Using StrengthsFinder in the Church

In earlier articles- I gave my take on the validity of using StrengthsFinder in the local church. Most of the questions that I get now are more on the “How do you make it work?” side of things.

Here is a quick StrengthsFinder primer for the local church.

Think in terms of what your members understand.. . The terms that StrengthsFinder uses are straightforward (for the most part) and easy to grasp. That is one reason that people are drawn to it. For example, I am a Maximizer. That does not take a lot of explanation. I also have the Spiritual Gift of Prophecy…and I constantly have to explain what that means!

These are not Spiritual Gifts… Your Strengths are just that, strengths. They are more connected to your personality profile (Introvert, Extrovert) and your natural abilities than to anything else. Think in terms of how someone is “wired” by God to be a part of this world. Everyone has strengths. Spiritual Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work, which is particular to the building up the body of Christ.

They are useful in the local Church… how many times have you selected someone to serve in an area based on their personality? “We need friendly people greeting at the door on Sunday”. I have never heard a church leader say - “Leave the door empty until we find someone with the Spiritual Gifts of hospitality and giving (greeting and handing out a worship bulletin). Strengths are an effective way of identifying who will have the basic “stuff” to fit the role.

Put together a catalog… List the areas where you need people, and then list the Strengths that you believe will qualify someone. You will be surprised how many of your people will connect with the terminology of StrengthsFinder. There are churches that have developed very elaborate procedures for all of this, but it can also be done very simply.

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Organizations versus Strengths

In a past article, I wrote about the importance of focusing on the strengths of individual employees as opposed to trying to “fix” their weaknesses.

I fully believe and embrace this concept. However, I seem to find myself unable to effectively apply this concept to the other areas of my consulting.

Imagine that you hire me (now there’s a great idea!) to evaluate and make recommendations for your church or organization. You , like most clients, will expect me to figure out what is wrong and to give you a plan to fix it. That’s how the system works.

A Strengths based approach discovers what your organization/church does well, and how to do that even better. For some reason, this idea meets with fairly significant resistance. often from the key leaders. Why?

For starters, we are still in the industrial age when it comes to our thinking about organizational structure and functions. We view the organization as an assembly line with various pieces and parts that perform specific functions. Leaders like to find a part that is broken and can be replaced - or a part that can perform better than the old part. It is simple and clean.

But - it doesn’t work (and never really has). For years futurists predicted the time that computers and robots would completely replace people. The consistency and interchangeability was highlighted as the vital key. It hasn’t happened. And it never will.

At all areas of the organizational process, the ability to think and function on both a rational and emotional level is vital. It is the unique ability that the human mind has to simultaneously process both types of information and act accordingly that sets them apart. That being said, your organization is simply a collection of humans that function in a system based on their abilities (and inabilities). They may oversee automated processes and systems, but it is still the person at the controls that determines what the system does.

This collection of people brings a combined strength to your organization. That strength can be evaluated and identified by a good leader. It can be made even stronger. Just as the individual grows the most in the area of their Strengths, and least in the area of weakness, an organization can see the same results.

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StrengthsFinder 2.0

I have been a fan of the “Strengths” concept for many years. I can remember the first time I heard Marcus Buckingham speak on the subject - I was incredibly excited that the “truth” was finally being exposed!

For years I had studied business books, leadership materials, and real life leaders. Everywhere I looked, people were stuck in the same rut when it came to staff and employee evaluations. The focus was always on “areas to improve”. I personally found it disheartening to have my previous year of service come down to the list of how I failed. Almost universally, this was also tied to my financial compensation for the upcoming year. What a horrible way to approach an evaluation of a person!

I innately knew that what I wanted was for my employers to see where I was being successful, and to push me to grow in those areas. I was painfully aware of my failures prior to my evaluations (with the one exception when I didn’t know my job description had been changed!). Pointing them out seemed more like a way to justify a low “merit” raise than anything else.

StrengthFinders 2.0 picks up on this theme, and has the added bonus of more data to use since the original book came out. In using this tool with various teams, it is always exciting to see them “discover” themselves in a new light - one based on the strengths they bring to the team.

Some in the Church have dismissed this tool as “unBiblical”. On the contrary, scripture is filled with the idea of knowing who God has created you to be and living your life out of that knowledge. Strengths are not “Spiritual Gifts“, but rather the traits that you have. Knowing both your Strengths and Spiritual Gifts is a significant key to understanding who you are and what God has in store for you!

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Show Me the Right People!

Continuing in the need for people topic… Another mistake that churches often make is to get a group of willing people together to attack a project or program. Willingness and ability are two completely separate issues. People are willing for many reasons, and some of them very bad reasons. I had a friend who once served a church where the key volunteer in his area was somewhat of an icon. She had been in that ministry area for 12 years when he arrived. Church members talked about all the sacrifices that she had made over the years, and how vital she was to the ministry. Initially, this seemed to great to my friend, but as time moved on, he came to realize that it was a serious problem. Like many things in life, what was going on behind the scenes created a different picture. She was the wife of an alcoholic, and received little to no affirmation at home. Like many spouses of alcoholics, she was an enabler. In the church, she had found a place where she was able to play the part of the martyr, and gets lots of attention and affirmation for it. She was willing, but not really able. Her dysfunctional patterns had set the tone for a dysfunctional ministry. My friend saw this and soon realized that she perceived him as a threat to her. She worked to undermine him, and eventually was successful. She needed all the glory for herself.

On one hand, it was great that this woman was able to find a place to fit in and be loved. On the other hand, it should not have been in a key leadership position. The need for a willing person to do the work often clouds judgment in getting the right people into the right positions.

So how so we deal with this in an arena that is always in need of more and more people? It begins by making sure that the key leaders are generally emotionally healthy people. Moving unhealthy people out and replacing them with healthy ones can be a long and difficult process. You may not always be in position to explain publicly why you are making these changes, which can bring up other issues.

Once your key leaders are in place, you begin by helping them to work out a plan for their ministry areas so that they can recruit effectively. (see Show Me the People). There is one other key step. Before you sit down and ask anyone to serve, find the Connectors in your church. A Connector is someone who seems to know everyone, and often also knows their gifts and abilities. Connectors are vital at putting all the pieces into place to form a great ministry team.

A word of caution: Do not turn them into recruiters! That is not the best use of their time. Get them to generate the list and have someone else call and say, “Jim recommended that I contact you regarding this position”. The effect is powerful, and you are likely to get a positive response. Getting your teams on track will go a long way to creating dynamic, thriving ministries. Remember, people like to be on a winning team!

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