Tag: organization

  • Second Fiddle

    Second Fiddle

    Last night, a co-worker posted a link on Facebook to a Mint.com blog post called, “Top 10 Things That Determine Happiness.”

    That post resonated with me because a lot of people in my life are unhappy because they don’t want to be happy. They seem to have a co-dependency with angst. And they tend to take it out on me because I’m a generally happy person.

    Here’s a couple of my favorite parts of the list:

    No.10 – Having a short memory

    Are you one to hold grudges? Do you need the jaws of life to pry forgiveness out of you? Well, don’t expect these attributes to contribute to your happiness or to your overall health for that matter. This ability to forgive and forget, to go with the flow, is frequently cited by researchers of centenarians as being a key factor in their ability to live to see their 100th birthday.

    No.5 – Developing a skill

    According to psychology professor Dr. Timothy A. Pychyl, the route to happiness is simple enough, “Live it, don’t buy it.” This is especially relevant in the modern world, where instant gratification can be purchased — but only to a point, before it hits a wall.

    He quotes a professional base jumper, who says, “You’ve got to have the passion to do your time. If you haven’t done the time, you just can’t get there.” He goes on to argue that only by paying one’s dues through time, effort, devotion, and experience can we, “develop the rich experiences that make life meaningful.”

    No.1 – Liking yourself

    Liking oneself is arguably the principal characteristic of happy people. It’s been revealed in study after study after study: happy people like themselves. They think they’re pretty great people. They have high self-esteem, meaning they think highly of their own intelligence, they consider themselves to have strong ethical standards and to have far fewer prejudices than others.

    If I could be so bold to add one to the list, for youth workers, it would be:

    No.11 – Embrace your role as second fiddle

    Being satisfied in your ministry role will mean not being the most important person on your church staff. Ultimately, your role is to elevate the overall ministry of the church. When the student ministry is successful it compliments the overall mission of the congregation. The position of second fiddle is nothing to be ashamed of as it often earns many of the perks of the person in charge, but with little of the pressure of being the star. Conversely, the least satisfied youth workers tend to carry an attitude of, “I don’t play second fiddle to nobody, I’m a leader!” This disconnect between their role in the organization and where they see their role leads to dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

    What do you think? Is a key to happiness in youth ministry being satisfied in your role that you’ll never be the star?

  • Activity vs. Impact

    Activity vs. Impact

    Most people’s default measurement tool for their effectiveness is how busy they are.

    The thought process goes like this:

    • If I have a full schedule of activity I feel invaluable to the organization
    • If I am doing a lot of stuff I must be doing some good
    • The result of all these meetings and all this planning is that people have lots to do and are motivated
    • Therefore, since everyone in the organization is busy and excited, we must be effective
    The activity-driven formula
    Impact (?) = activity + resources + more activity

    This is a horrible measurement of effectiveness. This is why billions of dollars are spent in America on the local church and we will impact about the same percentage of people in 2010 as we did in 2009.

    Let’s face it. We measure ourselves by how busy we are when we are trying to cover the fact that we have almost no impact. But there is a better way.

    The impact-driven formula
    Impact = activity – resources + results

    If the local church were a machine we’d call it broken. Lots of activity with no or negative results. That’s a zero or negative mechanical advantage! All of the energy of spinning the organization is dissipated out as fiction.

    If the local church were a corner grocery store, we’d file for bankruptcy. We paid the bills but the owners aren’t seeing growth, in fact they are net losing ground in the marketplace.

    If the local church were a school, the government would take over. We just keep spending more money but test results are not improving, in fact they are getting worse.

    If the local church were a politician, we’d vote ourselves a raise. Wait, that’s not a good example.

    In an impact-driven organization you measure success purely by impact.

    In your mind activity without impact is waste.

    Conversely, if you want to make a large impact you have to take the time and invest your energy in maximizing the impact while limiting your activity.

    If you are stupid busy but not experiencing results— are you frustrated and trying to figure out why?

    Your answer lies in your busyness.