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The word strategic comes from the Greek stratēgia, which means “leading an army; the office of a general.” It implies taking the resources that one has, improving them, and employing them to achieve a set objective. Strategic leadership means always taking into account the people with whom one works and the goal they wish to achieve together.

Leadership is not something done in isolation from others. It needs to be done within a community, with mutual activity on all sides.

According to the Scriptures and the teaching of the Orthodox Church, the goal of the Christian life is union with God and eternal life in his kingdom, as persons and as a community. Persons and community go together.

PART ONE      

Leadership: To What End?

The dark side of self-confidence is self-deception. One of the famous spiritual works of the Orthodox Church has as the title of its second chapter, “One should never believe in oneself or trust oneself in anything.”

Seeking the Will of God

Cyprian offers, “The Will of God…is what Christ has done and taught. It is humility in conduct, steadfastness in faith, scrupulousness in our words, rectitude in our deeds, mercy in our works, governance in our habits; it is innocence of injuriousness, and patience under it, preserving peace with the brethren, loving God with all our heart.”

The Five Requirements

1. Fear the Lord Your God

Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  The first and most important lesson is that the Lord is to be obeyed—truly obeyed.

To fear the Lord is the first step in understanding his will, for it places us in the right relationship with God—that of servant and master, subject and king—and a relationship of ultimate seriousness.

The fathers of the Church link the fear of God to love, sweetness, and joy. St Diadochos of Photiki explains the relationship between love and fear: “No one can love God consciously in his heart unless he has first feared him with all his heart.”

The Christian leader must stand continually before his Master, Lord, and King, in perfect awe, in perfect fear, and in perfect love.

2. Walk in All His Ways

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul speaks of walking as our work: “We are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

To walk in the ways of God means to love to hear the voice of the Lord; to continually strive to know his ways; to shine Christ’s light upon our path, so that we may see clearly and without delusion; and to walk with him on his path to Golgotha, trusting him to be with us and strengthen us by his presence.

3. Love God

Deuteronomy 6.5 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

The Lord God makes the requirement of love in a forceful manner, indicating that it is something necessary, not optional. Further, the connection between loving the Lord God and the blessings of life is made over and over again, “that you may live and multiply,” “that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.”

For those of us having difficulty in loving God, St Maximos the Confessor counsels: “Stop loving yourself and you will love God.” St Peter of Damaskos refers to the teaching of St Basil the Great: “To love God with all your soul means to love nothing together with God.”

We can’t love others with full, sacrificial, and complete love before first loving God.

4. Serve the Lord Your God

Abraham sought God first above all things, including his native land and his family.

Service to God necessarily implies service to his people.  To serve the Lord God is, first and foremost, to share in a relationship of servant to Master, one which is not formal and distant, but intimate and face-to-face. The servant loves the Master and does what he tells him to do. His ear is always open to the voice of the Master.

5. Keep the Commandments

The meaning is made clear by the simple statement of Jesus: “‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep (phylassontes) it!’” One must live the word, the commandments and statutes, and not simply hear them. St John of Kronstadt advises: “Take the trouble to spend a single day according to God’s commandments, and you will see and feel for yourself how good it is to fulfill God’s will, which for us is life, eternal blessedness.”

Prayer requires fulfillment through action, which echoes the words of St James on faith and works: “If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?’”

The perfect will of God is when someone does an act of mercy not grudgingly, not indolently, not contemptuously, but with his whole strength and his whole will, bestowing mercy as though he himself were receiving it, and being bountiful as though he himself were receiving the bounty; then the perfect will of God is fulfilled. This is how man fulfills the good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.

PART TWO      

Strategic Leadership

Strategic leadership must have a vision that is greater than the individual leader.  Strategic leadership implies discipline and proper organization, with everyone pulling together in community.

Who Are the Leaders? Lessons from the Prophets

Consider the example of delegation provided by Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro (see my previous post about Jethro).  Three lessons can be derived from this event. First, Moses chose not to keep his leadership responsibilities to himself, but shared them with others. Second, his father-in-law acted as a leader in giving Moses uninvited, straightforward, and unapologetic advice: “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God be with you!” Third, Moses acted as a true leader in listening to advice, for he “gave heed to the voice of his father-in-law”

All of us, whether we are at the top of the organization or at the bottom, are called to become leaders in the sense of taking responsibility for the organization and its vision.

Several leaders—Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah, and Paul—displayed characteristic reactions to an encounter with God: surprise at being chosen, and at finding themselves able, despite their disparate backgrounds, to speak God’s word. According to St Paul, the grace of God “was given to each of us. . .”

