You’re grateful for what God has done for you. So, you want to serve God, in part by pursuing excellence for Him. As a ministry leader, you know that one type of excellence you want to pursue is organizational excellence. Good.
 
What can you do to pursue organizational excellence? Here are 4 things you can do:
 
(1) Make sure staff are cared for. To care for staff on a personal level, demonstrate interest in them, have fun together, and provide life coaching to help staff balance work/home. To care for staff on a professional level, demonstrate interest in their ministry, encourage them to reflect, and provide support, encouragement and accountability.
           
(2) Make sure staff participate in professional development. What kind of professional development? In professional development that addresses current job responsibilities and that helps individual staff members achieve their annual growth goals. In professional development that involves staff in reflection and follow-up. In professional development that helps your staff do ministry more effectively.
 
(3) Make sure staff meetings target mission achievement. Make sure each meeting’s purpose is documented, targets mission achievement, and is used as the filter for what gets on the agenda. Have those attending the meeting collaboratively develop meeting guidelines that define desired meeting dynamics. And schedule separate meetings to address tactics, strategy, and vision.
 
(4) Make sure staff understand, are involved in, and are focused on organizational improvement. How can you do this? By explaining organizational improvement, encouraging ownership, involving staff in developing improvement plans, and providing the support and accountability staff need to carry out improvement plans. Here's the acid test: If ministry leadership dropped of the planet, would the plans still get implemented? If so, then you have an effective organizational improvement plan.
 
Bottom line: Pursue excellence.

How can you help others pursue excellence? By asking questions like:

• What’s excellence?
• What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about pursuing organizational excellence?
• For your ministry, what does organizational excellence look like?
• What can you do to pursue organizational excellence?
• What will you do?

You’re grateful for what God has done for you. So, you want to serve God, in part by pursuing excellence for Him. As a ministry leader, you know that one type of excellence you want to pursue is organizational excellence. Good.
 
What can you do to pursue organizational excellence? Here are 4 things you can do:
 
(1) Make sure staff are cared for. To care for staff on a personal level, demonstrate interest in them, have fun together, and provide life coaching to help staff balance work/home. To care for staff on a professional level, demonstrate interest in their ministry, encourage them to reflect, and provide support, encouragement and accountability.
           
(2) Make sure staff participate in professional development. What kind of professional development? In professional development that addresses current job responsibilities and that helps individual staff members achieve their annual growth goals. In professional development that involves staff in reflection and follow-up. In professional development that helps your staff do ministry more effectively.
 
(3) Make sure staff meetings target mission achievement. Make sure each meeting’s purpose is documented, targets mission achievement, and is used as the filter for what gets on the agenda. Have those attending the meeting collaboratively develop meeting guidelines that define desired meeting dynamics. And schedule separate meetings to address tactics, strategy, and vision.
 
(4) Make sure staff understand, are involved in, and are focused on organizational improvement. How can you do this? By explaining organizational improvement, encouraging ownership, involving staff in developing improvement plans, and providing the support and accountability staff need to carry out improvement plans. Here's the acid test: If ministry leadership dropped of the planet, would the plans still get implemented? If so, then you have an effective organizational improvement plan.
 
Bottom line: Pursue excellence.

*How can you help others pursue excellence? By asking questions like:

1. What’s excellence?
2. What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about pursuing organizational excellence?
3. For your ministry, what does organizational excellence look like?
4. What can you do to pursue organizational excellence?
5. What will you do?

You want your organization to achieve its mission. Your staff are your key resource, and you invest in them by providing professional development. And you want to ensure that professional development makes a positive impact on the achievement of your mission.

Question: How can you increase the impact of professional development?

Answer: Follow up. If you want to help your staff apply their learning in order to achieve the mission, follow up. Spend 50% of your resources on follow-up, in helping your staff apply what they learned.

Follow up by having professional development participants do 3 things:

1. Share what they learned with colleagues. They can report in a meeting, write an article for a publication, or lead a workshop.
2. Develop action steps to apply what they learned. Supervisors should monitor these action steps.
3. Work with a coach.
4. Pursue excellence. Follow-up with professional development participants. Today.

*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

One component of an effective professional development plan is a set of beliefs about professional development. This set of beliefs guides your professional development program and can be used to enhance your professional development program.

Question: What do you believe about professional development?

