These are unprecedented times for churches and small groups. At no other time have there been so many digital resources out there to support congregations. And at no time has the need for digital organization and support been higher. Due to COVID, churches have been forced to get creative with fellowship, and to think outside … Read more
Did you know that social connectedness is a better indicator of adult well-being than class, education level, and wealth? Are you aware of the sheer volume of data that show how incredibly vital social connections and quality relationships are to personal happiness? There’s a lot of data out there. Not only that, but in addition, … Read more
Keep the focus on what’s in it for them Getting the group to adopt new tech is a project. We get it. The luddites in the group are naturally suspicious of any new technology. Others think that if the old way is working well enough, why bother going to the fuss of putting new systems … Read more
Control freak-ishness: noun, the tendency towards micromanagement as a coping mechanism for dealing with fear (and unchecked ego) Control freak-ishness is a strategy, albeit a dysfunctional strategy, for dealing with fear. Fear that something will go wrong if the control freak eases up on the reins a bit. Is that you? If you’re the resident … Read more
Inspired group leaders understand (and communicate) their “why” What does it mean to embrace inspired group leadership? Last week, we talked about how leaders can stay motivated when their dedication to their role on the team is flagging hard. One of our suggestions was to lean into the questioning. We recommended that leaders do a … Read more
Or, enough about them. Let’s talk about you! Much has been written about how leaders can motivate their people. Much of the writing has to do with corporate environments and work teams. But our blog isn’t for corporate leadership development. It’s about a different kind of leadership. Our focus is on groups that have voluntarily formed … Read more
Two weeks ago we introduced consensus building into our good group management toolbox. Last week, we gave you some malleable steps to bring it to your group process. This week: how to measure dissent in the ranks Dissent in consensus building is a foregone conclusion. The process relies on examining conflict, or challenges to proposed … Read more
Groups vs teams: Aren’t they the same thing? Often, we think of the words ‘group’ and ‘team’ as being interchangable. We use them intuitively without need for a strong distinction. For our purposes today, let’s think of a ‘team’ as a small subset of a larger, ongoing group that comes together for a short time … Read more
Meeting as a group to write your mission and vision statements is a great way to get everyone on the same page about the group’s goals and future. A group whose interests have become fractured because there is no collective understanding of the exact group charter is a group that may well fail. We highly recommend making this mission … Read more
Welcome back to our ongoing series on group management mistakes to avoid. Last week we went over the obsolescence of command-and-control leadership. Today, we’re talking about the need for a unified understanding of the group’s mission. Furthermore, once the mission is set, members need the ability to quickly recur back to it in order to stay … Read more