Leadership, from a Christian perspective, means first and foremost an honest opening of ourselves to God: hearing His voice whatever the situation in which we find ourselves, and then responding to that voice in obedience and faith, in openness and courage, ready to do His will, whoever and wherever we are.

Foundations of Christian Leadership: Six Goals

1. Christ and His Kingdom

Jesus himself points to the structural relationship between us and him: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Everything in our life, including our relationship to others and our leadership responsibilities in the Church and other institutions, must be centered in Christ.

2. Examine and Rediscover Our Values

St Gregory Nazianzen reflects on the need for a Christian leader to constantly and objectively review the state of his soul and never be satisfied.

How can we know ourselves? We can seek counsel of others, people who have insight and wisdom and whom we trust to tell us the truth. The very act of asking advice breaks down the barriers which separate us from others, exposing the hidden things of which even we are not aware.

3. Focus On, Care For, and Love Others

To focus on others means to recognize them as of ultimate importance to God and hence of ultimate importance to oneself.  Our ego frequently gets in the way of the need to focus on others.

4. Be Humble

To be humble is a fundamental attitude and a deep foundation of one’s soul.

A former president of an American Baptist seminary made this action of Christ the central point of his reflection on his five-year tenure, “In reflecting on these past five years, I have come to believe that true Christian leadership is an ongoing, disciplined practice of becoming a person of no reputation, and thus, becoming more like Christ in this unique way.”

Consider the three temptations of Christ that are often found in Christian leaders: the temptation to be relevant, the temptation to be spectacular, and the temptation to be powerful.

Ceaseless prayer to God is the foundation of humility. The one who engages in this prayer offers himself totally to God, thanking him for everything which he receives as a blessing, entreating his help and mercy in all that he does, and ascribing any achievement or good of his to the grace of God.

5. Desire to Serve, Not to Be Served

The pure desire to serve rather than be served is the most important characteristic of the Christian leader.  Neither money, status, nor position can be the motivation for the daily work of the Christian leader. Higher principles and values must take priority.

We can only quietly serve, and as leaders say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”

6. Remain Steadfast in Tough Times

PART THREE      

Ministerial Leadership

We now turn to the question of what Christian leaders do, specifically. Christian leaders are called to be active ministers and servants of God, as Christ was minister and servant.

King, Priest, and Prophet: Leadership in Action

God intended man to serve as king: to take care of the world, to do good to and for it, and to be its benefactor. He was created in God’s “own image, and this means in the image of the King of kings, of the One who has all power and authority.” Man failed in this vocation, not realizing that to be king of creation required him to obey and be subject to the Creator King. Instead of leading creation to its fulfillment, he wants to benefit from it, to have and possess it for himself.

As we have seen, the role of the prophet in the Old Testament was to go forth for God and speak his words to the people.

Family, Community, and Vocation: Leadership of the Laity

The laity’s leadership is the work of every Christian. We are to be soldiers of Christ, his reason-endowed sheep, and show forth his love in this world. We do this, first and foremost, in our private spiritual life, in the prayer closet, at quiet moments of the day, in the night watches, when all the troubles and worries of the world beset us.

The Leadership of the Laity in the Family

In particular, the love of a husband for his wife, and the wife for her husband, is the highest form of godly and sacrificial love that exists in the Church.

St Ignatius Brianchaninov advises, “As often as possible read the gospel, and learn in it the will of your Lord and Savior.” The saints teach that the garden of the heart is to be continually fertilized by the gospel, softened and watered by prayer, and weeded by constant remembrance of God and his commandments. “If we constantly observe the Lord’s commandments, then by our spirit we shall be united with him.”

Leadership is first formed by the work we perform internally, unknown to others: silent prayer, continual thirst for the living God, fervent intercession for others both known and unknown, loved and unloved. It is also, according to St Gregory the Great, formed within us when we are not yet in an acknowledged leadership position. “If one recalls how he acted as a layperson, he suddenly knows if he will be able, as a leader, to do well. For no one is able to acquire humility while in a position of authority if he did not refrain from pride when in a position of subjection.”

Service: Leadership of the Deacon

We have already spoken about one of the most important characteristics of the Christian leader: the desire to serve rather than be served. The fundamental duty of the deacon is to represent Christ as servant and thus be an example of service to everyone he encounters.

