A great conversation yesterday drew an important question.  We’re getting ready for a church-wide campaign and know we’ll need coaches for our newest hosts.  Where can I find new coaches?

Ever asked that one?  It’s a good question.  Important on a couple levels.  First, it is important that your newest hosts have a coach who is available to help and who is checking in with them on a weekly basis.  The first 10 to 13 weeks of their new existence is a critical time period, not unlike the first few days and weeks of a newborn’s life.  That said, it follows that if you recruit a wave of new hosts to open their homes for a church-wide campaign, you could suddenly need an additional coach (or 10!).  So…where will they come from?

Here are a couple thoughts:

1. Although it’s not essential, I look first among existing small group leaders for coaches.  You probably do to.  The reason I look there is that they’ve made it as a group leader and understand some things about what works.
2. Depending on what I find among existing group leaders, I’m not opposed to recruiting from outside but they have to really fit the bill from a teachability standpoint and from a SHAPE standpoint.
3. I’m not looking for warm and willing.  I’m looking for hot and qualified.  That is, the ideal candidate has a passion for group life, is a high-capacity leader, is loyal to our church and our pastor, is very relational and fun to be around.

The second reason this is an important question is that coaches need to be recruited to the function before they’re recruited to the form.  You’ve heard of “form before function?”  I’ve found it makes a big difference when I simply ask a seasoned small group leader to take a new host or two under her wing, just for 10 to 13 weeks (six weeks of the campaign, couple weeks before, couple weeks after).  I’ll frequently say:

I’ve seen you in action over the last year.  You’re doing a great job with your group.  Would you be willing to help get a couple of our new hosts get off to a good start?  Sit with them at the orientation.  Connect with them weekly.  Make sure they have what they need to really succeed?

This is function before form.  Before I sit down with them and invite them to join our coaching team, I want to see them in action.  By agreeing to help get a couple new groups started they’re able to put their toe in the water without a long-term commitment.  I’m able to see if they’ll do the job and whether they’re really a fit for it…before I offer them an ongoing role on the team.  This is big because it’s a lot easier to ask someone to become a coach than it is to ask them to stop coaching!

Once you’ve had a chance to see them in action you can decide if they are a good fit and whether you’d like to add them to the coaching team.  I’ve found it is really beneficial to ask them how it felt to help a couple new hosts get started.  You need them to be fruitful and fulfilled.  One without the other is not good.  Fruitful without fulfillment doesn’t lead to long term service.  Fulfillment without fruit doesn’t help anyone.  You want both and it’s worth holding out for.

We talk a lot about life-change in small group land.  We often say that the optimal environment for life-change is a small group.

I regularly tell people that the weekend service—even with inspiring worship and practical teaching—is closest in kind to a defibrillator.  You know that thing they use on you when you’re on the gurney and someone yells, “Clear!”  It can jump-start an irregular spiritual heartbeat.  But it’s not permanent.  It’s temporary.  As soon as you’re back in the car on the way to lunch and the traffic backs up and the kids are screaming, you’re right back to where you were earlier.  A defibrillator only provides temporary jolt.  What’s surgery or therapy?  Life-on-life.  If I know that you’re meeting me at the restaurant and will be asking how I’m doing, I’m more likely to press on and work on the things we’re working on together.  If you want real life-change, you need life-on-life.  That’s therapy or surgery.  That’s where I know you well enough to be used by God to actually help you change.

So…how does life-change really happen at the member level?  I contend that being in a group is not what causes it.  There’s nothing magical about sitting around a coffee table and talking.  No, what I’ve found so often is that if you want life-change to happen at the member level, something will have to happen to the leader of the group…first.

Let me say it this way.  Whatever you want to happen at the member level, will have to happen to the leader first.  If you want your members to experience what it feels like to be prayed for, encouraged in tough times, held accountable, cared for, challenged, laughed with and cried with, listened to…if you want your members to have this experience…someone will have to be doing it to the leaders of your groups first.

And that is where the rub is.  Why?  Well, for one thing, Jethro had it right when he told Moses, “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone (Exodus 18).”  Ever felt like Moses?  Maybe it was working pretty well and then you added four more groups (and that made 15 total).  Or maybe you launched groups last fall and trying to keep all 21 new leaders going just about friend you.  And on top of all that, you’ve got other responsibilities.

What’s the solution?  Is there a solution?  Yes.  It’s the one that Jethro had for Moses.  “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”  Ever wonder where the coaching idea came from?  There it is. Divide the responsibility among capable people.

You can’t do it all.  At the same time there are limitations to what any one person can do.  I like the way Carl George said it, “Everyone needs to be cared for by someone, but nobody can care for more than about 10.”

The lesson?  If you want life-change to happen at the member-level, it has to happen to the leader first.  If you want it to happen in the life of the leader…you’ll need to develop leaders of leaders.

The question?  How is that going?  Are you actually working that edge of the puzzle?  Or have you tried to make it work and it just hasn’t gone anywhere?  You may want to take a look at my course on building an effective coaching structure.  Then again, simply setting up a coaching call to get fresh eyes on the issue may be just the thing.  Whatever you do, don’t lose sight of this very important objective.

How’s your small group system?  Winning?  Workable?  Wobbly?  Weak?

Is it time for a system checkup?  We’ve all been to the doctor for a checkup.  Most of us have taken our car in for an oil change that includes an “18 point inspection.”  Have you ever put your small group system through a diagnostic checkup?  What questions would you ask?

