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Leaders have to be very careful of the trap of measuring the growth of their teammates by the wrong metrics. The things that matter most are often the things that are the most difficult to measure, but leaders must find a way.
Check out the full conversation we had on this topic on this episode of The Craig and Greg Show.
In my book Shepherd Leadership, I have a chapter entitled ‘Don’t Try to Grow Your Own Ministry.’ This book is mainly written for church and non-profit leaders, but there are helpful principles here for every kind of leader. Here’s an except from this chapter—
Businesses think in terms of quantitative gains—things they can count—but churches and nonprofits should be thinking in terms of qualitative gains—a quality improvement that isn’t as easily counted. I think we all know this, and yet we still persist in wanting to define success in a church or a nonprofit by those quantitative standards such as attendance growth, donations, and the like. When we think qualitative over quantitative, suddenly what seemed “small” is so significant and so valuable that it cannot be calculated! …
Don’t try to grow your ministry. First, because it’s not yours, it’s [God’s]; and second, because your measure of success is probably more slanted toward quantitative measurements than qualitative. Jesus wasn’t concerned about bigger numbers: “What do you think?” He asked, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” (Matthew 18:12).
Philip went to Samaria to tell people about Jesus. He didn’t go there because it fit his plan, but because Jesus said, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Philip’s obedience brought God’s success: hundreds turned to Jesus as their Savior, demon-possessed people were delivered, the sick were healed, and the new Christians were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Yet God called Philip to leave these “ninety-nine” and go to the desert to cross paths with just one confused and wondering sheep (Acts 8). After that, Philip virtually disappears from Luke’s historical record.
What’s the value of one government official’s life? God says that his value is incalculable. Apparently, God knew that Philip was the perfect shepherd to lead this Ethiopian to the pasture where he would accept Jesus as his Savior. Philip was obedient, a sheep was saved, and God was pleased. But I wonder how many people today might think Philip’s ministry was unsuccessful because he left a bigger ministry in Samaria to go to a smaller ministry in the desert?
Leaders need to be very cautious about using the right metrics to measure the growth of their teammates and the success of their organization.
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Craig T. Owens 