The first deacons were selected for practical reasons. The apostles were hampered in their preaching by duties such as the daily distribution of food to the widows. Seven assistants were accordingly selected by the people to perform these tasks. The candidates had to be “of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.”

Sacrifice: Leadership of the Priest

The original “priest” (iereus) was the bishop (episkopos). As the community grew, the bishops relied upon the elders or presbyters (presbyterous), who were empowered by the bishops to preside at the Eucharist and perform the sacred mysteries (with the exception of ordination).

The term priest was extended from the person of Christ, for whom alone it is used in the New Testament, to the bishop, for whom again it was used until about the fourth century. In being the head of the eucharistic community and offering in his hands the Eucharist—a task of the episcopate par excellence in the first four centuries—the bishop, and later on the presbyter precisely and significantly enough when he started offering the Eucharist himself, acquired the title of priest.

The ultimate character of priestly service is revealed in the life-giving sacrifice of Christ: loving, caring, healing, serving, and giving. All these characteristics are subsumed under the category of pastoral attitude and practice.

To be a leader, the priest must be a follower and imitator of Christ.

The many other desired characteristics of the priest (preaching, teaching, counseling, confessing, liturgizing, etc.) must stem from his acceptance of the cross of Christ and the sword of the Mother of God. Otherwise, the temptation is for all these activities to become self-affirming exercises expressing his own authority, power, and goodness.

The difference between secular rulers and Christian leaders is that the former love to boss their subordinates whereas the latter serve them. We are that much greater if we are considered least of all.

Shepherd and Overseer: Leadership of the Bishop

In the New Testament, the word appears in the book of Acts, where St Paul exhorts the elders of the assembly (presbyterous tis ekklēsias) to attend to the needs of the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers (episkopous). When the apostles established communities of Christians, those communities chose elders to be their leaders, in keeping with the established custom in both Jewish and civil society.

To the responsibility of “overseer” St Paul adds the qualification of “steward,” which meant a manager to whom the master entrusted his affairs. Further uses of the verb derived from episkopos, suggesting what the bishop/presbyter should be doing in his role of overseer, are found in Acts 7:23, Acts 15:36, and James 1:27.

The letter that St Ignatius wrote to his fellow-martyr Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, is filled with advice to bishops, especially concerning his relationship with the people and his fellow ministers. Make unity your concern—there is nothing better than that. Lend everybody a hand, as the Lord does you. “Out of love be patient” with everyone, as indeed you are. Devote yourself to continual prayer. Ask for increasing insight . . . [t]ake a personal interest in those you talk to, just as God does.

Later in the life of the Church, many canons were written to deal with violations of this most fundamental commandment of Christ, to love and be one with one another.  Humility and reticence before the responsibility of leadership is essential.  Candidates for leadership need to be prepared and truly want to serve with humility.

PART FOUR      

Strategic Planning

The Lord said to the exiles in Babylon: “I know the plans I have for you . . . to give you a future and a hope.”

Jesus spoke many times to his disciples about the plans that he had for them. He emphasized three times that they would bear fruit, and even “much fruit,” as Israel had not. In addition, Jesus prayed that they would be one, even “perfectly one,” in order that all would know that they had been sent by him. These two aspects of Christian ministry, namely, fruitfulness and oneness, are at the core of what it means to be a leader in the Church or anywhere else. They are also at the core of what we call strategic planning.

Solomon emphasizes the need for congruence between the plans of man and the will of God:

In many ways, the environment in Corinth was not dissimilar to that of today: industrial, wealthy, diverse, and influenced by pagan practices and a general lack of morals. One biblical commentator concludes that “the parallels between this first-century Corinth and the great cities of the modern world give St Paul’s letters to the Corinthians an exceptional relevance for modern Christians.”  St Paul begins his first letter with an emphasis on unity in Jesus Christ.

In our current lexicon, Nehemiah was a strategic planner. He had a vision that was founded upon his love for the people, as shown by his mourning for the depths to which Jerusalem had fallen. His values were his fear of and faith in God. He had a well-defined mission to accomplish. He knew what he needed, from beginning to end, to accomplish his objectives. He involved many people, from the king and governors to the nobles, officials, leaders, and families that performed the work. He recognized the threats from outside as well as the issues arising from within. In the end he accomplished his task: “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days.”

“Strategic Planning Is for Business, Not the Church!”

What strategic planning is not:  It is not “long-range planning” in the sense of merely extrapolating today’s plans to tomorrow, i.e., “keep on keeping on,” or perhaps making small adjustments here and there on the assumption that we are doing just fine.

