Declare a Developmental Culture

At T Bar M Camps and Retreats, we’ve adopted the following statement: We are a safe and healthy ministry culture where every staff person can thrive to the full extent of his or her spiritual gifts and ministry calling.

Asking our staff members to consider a couple of key questions support this developmental culture:

• Are you serving in the right role to fully realize those gifts and live into the full extent of your calling?
• What else might you do to develop your broader ministry impact?”

In his book Good to Great (HarperBusiness, Oct., 2001), Jim Collins provides an iconic image of the leader driving a bus. Before going anywhere (vision) good leadership requires that we look first at who is on the bus (staff community). In this sense, who comes before what. Even with the right people on staff, organizational “stall” happens when the right people are in the wrong seats. Developmental leaders declare that moving to a different role – changing seats – is allowed, and even encouraged.

Since January of 2019, T Bar M has had 21 leadership transitions on our staff. Of those, 16 were internal hires that moved people into different seats, and eight of those moved into different departments altogether. Lateral moves like this help people to see a career path as dynamic, and they grow and stretch into new roles.

Develop Strong Relationships among Staff

In their book, The Leadership Challenge (Jossey-Bass, July, 2012), James Kouzes and Barry Posner state: “Exemplary leaders bring others to life. These leaders dramatically improve others’ performance because they care deeply for them and have an abiding faith in their capacities.” In my experience, these capacities are best discovered in the context of honest, trusting relationships among leaders and team members.

I spent the first year at T Bar M getting to know the staff and department leaders. A few key questions framed those early conversations:

• Will you tell me about your faith journey?
• How do you describe your ministry calling?
• Of all the places you could serve, why here at this ministry?
• What do you love most about your role?
• In what ways do you struggle with your role?
• What else do you aspire to do in ministry?
• If you could have any other position in this ministry, what might that be?
• What are you doing now to prepare you for different roles in the future?

Once we began the process of transitioning leadership, we opened many roles for new applicants. The first postings went internally to our staff, and as mentioned, several staff members were hired into new jobs. For those who did not, it became an opportunity for leadership to discuss why he or she didn’t get the job, and how to further grow and develop in the current job. Cultivating trusting relationships means staff members in new roles feel supported, and even the difficult conversations are growth opportunities.

Encourage Collaboration across Departments

Allowing people to participate in collaborative work projects outside their normal responsibilities stretches them to think creatively and possibly discover new skills and capacities. When a problem needs to be solved or plans need to be made, try allowing anyone from any department to participate. This exercise can uncover hidden talents that may be enormously beneficial in other roles.

Cole's Story: Cole did a great job serving at T Bar M for 15 years as Camp Director. Cole’s responsibilities included overseeing the budget of his department, but that was only a small part of his role. Cole has natural strengths in organization, structure and processes, and he effectively uses spreadsheets. Last year he participated in the budgeting process for the entire organization. He now serves as Senior Director of Finance & Administration, overseeing the full breadth of the organization’s finances, Human Resources and technology support. Cole’s excellence at a small part of his former role is now the primary way he serves the entire ministry.

Leverage Legacy Leaders

Transferring leadership from one generation to the next may be the most challenging aspect of ministry leadership. Legacy leaders–especially founders–care for ministries with parental love. They bring wisdom and experience, and they know the ministry’s future depends on developing the potential of next-generation leaders and allowing them to lead. Done with grace and humility, legacy leaders don’t have to leave in order to transfer control.

Randi Beth's story: Randi Beth came into T Bar M as a part-time marketing assistant, and she served under Alice’s capable leadership for more than a decade. Alice developed Randi Beth’s understanding of each dimension of marketing, conveyed the ministry posture behind the department, and helped to develop Christ-like character alongside marketing competencies. When the time came to hire a Senior Director of Sales and Marketing, Alice prayed through the opportunity before stating, “I believe it’s Randi Beth’s time to step forward.” Alice didn’t leave our ministry. In fact, she still serves as Marketing Director under Randi Beth’s emerging leadership.

Legacy leaders may also reside at the board level. These leaders can be great resources for staff members transitioning into new positions. For instance, as Cole has moved into to the finance role, board members Paul and Scott have offered counsel and encouragement based on their years of financial expertise. These leaders continue to help Cole realize his potential and thus have a broader impact on the organization.

Developing leaders means helping them activate their spiritual gifts and ministry calling. Jesus developed rough fishermen into mature fishers of men. Following his lead, it’s our turn to spot the potential in others, imagine what they can grow into and provide opportunities for them to soar to new heights.

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Dudley Callison, MS, LPC, serves as President of T Bar M Camps & Retreats www.tbarm.org. He brings executive leadership to organizations through effective change management, next-gen leader development, founder transitions, and healthy ministry cultures. He can be reached for consultation at DudleyC@pobox.com.