churches and ministries will recognize and put premium in the improvement of their systems for the benefit of the people and for the glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria!
[i] Ted W. Engstrom. Your Gift of Administration: How to Discover and Use It. OMF Literature, Manila 1983.
[ii] Engstrom. Your Gift.
[iii] Engstrom. Your Gift.
[iv] John Maxwell. Developing The Leaders Around You: How to Help Others Reach Their Full Potential. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville 1947.
[v] Harold "Hal" Sydney Geneen (January 22, 1910—November 21, 1997), was an American businessman most famous for serving as president of the ITT Corporation.
[vi] Harold Geneen. Managing. Doubleday, New York.
[vii] Philippians 2:15
[viii] Maxwell. Developing.
[ix] Maxwell. Developing.
[x] Richard and Becky Dufour have popularized the term, "SMART Goals". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_(project_management)
[xi] John Maxwell. Million Leaders Mandate Workbook Three.
[xii] David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney. Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change. Berrett-Koehler Publishers 2005.
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