First and foremost, a sense of strategy (as in “how we can be different from today?”) is completely missing.  On the other hand, neither is a strategic plan a dream which excites people momentarily and is then laid aside.

Larger organizations may have professional planning staffs or volunteers with particular expertise. It is a great temptation to turn the planning process over to them without seeking the proper involvement of others who will be impacted by the plan.

Strategic planning is devoted to realizing a vision—not an individual vision, but a shared one.  To be successful, the people involved in developing the plan, and most especially the leadership, must really believe that the planning effort will have a positive impact on the institution. Strategic planning is oriented towards action, towards creating the future.

The people involved in strategic planning must desire to make the institution better than it is, no matter how good it is today. Strategic planning is motivated by a desire for excellence and profound progress that goes beyond incremental improvements and takes large and bold steps towards the vision.  It hears and responds earnestly to Christ’s injunction to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Strategic planning is both inclusive and honest, seeking the opinions and judgments of others and welcoming input, even criticism.  One overarching principle becomes evident: the importance of the people who are involved in the process. Nothing happens without people. They initiate, they discuss, they debate, they think, they pray, they decide, and they act.

The Four Questions

At a fundamental level, strategic planning revolves around the struggle to ask the right questions and find the right answers.

For any organization or institution, the following four categories of questions provide a good starting point.

1. Where should we go?  What should we be? 
2. Where are we now?
3. Where are we going?  What lies in our path to either help or hinder us?
4. What must we do to get to “where” and “what” we should be?

Of these, the most fundamental question is the first. It addresses the foundation of the vision that we seek to realize.  The third question requires us to identify the opportunities presented to us—and the threats facing us—as we try to accomplish our objective. It is intended to be optimistic, enabling us to grasp positive things that we can use to our advantage.

Three Questions of Jesus

Consider three examples: questions addressed to his disciples, to a lawyer, and to a blind man.

Jesus asked the disciples a fairly comfortable question, namely, who others thought he was. After receiving various answers, he asked directly, “But who do you say that I am?”

A lawyer once decided to put Jesus to the test, and asked him the requirements to inherit eternal life.  His answer (to love God and his neighbor) was acknowledged by Jesus as correct—and the lawyer desired to justify himself by asking, “And who is my neighbor?” This time, Jesus answered with the tale of the Good Samaritan. At the end he asked the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”

One day a blind man was begging by the roadside as Jesus passed by.  Jesus asked him this question: “What do you want me to do for you?”  One would assume that a blind man coming up to Jesus obviously wanted to be healed. Yet Jesus needed to hear this from the lips of the man himself.

Certain critical questions are asked by Jesus not for his own purposes—for he knows the answers already—but rather to force us to look deeply within ourselves and our communities for what forms the true root of our personal and shared lives.

1. Who is this Jesus, and what does he mean to us?
2. Who is our neighbor and what should we be to him?
3. What do we want the Lord to do for us?

The process and its outcomes fulfill a stewardship function, helping us allocate resources such as talents, facilities, and funds where they will do the most good.

The Planning Process

Strategic Planning Concepts

Several concepts are key to the understanding of strategic planning. Although various sources and references on planning may use slightly different definitions, the ones below are fairly common. We will review these one by one: mission, vision, and values; strengths and weaknesses; threats and opportunities; and goals and objectives.

Mission, Vision, and Values

A mission statement does not list the current activities of the organization, which answers the question of “what do we do?” rather than “what shall we be?”

Vision is that which represents our dream for the institution—the source of inspiration that centers us in the midst of difficulties.  Our own dreams and vision must be inspired, coming from our heart and derived though prayer and contemplation.

Values are the cherished principles that direct our efforts to realize our vision and guard us from straying from the right path. The best values are ones we would rather die for than violate. They dictate our behavior, how we interact with others, and how we treat them.

A short mission statement that flows from the vision and values (and which usually takes the form of a short, simple, “compass-heading” statement) can be quite helpful to focus efforts.  The best mission statements are both aspirational and actionable. They need to provide a basis for both near- and longer-term actions and also incorporate a “stretch” that challenges the community to avoid falling into self-satisfaction.

The vision, values, and mission statements we develop should be constantly reviewed as the planning process proceeds.

The hard part of getting down to business (“how are we doing?”) comes next.

Strengths and Weaknesses

To go forward, we must know where we are. We need to know what we are doing well.  Similarly, we wish to know our shortcomings and correct them as much as is within our power.

