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The Church Consultants are able to assist a church through crisis situations. Their experience
and understanding of the various situations within the church that can harm ministry are
invaluable. Find out what are some of the crises that are dealt with by churches and how to deal
with them.
http://thechurchconsultants.com
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The fastest growing church in America is the Church of Work. Americans are working longer hours
than ever, especially in this economy. This isn't news to many people, but it should be of concern
to leaders in companies who truly care about productivity. More importantly, this situation should
raise eyebrows if these same leaders have the best interests of Church of Work employees at
heart.
It's easy to tell if you are a member of the congregation of the Church of Work. When you open
your eyes, are you thankful for the day or thinking about that file folder you left sitting on the
nightstand just before turning off the light?
For leaders of those who seem to be slaves to their jobs we recommend, well, reminding them of
better things. This is how you might exhibit some real values and talk to those people in your
company who seem to have no life outside the office.
First, sit down with this person in a non-threatening environment outside their normal office space.
Appeal to their self- interest. Include some facts about how they and the entire company could
benefit from changing their behavior. Finally, let them know you truly value them as a person. The
conversation might look like this:
"I've noticed you've been showing up at work early and leaving late nearly every day. Not only
that, but you have some pretty strong opinions about how things should be done in order to meet
our annual goals. We appreciate all the hard work you do here. This may surprise you, but studies
have shown that a balance between work and life outside the office actually increases
productivity."
Now continue: "Sometimes, we miss constructing the building blocks of effective communication
because we are so driven to getting the task accomplished. In order to be effective, everyone--
including me--has to build relationships. Communicating goals through those relationships allows
everyone to work together--and build an effective organization. I really like your ideas, your energy
and your desire to succeed. I hope you don't focus so much on work that you lose sight of your co-
workers--or things that matter outside the office. You are a valuable employee-- and I care about
you."
Everyone benefits when you build the relationships first, and then go about the work. Be sure to
thank the employee for listening to you. Organizational development is a new buzz-phrase for
many, yet what it truly means is taking care of the people who take care of people. A real leader