These scenarios were written for a training workshop run by what is now Livability Community Mission, they seek to identify some of the main traps fallen into by churches running community projects. Scenario 1Manager "Our worker's
wonderful. She's really committed and
completely trustworthy. I don't see any
need to meet with her on a regular basis, it would only be a waste of time for
her and me. We meet on an ad hoc basis
and have a good relationship of trust. Worker Nobody seems to care about
what I do. They say that I'm wonderful
and don't know what they'd do without me but our meetings are always cancelled
at the last minute and I never have the chance to raise issues. Things were better early on but now I'm
looking for another job." You
could call this scenario the Competent
Worker Trap. The worker is so good,
popular and efficient that managers back off any involvement -- certainly
anything which would question the work that the worker is doing. This leads to the worker gradually feeling
more and more isolated and that no one is really interested in the work, or
understands it. There is a lack of
boundaries in which the worker can operate and feel secure. This might lead to them taking advantage but
more often they continue working hard but feeling increasingly ignored. A certain amount of criticism and challenge
is necessary in order for praise to feel genuine. Managers being committed to regular meetings
with staff makes them feel valued, especially if they are genuinely attentive
during the meetings and don't let them be interrupted or postponed. Of Scenario 2Manager "I don't see my role
as being a manager. I'm called to
administer the sacraments and preach the word.
The church has got too concerned with management, we should trust more
in the Holy Spirit and not concern ourselves with secular ideas of management. Worker I feel frustrated at the
lack of efficiency in the project. It's
taken me two years to get a job description and I still don't know who my line
manager is. No one seems interested when
I suggest training, even though I know the local CVS training is excellent --
and its free!" This
illustrates the Is Management Spiritual?
dilemma. Certainly there are problems
with the uncritical application of management theory to churches. Charles Handy's Managing Voluntary Organisations gives a good example of the havoc
caused by a personnel manager who becomes a vicar and tries to make his church
more 'efficient'. I often feel uneasy
when churches take on too much of the 'targets culture'. Nonetheless lay workers often suffer from an
over reaction to secular management practice.
Especially if they come into the church from a background in the
voluntary sector they can find working in the church traumatic -- especially if
they had unrealistic expectations of the benefits of working with
Christians! There needs to be a critical
engagement between Christian theology and secular management practices --
especially as they are expressed in the voluntary sector, if a chasm is not
going to open up between trained lay workers and churches. Scenario 3Worker "He drives me
crazy. He's completely chaotic. No one has any idea of what's going on --
it's all in his head. I just don't see
why he finds it so difficult to be organised -- I'm sure he'd be much less
stressed out if he was. I tried to talk
to him about it but that was not well received. Manager Although our worker is good
at her job I feel she has made the project too 'professional'. Everything seems to be about having the right
policies rather than getting alongside people and caring for them. People are much more reluctant to volunteer
now -- the project has lost its heart." This
illustrates the Power through Chaos
syndrome. Leaders often resist any
institutionalisation of their power because an informal method of management
means that they are the only people who really know what's going on. Around them is chaos but this chaos is seen
as being more spiritual or human than more bureaucratic procedures. This has some truth in it, people are
beginning to understand the creative value of being on the edge of chaos -- but
there is a difference between being on the edge of chaos and completely
enveloped in it! Chaotic situations
tempt us to try and control them. Clear
but rigid procedures are put in place which make volunteers disillusioned and
this affects the quality of the work that can be done. So the procedures are dismantled and chaos
reigns once more. There is an unhealthy
oscillation between chaos and rigid control.
In this situation everyone needs to become more aware of their own
desires for power and control and what strategies they use to achieve
these. Chaos can then become creative
and boundaries clear but flexible. Scenario 4Manager "I just turn up to the
meetings because the Minister asked me to.
Our worker knows everything, we're just here to support her. I'd like to understand more about what she does
but I know she's got more important things to do. Worker Everything is going really
well. What is disappointing is that the
management committee are so passive. I
try to get them involved but they never have anything to say. I don't really know why they turn up to
meetings" The
situation is symptomatic of a Worker
Dominated Organisation. The
organisation becomes completely focused on the worker's interests and needs and
no effective management is applied. This
can happen for a variety of reasons -- sometimes the worker likes the control,
sometimes managers lack confidence.
Often there are a complexity of reasons.
But at the heart of this situation is the desire of the worker to gain
control and shape an organisation in his or her image. It is not uncommon for people to let this
happen -- if not conflict is inevitable!
This can lead to the project losing its original vision -- especially
becoming less theological in its motivation and uncritically taking on board
the values of the voluntary sector. It
is not always easy to distinguish when a natural healthy change is going on and
when an organisation is losing its way. Scenario 5“When
I first came to the church it was very unclear to me what our community worker
did all day. Now I have established a
few clear procedures I think he is much more accountable to me and the PCC. There were a few teething problems but
generally I think everyone is happy that there is more control over the
situation” “Since
the new vicar has come I’ve really felt like leaving. I used to be encouraged to get on and do my
work but now I have procedures coming out of my ears and spend half my time
doing paperwork. Frankly I think the
vicar is a control freak who wants to micromanage every hour of my day” This
is the problem of Over Directive
Management. In this scenario the
worker has, perhaps, been undermanaged and has lost any sense of accountability
but the new vicar has over reacted, worried about the lack of control over
'his' worker and is stifling the worker.
These problems often come about because the manager has uncritically
tried to apply techniques and values from another work culture into the
normally laissez-faire world of church based community work. It may well be necessary to increase
accountability but this will go awry if the underlying motivation is the desire
to control. A worker may also find it
difficult to give up his 'freedom' and work in a genuinely accountable way even
though this is ultimately a more empowering way to work because it encourages
people to genuinely grasp the nettle of management. Projects need to have clear systems of
accountability which involve the management committee in the worker's work but
don't stifle the worker and his particular gifts. ConclusionI'm
sure that there are other common scenarios which could be identified but these
are 5 which seem important to me. Some
common themes are identifiable: ·
Power
-- who has it and how it is gained ·
Problems
in achieving honest and open communication ·
Tension
between the culture of the church and the culture of the voluntary sector ·
The
need for self-awareness and personal development ·
Getting
the balance between efficient control and creative freedom ·
Conflict
created by different expectations September
2004 |