Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

In the workplace, good leaders need to be effective at managing up—and managing down. The same is true in the congregation, although I’d like to call it managing out.

In an earlier blog, I talked about some techniques for managing up. Just as important is being able to manage out—to communicate clearly and effectively with other members of the congregation, people not on vestry or on not on your committee.   

Even though the vestry is charged with certain decision-making responsibilities, it’s important that significant initiatives have buy-in from the larger congregation. One way is to invite collaboration and feedback. Considering making a change to the worship schedule? Ask folks what they think. Solicit suggestions. Let people know that some changes are being considered. For big decisions, hold a town hall meeting. And when people offer their suggestions, take notes and listen attentively. You might not agree and the decision may be different than what some people want, but a sense of truly being heard and respected will go a long way toward a smooth transition. 

A second element of managing out is accepting blame and deflecting praise. This is hard. Really hard. It’s natural to want to hear kind words about your good work, but it will mean more if you’re able to present the accomplishment as a team effort. This might take some practice. Often false modesty can arise in this type of situation. Only if you truly believe in the work of the team (or vestry or committee or congregation) can you authentically deflect personal praise and accept it on behalf of the larger group. At the same time, when something goes wrong, the leader needs to step up. Even if it’s not his or her fault. Again, this isn’t easy. Leadership rarely is. 

Developing a team that trusts each other and is highly regarded by the larger group (congregation) requires selflessness and sacrifice.  

A third component of managing out is giving people the opportunity to grow and participate. Invite people to participate, to become leaders in their own right. This not only encourages wider participation but can help cultivate new leaders.   

In my experience, I’ve had more experience of managing up, and it’s easier to put into practice. Managing up is mostly about how I act. Managing out requires more faith, in my opinion, because more people are involved, and you don’t have as much control about the outcome. But trust and faith are part of being in a healthy community.  And when it’s working, it’s totally worth it.