The category of strengths addresses the following questions: What resources (human, physical, financial) do we have to help us in achieving the mission? What talents and gifts has God already given to us? Which resources and talents are we putting to good use, versus those which are lying fallow?

The category of weaknesses addresses these questions: What do we need to improve in order to accomplish our mission? In which ways have we not been true to our own expressed values? What resources and talents are we lacking?

Opportunities and Threats

Now we turn our attention to the external environment.

Opportunities:  What in the external environment (ecclesiastical, social, political, economic) might help us if we can take advantage of it—especially if we change and overcome our weaknesses?

Threats:  What in the external environment (ecclesiastical, social, political, economic) will hinder the achievement of our mission, especially if we fail to change and overcome our weaknesses?

Strategic Options

After having set forth vision, values, and mission, and having considered the current strengths and weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, it is time to begin thinking about what should be done.

The practical aspects of organizing even the most well-intentioned and spiritually motivated people require careful planning and allocation of resources, time, talent, and money. For each option, overall goals and objectives need to be developed and agreed upon.

We must recognize that the product of the planning process will not be a piece of paper, but rather people—people willing to work and to contribute their time, talents, and money towards the fulfillment of a common mission and unified vision, all the while resolutely adhering to mutually held and precious values.

The results of the planning process must be widely publicized. Proposed actions versus actual results should be reported periodically and regularly. Did we do what we said we would do, or not? Did we change our minds, and if so why? Have our priorities changed, and why?

How to Develop a Strategic Plan

Danilchick’s “recipe” should be a good fit for parishes, educational institutions, and other church-related nonprofit organizations.

He advocates a six-phase approach:

1) Plan for the Plan

The first phase, planning for the plan, is extremely important. The goal of this phase is to assess the readiness of the parish or institution to undertake the planning process. It asks the questions: Do we really want to do this? Are we committed? Are we willing to go where the process will take us?

Four major actions should be taken in this phase, once you have decided to proceed.

2) Gather Constituency Input

Obtain people’s feelings, ideas, judgments, and wishes. Templates are highly useful to ensure consistent and comparable input from the wide variety of people. Questions about vision, values, mission, strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, and options can be asked, such as “what is to be done?” It is best to get face-to-face input as much as possible, ideally via individual interviews.  Document and summarize input.

3) Determine Strategic Options for Evaluation

A common organizational effectiveness motto states, “It is more important to do the right thing, than to do the thing right.” What is meant here is that choices must be made as to future direction of the institution.

4) Develop Detailed Goals and Objectives

In this phase, teams turn the finalized strategic options into detailed goals and objectives. Our definition of “goals” is that they represent the target outcomes for the strategic option, while “objectives” provide the interim milestones and desired accomplishments for each goal.

5) Prioritize Goals and Objectives, and Prepare a Road Map for Implementation

The governance body must meet to review, deliberate, and endorse the detailed goals and objectives, and then endorse the resource and implementation plan.

6) Communicate, Execute, and Steward

Every strategic plan is a process, not a product.

PostScript

Although the above process has been described from an organizational perspective, it can also be applied to oneself. Consider developing a strategic plan for yourself and your family. (I couldn’t agree more, as noted by my “Strategic Planning for You” post.)

PART FIVE      

Strategic Management

Our society focuses heavily on the desirability of becoming a “leader.” Yet few people talk about how important good managers are.

Yes, we need visionaries, but we also need managers to make plans, and then put those plans into action. Someone may be described as a genius and yet, because he or she lacks common sense and practical skills, it is said that “they can’t manage their way out of a paper bag.” Managers make things work, and good managers make them work properly.

I’m on a Board (or Council): What Do I Do Now?

Myth #1: The “Rubber-Stamp” Board

The board has the critical task of governance of its own institution or organization. It is never simply a rubber stamp for the administration. Similarly, a council or committee has the responsibility to question and perhaps recommend change or, alternatively, to endorse current directions.

Myth #2: Micromanagement

Although the board has governance responsibilities, it knows full well that it must delegate responsibility in certain areas, and within certain constraints, to the administration of the institution. The board asks questions, which sometimes gets uncomfortable for the administration.

The Three Jobs of the Board: Oversight, Service, and Sacrifice

Management tasks of the board relate to the three vocations and ministries of the bishop, deacon and priest: oversight, service, and sacrifice.

A Team of Leaders

It is convenient to view the chair of the board as the leader.  However, such an identification of the board chair as the one and only leader is a fallacy for a high-performing board. In such a board, every member is a leader.

