Jul
25
2011

Implementers: Because Vision isn’t Enough

An article by Matt

One of the greatest gifts that churches like Willow Creek and Saddle Back have given the church over the last few decades is the idea that vision matters. Love them or hate them, imitate them or vilify them, they have taught the church a great many lessons about the power and necessity of vision in leadership. It is rare to walk into a church in this country, especially one of the evangelical persuasion, and not see, hear, or be given something with the church’s vision statement written on it. With all the progress made in the development of vision statements in our churches… why aren’t more of our churches thriving?

Many of you know that I am a fan of the Washington Redskins (stop laughing). Over the last decade and a half, my team has become the laughing stock of the NFL because it has consistently had the flashiest off season of any team in the league, only to under-perform in the regular season. It has gotten so bad that a t-shirt is now being sold in Redskins colors that says “off-season champs“. The problem with the Redskins has not been the lack of a clear vision. I am certain that the entire team sees their common purpose is to win the Super Bowl (well, perhaps number 92 is exempted from that). The problem with the Redskins is that there has not been a clear implementer of that vision.

What is an implementer? I use the term in the same way that Doug Foltz did in a great post his blog back in January. Basically, an implementer is the person on a team that gets stuff done. They are the people who, armed with a church’s vision, take the next step towards achieving that vision by developing the plan. In all the celebration and excitement around the idea of knowing a church’s vision and purpose, the need for an implementer is often forgotten.

So what makes a great implementer, here are a few thoughts:

Understanding the Vision. A good implementer understands, and is on board with, a church’s vision. They get where the church is headed and what the church is about. The implementer also needs to be able to share the vision of the church with clarity as they develop and lead the teams that bring about the church’s vision.
Understanding Context. Every church operates in a unique context. Having a deep understanding of a church’s context is key to developing the plan to implement a church’s vision. An implementer needs to be a student of the local culture, understand what makes the area in which they minister unique, and then craft a plan to accomplish the vision in a way that fits that context.
Strategic Mindset. The implementer needs to have an understanding of how everything works together to form the bigger picture. They need to have the ability to use a variety of programs, events, and gatherings to bring the vision to fruition.
Kingdom Mindset. This is the most important quality that an implementer has. A heart to see the local church thrive and God’s Kingdom expand need to be the central motivation of the implementer as they work to see the Holy Spirit move through the church that they are working with.

Tell us about the implementer in YOUR church.

David Treloar

From the world of design: ideas are easy. Making them happen (a la Scott Belsky) is the REAL challenge.

The more I sit at the intersection of theology and design, the more I value the execution of concepts.

… which got me thinking. Perhaps I would add one more mindset, Matt.

Clarity Mindset. The implementor must be able to chunk the project into digestible components and clearly articulate them to others. This is hard work. It is exciting to be part of “blue sky” thinking (i.e. we could do ______ and ______…. oh! what of we EVEN did _______! You fill in the blank). Breaking the Big Idea down into doable tasks is the real grunt labor.

How many great ideas have we seen fizzle because the structure/taxonomy/task wasn’t communicated clearly? One simple (and highly useful) exercise is to borrow Guy Kawasaki’s M.A.T. (no relation to this article’s author) process from Art of the Start. Dissect the project into:

Milestones: These are the major components (chunks) of the project. Who needs to be on the team? What part comes first? Second? Etc?

Assumptions: What are you assuming to be true? Will people resonate with this (and might you need to do some contextual research?) What about funding?

Tasks: What are the actionable steps necessary to accomplish the Milestones? This is where CLARITY resides. Most church-oriented project management gets through Milestones – we *know* what the steps are. Some identify Assumptions and potential sticking points. Few actually get down to the heavy-lifting of identifying Tasks.

And why not? We’re leaders! We’ve developed other leaders to do that part! Right?!

Heh. If leadership doesn’t include collaboration, then I think we need to rethink our definition of leadership.

Hmmm…. I’m cranky today. I think I’ll refill my coffee. ;c)

Grace and Peace,
DT