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I was recently reviewing the notes I took from when I first read Seth Godin’s 2010 book “Linchpin,” and a section I highlighted stood out.
In one section, Godin references a study of 20,000 creative professionals by author Richard Florida. The author's results were originally published in his own book, “The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life”), in which the respondents were given 38 factors to rank when defining what helped them produce their best work.
While I may not necessarily agree with all of the factors in their order of priority, I noted that there did seem to be some clear parallels between Florida’s results and what I’ve seen in my 13 years of being around the church tech world.
... we’re too quick to try and “protect” our teams from too much responsibility.
First though, for those who may not think there are connections between our world and the “creative professionals” surveyed by Florida, let me note that, yes, church tech folks are creative. I think that historically it’s been easy for us to pigeonhole ourselves and claim that we aren’t creative, and we’re just tech people who push buttons.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth. It takes creativity to run and program lights, to tune vocals, and to run song lyrics. All of those roles involve some measure of taking ingredients, inserting our own judgment, training, and abilities, and using that combination to create a great outcome. So, yes, church techs are creative!
So having a better understanding of what can help motivate people to do their best can play a big role in how we lead our weekend service teams and how we can intentionally work to create a great environment in which for them to serve.
As relayed by Godin, the top factor in Florida’s study was “challenge and responsibility.”
Honestly, I think this is something we completely gloss over a lot, because we’re too quick to try and “protect” our teams from too much responsibility.
It's easy to pigeonhole ourselves and claim that we aren’t creative, we’re just tech people who push buttons.
We may say that they are just volunteers and can’t handle something, or aren’t capable of performing at a certain level. Says who? From my experience, volunteers, in most cases are, when properly trained, are capable of performing at just as high a level as most paid staff people. All they need is someone to believe in them, someone to teach them what to do, and someone to show confidence in their ability to execute.
I understand the desire to try and limit how much weight our teams carry, and there are certainly valid areas and scenarios where that is important. But on the flip side, I’ll never know what my team is capable of until I present a challenge to them. In many cases, people will gladly rise to that challenge and stretch themselves because, especially in ministry, they know what the payoff will be.
So if I’m now willing to challenge my team, stretch them with more responsibility, and encourage them to perform at a higher level, that can only happen if I’m also willing and able to clearly share the vision of what we’re doing and why.
On Florida’s list, “exciting job content” was listed as his number eight factor of employee motivation. But in ministry, I think it rates much higher. When our teams know how they fit into the big picture, and what the results of their effort will be, and are reminded of that impact, it encourages them to continue to go above and beyond. My biggest role in that process then becomes to share stories of life change and transformation so that my team knows how their effort played a direct role in someone else’s testimony. That creates another level of inspiration my team can build off of as they continue striving to get better at what they do—because they know the difference it makes.
Is there a clear picture of expectations for roles and tasks? Is the equipment tested and proven as reliable?
Ironically, “flexibility” and “stable work environment” were listed back-to-back as the second and third greatest motivators in the study.
I think that our teams do enjoy some measure of flexibility in what they do on a weekly basis when they serve. Too much repetition can get boring, so it can be a good thing to allow people to implement situational judgment in their decision-making, or for there to be some changes to the service flow or expected outcomes.
The catch is that when the role involves flexibility, people need their environment to still create a measure of stability.
Do I have systems in place to support that? Are there regular call times, meetings, and routines that people can count on to prepare them to serve? Is there a clear picture of expectations for roles and tasks? Is the equipment tested and proven as reliable?
Beyond just the idea of paying people for their time, I can consider other gifts or ways of blessing my teams.
If there are too many unknowns, it can create an overwhelming amount of pressure and stress for my teams, especially when variables may change from week to week or service to service. In those times of movement, there has to be a measure of stability so people have confidence in something they can fall back on.
The only extrinsic, or external, factor to make Florida’s list was “money,” coming in at number four. So even in a professional world, the environment and how people are treated in their role carries more weight than how they’re actually compensated for their work.
I think this is true in ministry, as well. In most cases, people are more motivated by what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with than whether or not they actually get any sort of reward or compensation for that.
However, knowing this, it can be easy to let that pendulum swing too far and actually do a really poor job of trying to bless our teams, allowing them to sometimes feel taken for granted in the process.
Anything I can do to create relational touchpoints during the week makes a tremendous difference when it comes to my team members actually feeling like they’re part of a team.
I understand that our teams are mainly comprised of volunteers, which naturally means they aren’t expecting to get compensated for their efforts. And I also understand that many churches don’t even have much budget room to play with anyway.
But beyond just the idea of paying people for their time, I can consider other gifts or ways of blessing my teams. I can take people to lunch individually or as a group, or I can try to do an annual team appreciation event where the church provides pizza or barbecue or something. Maybe I can bring donuts or snacks or lunch so people don’t feel they have to miss meals in order to serve.
Maybe I can give out gift cards to free drinks in the church café, or provide t-shirts or beanies or something to the team members. Perhaps we can give out gifts for birthdays, tenure on the team, or even as a “team member of the month,” which would also incorporate Florida’s sixth factor, “peer recognition.”
Whatever the case may be, anything I do to add value to my team is going to make a difference in helping them feel valued. And when they feel valued and know they’re doing something that matters, it will be easier for them to continue to give their highest effort in the process.
As for the remainder of the list that was published, “professional development” checked in at number five. Do I present my team with opportunities to be trained, grow, and get better at their craft? Am I making resources available to them if they want to learn during the week?
The rest of the top 10 all carries a similar thread: “stimulating colleagues and bosses” (number seven), “organizational culture” (nine), and “location and community” (10) all attest to the fact that who people are on a team with, and the amount of enjoyment they derive from being on that team, make a tremendous difference.
People want to serve with people they know care about them and people they enjoy being around. As a leader, I need to understand that and do everything I can to cultivate a sense of relational community on the team—one that transcends just serving together on Sundays.
Anything I can do to create relational touchpoints during the week makes a tremendous difference when it comes to my team members actually feeling like they’re part of a team. Whether it’s organizing larger team gatherings, or just trying to connect one-on-one with individuals during the week, I need to do anything I can that reinforces the idea that I value them for the person they are, not just for the task they do on weekends.
There’s no doubt that many of our team members love serving in ministry. But as leaders, our job is to continue nurturing that sentiment and keeping the flames burning hot. And when I understand the best ways to motivate my team, there’s almost no limit to what they’re capable of doing.