Answer: I believe that effective professional development:

1. Focuses on achieving the mission. In other words, the purpose of professional development is to increase the likelihood of achieving the mission.
2. Supports the implementation of the strategic plan.
3. Addresses current/future job responsibilities.
4. Helps individual staff members achieve their annual growth goals.
5. Is powerful and ongoing. Staff are the chief resource. Professional development is a professional investment in staff. 
6. Is research-based. 
7. Is differentiated. Not everyone needs the same professional development.
8. Is based on an assessment of the current reality.
9. Is designed using a process involving planning, implementation, and evaluation.
10. Takes place in a variety of ways, in addition to workshops.
11. Involves using new knowledge and skills during the training.
12. Involves reflection.
13. Involves teams. 
14. Involves follow-up. 
15. Results in staff applying knowledge and skills (not in having knowledge and skills).

So, what you do believe about professional development? Talk with other staff members. Develop shared understanding about what constitutes effective professional development. Then document your organization’s beliefs about professional development.

Pursue excellence. Today.


*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

You want to develop an effective professional development plan. You want to make sure your plan includes key components.

Question: What are the components of a professional development plan?

Answer: Well, I think a professional development plan should answer questions like:

1. What does your organization believe about professional development?
2. What does your organization want to focus its professional development on?
3. What’s happening this year for professional development? What’s happening in the next few years?
4. What opportunities will you provide your staff for professional development?
5. How can your staff get funding?
6. How can your staff apply for professional development?

So, I think key components of a professional development plan include:

1. A set of beliefs.
2. A stated focus.
3. A calendar that identifies what the professional development emphases will be each year for the next 3 years.
4. A list of professional development opportunities provided by your organization (for example, internal/external training, publications, memberships, and coaching).
5. Funding guidelines that explain how much funding is available, what the funding may be used for, and how decisions about funding are made.
6. An application procedure.

Pursue excellence. Develop a professional development plan that includes key components.


*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

You want to focus of your organization’s professional development. You’re thinking about focusing it on 1 of 3 things: job-related skills, improvement plans, or the results you need to achieve your mission.

Question: What do you want to focus your professional development on?

Answer: Personally speaking, I want to focus professional development on the results my organization needs to achieve its mission. And I recommend that you focus your organization’s professional development on the results you need to achieve your mission, not on improvement plans or job-related skills. Why?

1. Because the bottom line is getting the results needed to achieve the mission, not achieving improvement plans or having a staff that is proficient in job-related skills.
2. Because you want your staff primarily focused on achieving the mission, not on completing improvement plans or improving in job-related skills.
3. Because your staff is more passionate about the mission than they are about improvement plans or job-related skills.
4. Because improvement plans and job-embedded skills are means to an end—achieving the mission. Focus on end, not means.
5. Because it’s easier to use results you need to achieve your mission than job-related skills. The list of results you want usually takes less than 1/2 a page, while the list of job-related skills take more than 1/2 a page (and possibly pages and pages and pages). Trust me—shorter is better.
6. Because focusing on job-related skills increases the likelihood that you’ll focus on a given skill at the wrong time.
7. Finally, because the bottom line is getting the results needed to achieve the mission, not achieving improvement plans or having a staff that is proficient in job-related skills. (Yes, I know. I repeated this line. It bears repeating.)

Need more convincing? OK. Which of the 3 sets of questions do you want your staff to primarily focus on?

1. Achieving the mission: What’s the mission? What results do we need to achieve the mission? What level of results do we have right now? What professional development do staff need to achieve the mission?
2. Improvement plans: What’s the improvement plan? What’s it take to complete the improvement plan? What progress have we made on the improvement plan? What professional development do staff need to complete the improvement plan?
3. Job-related skills: What kind of employees do we want? What skills does a model employee have? What level of these skills do staff have right now? What professional development do staff need to become model employees?

Answer: I want staff to primarily focus on the first set, the set that focuses on achieving the mission.

Final question: What will you focus your organization’s professional development on?

Pursue excellence. Focus your professional development on the results your organization needs to achieve its mission.


*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

You want to your organization to achieve its God-given mission. You know that enhancing your organization’s professional development can help. So, you want to learn more.

Question: How can you learn more about enhancing your organization’s professional development?

Answer: By exploring the following list of 6 questions:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

Pursue excellence. Enhance your organization’s professional development. Today.

Do you want to increase shared understanding and focus? If so, develop, document, and discuss your organization’s philosophy. Below is Christian Academy in Japan’s philosophy statement which school staff discuss in meetings.

---

Our vision for education is to equip students for a life of loving, obedient response to God and of care for and restoration of His creation. Through education, students are equipped to discover God's grace and truth, to embrace their identity as human beings created in His image and for His glory, and to develop their God-given potential.

To this end, we aspire to be a school where, in reliance upon the Holy Spirit: 

Parents assume the primary responsibility for their children's education, with CAJ assisting them in providing Christian education. CAJ exists to educate children of evangelical missionary parents, and also welcomes other families desiring their children to have a Christian education. 