Each member of the board needs to take on the responsibility of being a leader on the board.  It means learning about the institution sufficiently to speak knowledgeably about its problems, issues, and opportunities. It means understanding the constraints under which the day-to-day administration and staff labor. It means experiencing deeply within oneself the vision and mission of the institution—to feel in one’s gut the institution’s yearning to succeed in its appointed mission and achieve its agreed-upon goals and objectives.

Remember how we consider humility a leadership characteristic. Board members must be humble, although this does not imply remaining silent in the background, unnoticed.

This is the true objective of the leader of leaders: empowering others to accomplish more than they think that they are capable of.

Mayor Ed Koch of New York City was famous for asking, “How’m I doing?” as he walked the streets of the city.

Staying Out of Trouble: Ethics and Regulatory Compliance

Exxon had pretty much a zero-tolerance attitude towards violations of its standards of business conduct.  In early versions of their standards, they very bluntly wrote, “We don’t want liars for managers.” Also the very clear statement: “No one in the organization has the authority to grant exceptions to these foundation policies.”

Every organization or institution must have core values that are stated, publicized, and emphasized continuously to every employee and person impacted by the institution.

In its purest form, situation ethics aims at the application of love as its highest principle in making an ethical decision. In situation ethics, there are no absolute ethical rules. Everything depends upon the situation. The key criterion is the maximization of love for all concerned. However, there is no actual definition of love, nor any allocation of priority among those upon whom love is visited.

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings: How to Facilitate Collaboration

A meeting should be a gathering of leaders. It should not be teachers lecturing students.

The true objective of a meeting is to be collaborative and enjoyable. If people feel left out and passive, it is a failure. If it is dull and boring, it is a failure. If participants are involved and enjoy the meeting, then it is a success.

Desire to serve, not to be served. We may have a hidden agenda when we call a meeting. Perhaps it is to show off, to publicize our own accomplishments.  These hidden agendas distract and detract from any collaborative possibilities at the meeting.

The constructor of the meeting needs to be the servant of the meeting participants.

How to Reach Agreement with Disagreeable People (and Others)

The Other Person is a Child of God

Danilchick recalls, “For some reason, I began looking into the face of each person approaching me and saying to myself, ‘This is a child of God.’ After saying it a few times, I began to smile. My trudging steps became light. The people who passed me later on must have thought me quite strange since I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt quite at peace with the day and very much in tune with all these wonderful people—the same ones whom I thought were anything but wonderful just a few moments before.”

This acknowledgment breaks down the artificial barriers of judgment that we so often set up between ourselves and others, allowing the Spirit of God to enter into the relationship.

Don’t Assume that We are Always Right

Fr Alexander Schmemann once said, “There are people who know everything but understand nothing.” (Or at least they think that they know everything.) In dealing with others, we need to recognize that there is usually something that is true and right about the other’s viewpoint, no matter how much it differs from ours. We do not know everything nor, even more importantly, do we understand everything.

A precept from the book Unseen Warfare cautions, “One should never trust oneself in anything.” It is quite a jump from this position to assuming that we are always right. A healthy disbelief in what we think can be very useful in ensuring that we do not miss opportunities to explore the thinking of others.

Although caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) is a good maxim for a one-time deal, it is not good for a long-term relationship. Likewise, we can win an argument and score some “points” in a negotiating session, but if that causes the other person to lose face or be embarrassed, we have lost. The relationship will be damaged, sometimes irreparably.

Put Yourself in the Other Person’s Shoes

This maxim is always more difficult than it sounds, but when it works, it is magical. To do this, one needs to focus on that person and try to understand where he or she is coming from.

Make Friends with the Other’s Friends

If it seems difficult to see someone’s good side, let alone discover something lovable in that person, try that person’s friends. Make friends with those people—not as a ploy to manipulate, but as an honest attempt to understand the other person.

Inject Humor into the Situation

Humor can work wonders to diffuse ticklish situations.

How to Manage HR Issues Such as Performance, Misconduct, etc.

HR, in corporate parlance, stands for “human resources,” the division that handles employee issues such as salary, hiring, firing, benefits, evaluations, transfers, retirements, etc. In the old days, this function was sometimes termed “employee relations.” That designation seemed to convey more humanity than the newer one, which simply tacks the adjective “human” onto a noun encompassing steel, concrete, and other inanimate “things” a company needs to carry out its business.

Danilchick offers a few basic principles and concepts, utilizing examples from his own corporate and nonprofit experience.

