Saturday, September 13, 2014

When Strategic Activity Is Not Strategic Enough

Just because our church or ministry is engaged in strategic activities does not mean that our work is really strategic.  In truth, we often wonder why it is that if we are doing such strategic things there aren’t more results to show for it.  

Here are four reasons why this might be the case.

1.  Strategic Initiatives are not connected to the Vision.

Often a church or ministry will work long and hard to develop a wonderful vision statement.  But then, somehow, there is loss of sight when it comes to putting together strategic initiatives.  They are only vaguely connected to the vision, and in fact most people can’t see the connection, and so they just do them to please their leaders.

2.  Strategic Initiatives are not connected because there is no Vision.

It is common for churches and ministries to have a number of strategic initiatives in play, to be very excited about them, and consumed with their implementation.  However, without a clear vision of what these initiatives are to accomplish, it is less that strategic, and usually exhausting for those involved.

3.  Strategic Initiatives are not coordinated to work together toward the Vision.

People like to do their own thing.  And this can be a problem when it comes to strategic initiatives.  Each team leader is promoting his or her own thing, without seeing how each and every initiative is integral and needs to be coordinated with all the other initiatives for any of them to be maximally effective.  Becoming silo-ed will doom the overall vision.

4.  Strategic Initiatives are too many or too few in order to accomplish the Vision.

Another common problem is creating too many initiatives.  In reality, it only takes a handful of them to accomplish a vision.  Momentum will transfer to all the parts of an organization naturally, so relax and focus on the big things.  Conversely, uncreative or lazy thinking can lead to just a few initiatives, hoping for more results than is realistic.  It is best to take the time to plot out how exactly the strategic initiatives will lead to the desired future that is described by the vision.

Scattered Initiatives are not Really Strategic 

The common denominator in these four scenarios is that scattered attempts to achieve great ministry results simply do not work.  Good activity is not good enough.  This is not being strategic overall. 

All of us like to think we are being strategic.  The truth is that sometimes we are, sometimes we are not.  Yet, we all like to talk about our activities as if they are or might be someday revealed as amazingly strategic.  

The proof is in the results.  So, if results are not apparent, it might be that one or more of the four reasons mentioned is the reason why.  The good news is that all of them are easy to correct!

Simply return the leadership team to the vision, or create a new one together, or modify the existing one.  Then, prayerfully and wisely align strategies with the vision, trusting the Lord for direction.  Every leader and team needs to be disciplined to keep the vision, to review it often along with the strategic initiatives, and in detail.

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