Students are valued as persons created in God's image, are responsible for their learning, and can influence it by diligence, prayer for wisdom, and the application of God's Word to their lives. We recognize and value student diversity seen in ways of learning, abilities, and cultural backgrounds and identities. We believe that students mature spiritually, intellectually, aesthetically, physically, emotionally, and socially. 

Teachers model a Christ-like lifestyle; teach all subjects from a Biblical perspective; implement CAJ's school philosophy in order to inform, motivate, direct, encourage, and discipline students; and avail themselves of resources and training opportunities for ongoing professional growth. 

Learning occurs as students are equipped with knowledge, skills, and attitudes so they can love and serve God and others. Students learn best within a nurturing environment which fosters an enduring joy in learning and the desire to honor Christ through learning; and where teachers pray for students and use Biblical principles and sound, current educational research and practice to determine what students learn, how they are taught, and how they show what they know. 

Our program fosters the development and application of a Biblical worldview to all of life by grounding students in Biblical practices and values; training them to use Biblical discernment as we expose them to selected non-Christian worldviews and ideas; and encouraging them to apply God's truth in daily life. Our program is communicated in the English language and is based upon an American approach which uses United States educational standards, course sequences and options (college preparatory and career), instructional materials, standardized tests, educational research, and co-curricular activities.

Staff in Christian organizations face a challenge—to close the gap between the words of the mission statement and the reality of the current situation.

To meet this challenge, staff can do 4 things:

1. Focus on the mission
2. Empower others
3. Work smart
4. Pursue excellence

To what extent do staff in your organization do these 4 things? To find out, take the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item in terms of how well it describes what you staff do. Use the following scale: 

4: Definitely • 3: Usually • 2: Sort of • 1: Rarely


Focus on mission
___ We comfortably recite the mission verbatim in casual conversation.
___ We know what it takes to achieve our mission.
___ We can readily explain how each of our daily activities contributes to achieving the mission.
___ We know the current level of mission achievement.
___ We focus on closing the gap between current and targeted levels of mission achievement.
___ We focus on our God-given mission (instead of other good things).

Empower others
___ We listen (instead of talking).
___ We inquire (instead of giving advice).
___ We lead by asking questions.
___ We focus others on taking SMART actions (instead of letting others take undefined actions).
___ We encourage (instead of criticizing).
___ We empower others to solve their own problems (instead of solving their problems).

Work smart
___ We focus on doing right things, before focusing on doing things right.
___ We document our goals.
___ We reflect on our goals.
___ We determine the action steps we need to take to achieve our goals.
___ We schedule time for our big goals first, then schedule time for small goals (like email).
___ We track progress on our goals.
___ We focus on working smarter (not harder).

Pursue excellence
___ We are aware of best practices that help us carry our mission, strategic plan, and specific job assignments.
___ We have documented our best practices.
___ Our professional development program reflect best practice.
___ Our improvement system reflects best practice.
___ Our meetings reflect best practice.
___ We use best practice to care for staff.
___ We use best practice.
___ We pursue excellence.


Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
2. What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
3. In terms of providing professional development, how would I prioritize the 4 areas?
4. What might happen if the professional development needs in the top area were met?
5. What will I do?

Pursue excellence. Improve your organization’s professional development. Today.


*Need professional development resources? Close the Gap Now offers live training (coach and productivity) and free tutorials/tools:

1. How focused are you on your God-given mission?
2. Explore getting coaching
3. How can you empower others more effectively?
4. Empower others to strategically pursue God’s calling
5. Lead by asking questions
6. Develop a coaching culture
7. How can you manage yourself more effectively?
8. Energize, focus, and unleash your staff
9. Enhance your organization’s improvement system
10. How can you enhance your organization’s professional development program?
11. What makes a good meeting good?

*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

You want your organization to achieve its God-given mission. To achieve the mission, you want your staff to carry out their job responsibilities, including implementing the strategic plan. And you want your professional development program to better support all of this.

What’s next? Look at the characteristics of your professional development program. To get an idea of how you can improve your organization’s professional development program, take the following self-assessment (download). Rate each item in terms of how it describe your professional development program. Use the following scale:

4: Consistently • 3: Usually • 2: Sometimes • 1: Rarely

Our professional development…
___ Is designed to help us achieve our mission.
___ Supports implementation of our strategic plan.
___ Addresses current/future job responsibilities.
___ Helps individual staff members achieve their annual growth goals.

___ Is ongoing.
___ Is research-based.
___ Is differentiated.
___ Is based on an assessment of our current reality.
___ Is designed using a process involving planning, implementation, and evaluation.

