My first boss, when I would complain about being busy, would say, “Mark … that’s a high-class problem.”
He was right, of course. Better than the alternative. …
There is another high-class problem that all successful organizations face: growth.
If all growth meant were more clients, more sales, more profits, wonderful. But with the sales come more processes to execute. More people to take care of. More people to hire to do all that work.
If you are sensing growth has effected your culture, that your people are not on the same page like they used to be:
Les McKeown has written this lovely and quick diagnostic to help you think through your opportunities. It all revolves around the org chart. Even if you don’t have an official one, this five-part exercise will help you think through opportunities to increase clarity for your people.
Going through his list, I can’t help but think of the Early Church and how it adapted to its explosive growth.
By chapter 2 of Acts, the original 12 apostles had grown the church to more than 3,000 members. Immediately they set about distributing responsibilities: The church met corporately in the temple courts, but some members opened their homes to small groups for study and prayer. During this time they had daily increases in members.
By chapter 6, the group had grown so large that there was infighting among members–a division between Jews who had adopted Greek culture and those who had not. They perceived unfairness in food distribution to widows.
The apostles quickly realized that their serving in this role did not help them focus on sharing scripture and praying. They chose the Seven, men with good reputations, to handle the responsibility.
These clearly defined roles were “key hires.” Persecution had increased throughout. And Stephen, one of the Seven, had the privilege of being the Church’s first martyr, a model for all members.
The intensifying persecution scattered the Church … which further spread the word and grew the number of members.
By chapter 10, Jews and Gentiles were members. One of those very persecutors, Paul, became a Christian and did further missionary work. Paul and his fellow missionaries in turn appointed elders to oversee each church they planted before moving on.
By chapter 15, there were divisions again, this time between Gentile Christians and some Jews, on the requirements for belonging to the church. A council of the apostles and the elders met to consider the question and produced a letter sent out to the new churches, clarifying what was expected.
And so on, to this day.
If you try to take God’s work in peoples’ hearts out of the story of Acts, you will have missed the point. But in God’s providence, his church modeled how an effective organization evolves over time.
One more point: purpose. The church has a very strong “why,” which is to glorify, or magnify, God in the world. Decision makers therefore had a good “truth North” for orientation. Would this particular decision glorify God or not?
As you adapt your org chart, ask yourself, what is this organization’s purpose? (Hint: Making money is the result, not the answer.)