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Scoreboards & Accountability

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Scoreboards & Accountability

If 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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Ministry 4DX, Part 1

If 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, 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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Set SMARTer Goals

Many 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.

Use Medium-Term Goals to Stay on Target

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Use Medium-Term Goals to Stay on Target

Medium- term goals are a natural extension of weekly goals, details and to-do lists. They are the incremental checkpoints that have to be reached on the way to annual goals and objectives.

Let’s define the duration of goals this way:

  • Short-Term – 30 days or less
  • Medium-Term – 2 to 11 months
  • Long-Term – 12 months or more

We often associate goal-setting with annual goals—the type of goals typically set as a part of performance review processes. But while annual goals are important, they aren’t very effective as standalone objectives. In fact, recent evidence confirms that goal-setting should happen more frequently than once a year:

The traditional once-a-year setting of employee goals and performance review is totally out of date,” says Kris Duggan [co-founder of Silicon Valley startup firm BetterWorks]. “To really improve performance, goals need to be set more frequently, be more transparent to the rest of the company, and progress towards them measured more often.

Consider 3 ways that medium-term goals help you stay on target:

  1. Medium-term goals bridge short-term and long-term goals. While short-term goals form your daily and weekly nuts-and-bolts task list, you need bridge goals to steer you toward your long-term objectives. Medium-term goals fit the bill, providing a progress report at set times throughout the year.
  2. Medium-term goals are a natural time to make adjustments. If there’s a problem with your “big picture” plan, you’re more likely to discover it as you set and evaluate medium-term goals. Intermediate goals help you adapt to changing conditions and, if necessary, adjust the long-term objective.
  3. Medium-term goals focus on quarterly results. A study of big companies by consulting firm Deloitte found that: “Those which set quarterly goals are nearly four times more likely to be in the top quartile of performers.” It pays to set incremental checkpoints as you strive toward annual goals and objectives.

Quarterly and semi-annual goals can be applied in your personal, professional and organizational worlds. Whatever the area of your life, apply medium-term goals to stay on target:

  • Personally – Family, self-improvement and life development goals
  • Professionally – Career, work and leadership development goals
  • Organizationally – Business or ministry vision, values and OGSM-driven goals

So what’s the Big Idea?

It pays to set medium-term goals, especially quarterly and semi-annual ones. They bridge short-term and long-term goals and provide incremental checkpoints to make adjustments as you strive toward annual goals and objectives.

Resources


Source

“The Quantified Serf” (Schumpeter), The Economist (March 7, 2015), 70.

Ministry Planning with OGSM

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Ministry Planning with OGSM

“Oh Great, (just) Shoot Me!” Those OGSM words have been heard more than once when a new strategy planning process is about to begin. Born in the fear and anxiety we feel about increased accountability and evaluation, that’s a natural response.

Of course, OGSM isn’t an abbreviation for “Oh Great, (just) Shoot Me!” It’s an acronym for classic strategy planning in four steps: Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures.

Start with the strategy planning pre-requisite—vision and values. Vision answers the question: WHY does the organization exist? A model vision statement is the one adopted by Willow Creek Community Church:

Willow Creek exists to turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Values are an outgrowth of ministry vision. They are a set of PRIORITIES that govern everything that happens in a ministry. Everything that you do—every event, program or initiative—will somehow address these priorities.

For example, a church might have values that clarify its priorities like this:

  • Prayer – Prayer is our foundation.
  • Worship – Worshiping together is important to us.
  • Missions & Evangelism – We actively share our faith with neighbors and nations.
  • Discipleship – We grow spiritually in small groups.
  • NextGen – Faith at home matters for the next generation.

With vision and a set of values in your pocket, strategy planning can begin. The OGSM acronym spells out a straightforward process:

  1. Objectives – WHAT will you do to accomplish each value? Typically, you will develop 2-3 objectives for each organizational value. Use WORDS for your objectives.
  2. Goals – What is your numerical goal? Develop a goal for each strategy, plan and objective. Set goals either early or late in the process. Set incremental benchmarks (short and medium-term goals) to achieve throughout the year. It may be useful to establish goals as a FINAL step in the process. Use NUMBERS for your goals.
  3. Strategies – HOW will you accomplish each objective? WHAT will you do? Develop several strategies and plans for each objective. Use WORDS for your strategies.
  4. Measures – What does success look like for each strategy? How do you MEASURE success numerically for each strategy and plan? Brainstorm several ways to measure success for each strategy and plan. Use NUMBERS for your measures.

Objectives usually have a “we will” structure. In order to accomplish organizational vision and values, your objective is what you will do to accomplish those priorities. For example, ministry values might lead to objectives like:

  • Prayer – We will seek the face of God and pray for spiritual renewal as the first step in total commitment to Jesus Christ.
  • Worship – We will give our best offering to God with a worship blend that celebrates the old and the new.
  • Evangelism – We will build relationships to introduce friends and neighbors to Jesus Christ.
  • Discipleship – We will reach, teach and care for people through Bible Fellowship and community groups.
  • NextGen – We will equip parents to raise godly kids and be spiritual leaders at home.

Strategies are the action plan for each objective. They answer the essential HOW and WHAT questions with strategic plans, tactics and details. Quantitative MEASURES help you evaluate a plan’s success or failure. Finally, GOALS are the objective stated numerically.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Establish an organizational vision and a set of values. Then write your strategic plans in four steps: Objectives, Goals, Strategies and Measures.  It’s the way you achieve more for the Kingdom personally and keep the organization aligned with the Great Commission.

Resources


Source

“What Willow Believes,” Accessed March 5, 2015, http://www.willowcreek.org/aboutwillow/what-willow-believes.

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