___ Takes place in a variety of ways, in addition to workshops.
___ Involves using new knowledge and skills during the training.
___ Involves reflection.
___ Involves teams.
___ Involves follow-up.

___ Results in us applying knowledge and skills (not in having knowledge and skills).
___ Helps us achieve our mission.


Now, ask yourself 5 questions about the data:

1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
2. What excites/concerns me about the data?
3. How clear is our organization on what makes a good professional development program good?
4. To enhance our professional development program, which 2-3 line items could I address?
5. What will I do?

Pursue excellence. Enhance your organization's professional development program. Today.


*This blog entry is part of a 6-part series:

1. What do you want to focus your organization’s professional development on?
2. What are the components of a professional development plan?
3. What do you believe about professional development?
4. How can you enhance your organization's professional development program?
5. How can you increase the impact of professional development?
6. What are your organization's professional development needs?

Question: What helps your staff pursue excellence?
 
Answer: A common understanding of expectations and definitions. When staff have a common understanding, they work more effectively. One way you can work to ensure a common understanding is to have your staff discuss expectations and definitions found in key organizational documents, including the mission, vision, values, philosophy, and job descriptions.
 
Here’s what happened at this morning’s high school staff meeting at Christian Academy in Japan, where Anda Foxwell, high school principal, focused her staff on 1 expectation (teacher involvement in professional development) and 1 definition (learning):

1 expectation: Anda reviewed a statement from the school’s philosophy regarding professional development: “Teachers avail themselves of resources and training opportunities for ongoing professional growth.” To flesh out the meaning of the statement, Anda reviewed the school’s professional development plan and had teachers talk in small groups to review progress on their professional development goals.

1 definition: Next, Anda reviewed a statement from the school’s philosophy regarding student learning: “Learning occurs as students are equipped with knowledge, skills, and attitudes so they can love and serve God and others.” To reinforce this statement, Anda linked it to the role reading plays in students getting knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and how teaching reading strategies can help students learn more effectively.

Ensure a common understanding of expectations and definitions. Pursue excellence. Today.

Dr. Keith E. Webb 

Let's be honest, most training is full of knowledge, ideas, and "good stuff" but not much practice.

Paul wrote, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" Philippians 4:9.

Too often, my problem is not a lack of knowledge; it is too little living out of that knowledge. Chinese philosopher Han Fei Tzu said it well: “It is not difficult to know a thing; what is difficult is to know how to use what you know.”

This is where Follow-Up Coaching comes in.

Follow-Up Coaching
Follow-Up coaching comes at the end of content-based training. Coaches use a series of (usually prepared) questions to move the client forward in implementing the training content over the weeks or months following the event.

For example, Focusing Leaders is a process designed by Terry Walling to help mid-career leaders to understand their calling and giftedness. There are group meetings every month with coaching appointments between the meetings. During the coaching appointment the coach will ask a series of set questions in line with the previous group meeting's subject. In this way, the group meeting content gets coached into the lives of the participants.

It's a powerful combination.

In fact, one organization studied the impact of only training vs. training with follow-up coaching. Training produced 23% better performance, but training with follow-up coaching produced 88% better performance. That's a significant difference!

Getting Follow-Up Coaching Going
One feature of organizations that are characterized as having a "coaching culture" is that all their training is followed by coaching. Doing this is actually easier than it may sound.

1. List up the application points of your training. How do you want participants to behave and think differently? Focusing on behavior makes things easier.
2. Take a look at the content of your training and edit it to focus on the behaviors you want to participants to adopt. Cut the extra "good" things, and focus.
3. Create time during the training so participants can plan their implementation. Have participants share that with somebody else.
4. Write up a set coaching questions to be asked to participants during the next couple of weeks or months. With these questions in hand, just about anybody can do the follow-up coaching.
5. Provide follow-up coaching at least 4 times over the next 3 months, beginning a week after the training. Coaches can meet with 1, 2, or 3 participants at a time. (More than that doesn't work as well.) We've also formed participants into groups of 3 and given them the follow-up coaching questions and allowed them to "peer coach" each other. Obviously, the more skilled your coaches are the better the outcome, but half the power is in the questions and the fact that the topic is brought up again 4 more times following the training.

I've implemented Follow-Up Coaching with the shorter training events I lead and have seen fabulous results. How about giving it a try? And let me know how it goes.

Copyright © 2008 Keith E. Webb & CRM
Dr. Keith E. Webb is a trainer and experienced cross-cultural leadership coach helping non-profit organizations, teams, and individuals multiply their cross-cultural impact. Find free articles at http://www.CreativeResultsManagement.com