Clear Mutual Expecations

Danilchick used two PowerPoint slides, one listing his expectations of the team, and the other giving the team what he thought should be their expectations of him.  Here is the text from those slides:

Slide 1: My expectations of you

• That you dedicate yourself to your work, doing the absolute best job that you can right now, and continuously striving to learn and to improve
• That you be creative yet disciplined, taking measured risks addressing a range of scenarios
• That you seek and accept increased responsibility
• That you unreservedly contribute your best to the work of the team, assisting (and being assisted by) your co-workers
• That you keep your supervisor closely informed of progress, problems, and issues (no surprises)
• That you scrupulously comply with all company policies

Slide 2: Your expectations of me

• That I will support you in your work, and be your “blocker and tackler” when necessary
• That my door will be open for your questions, requests for guidance, and assistance
• That I will work, as appropriate, to make you visible to higher management
• That I will give you honest and candid feedback on your job performance and future potential
• That I will represent you openly and objectively in management appraisal and salary deliberations
• That if you deserve a raise, promotion, or career-improvement transfer, I will work for you to receive it
• That if you do well in your work, you will take the credit; if you do not do well, I will accept the blame and responsibility and also ensure appropriate corrective actions 

There is a catch—the unforgivable sin—in Danilchick’s third slide.  The “unforgivable sin” is this:  If you see, hear of, or believe that your supervisor (myself included) is making a mistake in business judgment, or reaching an improper conclusion, or in any way are doing—or are about to do—something wrong, and you do not bring this to our attention (especially if you turn out to be right!), this is the unforgivable sin.

No one is perfect, and we need to rely on and look out for one another. This is a critical mutual expectation. When one does well, all do well.

Compensate and Promote Appropriately

A manager should do the right thing by his or her people and never be afraid to represent them to the immediate supervisor.

How to Avoid Program Disappointments and Project Overruns

The top management has the responsibility of ensuring that funds are available and that proper stewardship of those funds is in place.

Check Against the Strategy

It is very easy for us, like Martha in Luke 10, to become busy with much doing and distracted with much serving. We value activity and initiative. When that initiative is directed towards a common goal and vision, we even admire it. But what is the first step we should take? The answer is, without exception, to compare any new initiative with the established strategy of the institution or organization.

The four phases under the supervision of the project manager are:

1. Define the scope of the project and needed resources: people, time, and money – Review with the project owner and obtain approval to proceed
2. Develop the project design and project philosophy – Review with the owner and obtain approval to proceed
3. Execute the project under the project design and project philosophy – Review project status periodically with the owner and obtain approvals for changes
4. Close out the project and turn over to the owner – Reappraise the project and identify lessons learned

No Changes Unless Absolutely Necessary

Change is the enemy of good projects. People like to make changes, to improve things, to make the project a bit better. That desire is quite natural, but the problem is that changes during project execution cost money and delay the project’s completion. All changes should be proposed and considered at the beginning of the project, not in the middle—and especially not towards the end. Once a project is designed, only very specific and circumscribed changes should be made. In most cases, changes should only be made for safety, health, and environmental reasons.

How to Understand Basic Organizational Finances

The job of the financial reporter is to clearly analyze the financial statements and provide a verbal description of the various movements underneath the overall results. The job of the governing group is to ask questions, understand the financial movements, and use that information to make informed decisions.

Sometimes it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. The trees certainly need to be counted, and counted precisely. But reporting on the condition of the forest should not consist of a detailed examination of each tree. Reporting needs to be in a format with an appropriate level of detail to enable the decision makers to understand the forest’s condition and take action to ensure its survival, health, and growth.

How to Prepare (or Request) a Stewardship Report

St Paul says that a bishop, as overseer and guardian, is also God’s steward (Theou oikonomon). Originally, this term applied to a slave in the service of a master. He did what he was told to do. Not only was he a manager or steward, but he was also a servant. In this same way, Paul called the Christians in Corinth both “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

The steward manages on behalf of someone else, and for the benefit of others. The steward is faithful and wise and serves others.

Everyone needs a supervisor, whether it be a spouse, a bishop, a senior manager, a board of directors, a church council, a neighborhood association, a loving parent, etc. A supervisor helps us by asking questions, which can sometimes be as simple as, “How’s it going?”

This supervisory relationship begins very early in life and continues at all times and locales.

A good stewardship report answers the basic questions: “How’s it going? What did you do? Did it work out? What do you want to do now? Can we talk about it? How can I help?”

We’re All in This Together

Early in Danilchick’s corporate career, he participated in a career development and performance appraisal workshop, where the facilitator said one thing that stuck with him: “Do not be a hired servant. Take a proprietary attitude towards your work.”

The rush to approval is the enemy of good decisions. Effective stewardship reporting—and the decisions which will inevitably be made based upon it—depends upon deliberate involvement on both sides of the table. Take your time. Engage others. Be honest. Be together. Avoid self-interest like the plague.

How to Raise Funds

Fundraising brings together every other issue covered here, including leadership, planning, and management. Leadership, planning, and management, taken together, involve working with others towards common goals. We focus on others—loving them, understanding ourselves, being humble and steadfast, and keeping Christ and the will of God at the center. Fundraising draws upon all of these qualities.

Fundraising is the asking of others to share our goals, listen to our heart’s desire, and give of their financial resources. It is intensely personal.

We need to develop a simple case statement. This statement will draw upon the strategic plan as well as any information we have about why potential donors might give to the cause. A case statement answers these questions:

• Why is this particular appeal for funds being made? (the cause)
• What will be achieved if this appeal is successful? (the results)
• Who will benefit from it and how? (the people)

The case statement should flow from and remain consistent with an organization’s strategic plan and goals. It needs to resonate with the people from whom we will be seeking funds.

Why do donors give? The number one reason, obviously, is because they are asked.  Donors also give because they are involved in the organization. For example, they may serve on a board or advisory committee, or be otherwise involved in significant volunteer service to the organization. We should expect them to give, for if the people who know the most about the organization and what it does do not give, then why should others?

The major reason why donors give—and give substantially—is because they believe in the organization’s mission and goals.

Remember this Navy SEAL slogan, which has been attributed variously to Sun-Tzu, an unknown Roman, Rommel, and Patton but remains highly relevant for any fundraising campaign: “More sweat in training, less blood in battle.” We want to be strategic, anxious to win the battle, and fully engaged to fulfill the will of God.

Guidelines for Asking

Before we ask someone else to give of their mind and their heart (and pocketbook), we must examine our own mind and heart. Here are five qualities that will serve solicitors well.

1. First, the solicitor must be convinced. We must know in our heart that what we are asking for is worthy.
2. The second step after being convinced is to be committed.
3. Third, we must be confident that we are doing the potential donor a service. It is a privilege and honor to contribute to this cause.
4. Fourthly, we must be resolute. We must do our homework on interest, linkage, and the ability of the potential donor. We should come to the meeting with an estimate of what we think the donor could and would give. Then we must ask for this amount.
5. Lastly, we must set the scene carefully and appropriately. Arrange for a time and place to meet that is convenient for the potential donor. Usually, this place would be the donor’s home.

The Moment of Truth

When you ask, be yourself. Be direct and personal. The communication should be in your own words and consistent with the kind of relationship you have with the donor.

Then ask the donor about his or her feelings, using your knowledge of the donor’s interests as introduction. Focus intensely on the donor. Invite and listen for any reactions, questions, or comments. Invite the person to speak about his or her own dreams and visions. When they are speaking, put yourself in the other’s shoes. Be empathetic.

After the visit, regardless of whether a gift commitment has been made or not, write a thank you letter to the individual as soon as you get home—do not put it off! Even better, call the person on the phone.

Fundraising as Leadership

An effective fundraiser is a person who loves people; otherwise we will not be able to convince anyone to give. We need to be humble if we are to ask people for something that they might refuse to give. We need to work with others to have the best possible plan for a project, or else others may not support it. We need to serve others by enabling them to help the cause, and by helping the cause ourselves through others. We need to be steadfast and take a chance, even if the outcome is not assured. We need to be convinced that we are doing the will of God, and that he will be with us in all we do, even when we are suffering and sacrificing. There is not a better way to exercise and strengthen your leadership capabilities!

Epilogue

Christian leadership must be founded upon Christ. Leadership begins with oneself and our relationship with God. Our leadership relationships with others follow our relationship with God. We lead together with other leaders to do God’s will. We plan with discipline to determine and fulfill our common mission. We are responsible managers and stewards of the resources and people entrusted to us. All of us are entrusted with ministerial leadership. We fulfill our leadership ministry in our family, our vocation, and our community. We learn from one another, especially the clergy:

• Deacons teach us about service—with their lives.
• Priests teach us about sacrifice—with their lives.
• Bishops teach us about caring and governing—with their lives.

Wherever we are, in whatever we do, we strive to be humble, to serve, to love according to God’s will. We pray continually: “Thy will be done.”