Here are three that need to be asked:

1. What business are your small groups in?  This is a Peter Drucker question and although he asked it about business, it is a very good question for us to be asking.  At its heart, it is a question about the purpose of your groups.  What are you trying to do with them?
2. What are you going to call “success”?  Some might ask, “What will you call a ‘win’?”  The key here is to define in advance what it will look like when you succeed at the business your groups are in.
3. How’s business?  This follow-up question is one we need to be asking about our group systems.  We ought to be able to evaluate whether we are actually succeeding at what we’re trying to do.  In other words, we should be asking if we’re seeing any fruit?

Do these make sense?  Can you see how your answers to these questions will provide an important foundation for further diagnosis?  For example, until you have determined what your small group ministry is actually designed to do you will have great difficulty evaluating whether you are winning or losing!  And until you are ready to declare that success will be ______________________, you won’t be able to intelligently determine whether your ministry is actually doing what it needs to do.

Does this make sense?  Now…can you see how your answers to these questions are simply the beginning?  Only after you know what you’re trying to do, what it will look like to succeed, and whether you’re succeeding at what you’re trying to do, will you be ready to evaluate what might be more effective.

Ready for that step?  Join me next to learn how to do an assumption hunt.

P.S. For more on asking great questions, Peter Drucker’s Managing for Results is a fantastic resource.

Building an effective coaching structure is a huge challenge.  In fact, it’s so tough that you’ll hear many small group pastors from around the country admit that they’ve given up on the idea.  Oh, there are plenty that are still chipping away at making it work.  But it’s no picnic.  If it was, you probably wouldn’t be reading this article!  I believe it is very doable, so I’m glad you’re along for the journey.

Have a Clue When You Recruit “Who.”

So far in our series about building an effective coaching structure we’ve talked about First What, Then Who (the principle of defining the role first) and Opening Your Eyes to What Doesn’t Work (getting real about what’s not working).  Once you’re clear about what you want a coach to do and your eyes are open to anything less you’re ready to think about how to recruit the right people for your team.  And let’s just say that how your recruit the right people is very important.  It sets the tone.  It gets their full attention.  And it establishes a much better trial run.  Ready to hear more?  Here goes.

How to Recruit Coaches

So you’ve put together your simple job description, complete with a very clear statement identifying what a win will be.  Good job!  Way to start…but it’s only the beginning.  Hopefully you’ve also identified the best possible candidates.   Rather than succumbing to the temptation of accepting 30 or 60 fold players, you’ve targeted a group of real killers.  In fact, some of them will be a challenge to get they’re so busy already.  That’s also good.  You’re on the right track.  Now it is time to recruit.  Here’s what needs to happen.

1. Create a “toe-in-the-water” way that a person can try on the role.  I like the idea of a 10 to 13 week commitment.  What you’re looking for in the beginning is a period of time that you get to see whether they’re fruitful and fulfilled in doing the job. Ideally, you’re creating a situation that needs their help for 10 to 13 weeks without any further commitment on their part.  If they’re performing well, you’ll invite them stay in the role.  If they’re a
   bomb for whatever reason, you’ll have the freedom to thank them for helping without offering them a continuing role.  You’ll need diplomacy…but that’s a better problem to have than the one where you’ve invited them to a role that has no ending date.
2. Schedule a time when you can talk one-on-one with each candidate.  It’s not, “I just need 2 minutes of your time!”  Instead, it’s, “I’d like to talk with you about a very important part of our small group strategy.  Could we meet for coffee and talk about it?  I’d need 45 minutes to an hour.”  See how that feels?  Not rushed.  Not minimizing the importance.
3. Bring the “toe-in-the-water” job description to the meeting and go over what you need them to do.  Clarify what a win will be.
4. Let them know why you’ve identified them as a candidate for the role.  This should be easy for you to do.  If you’re genuinely focusing on hot and qualified hundred-fold leaders you should have no problem letting them know how they ended up on this list (By the way, it is a HUGE red flag if you can’t genuinely let them know what you think about their heart, their gifts, and their potential).
5. Don’t minimize the role.  Be prepared to cast a vision for the actual role you envision.  If it calls for 2 to 5 hours a week, let them know that the expectation is 2 to 5 hours a week.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for their full commitment.  If you need all of their available bandwidth, now is the time to ask them to step aside (temporarily) from any other commitment that might get in the way.
7. Be very careful not to talk about a longer-term role.  Focus on the 10 to 13 weeks.  “We want to sustain 70% of the new groups we’re about to launch.  We want the new leaders to feel supported and encouraged.  If you could help us by helping them feel supported, resourced, and encouraged, I just know it will make a huge difference.”
8. Let them know that they can expect detailed training and steady encouragement.
9. Let them know that you will be talking with them regularly during the 10 to 13 weeks and will scheduling regular debriefing opportunities along the way.
10. Ask for a commitment.  You may want to give them 48 hours to pray and consider the commitment.  You may want to give them a week.  The key is to ask for a commitment and expect a commitment within a reasonable amount of time.

So you’ve developed a clear job description for your coaching team.  You’ve carefully selected the right people and even recruited them skillfully.  Now the question is, “How to help the new coach make first contact in a way that raises the probability of getting off on the right foot?”  And that’s the subject of part four of our series.  Want to get it as soon as it is available?  Sign up RIGHT HERE to get the update.

If the first principle in building an effective coaching structure is First “What,” Then “Who,” the second is Open Your Eyes to What Doesn’t Work. Although it may seem negative, this is an important step.  In the same way that a doctor needs to be able to recognize the symptoms of common medical problems, you need to know that coaching failure is often the result of a small set of problems.

But before I go any further I need to ask one diagnostic question:  Do you already have a coaching structure and is it working?  (I know…that’s technically two questions, but they’re related and essential).

Do you have a coaching structure and is it working? Your answer here is very important.  Based on many conversations in churches large and small, contemporary and traditional, seeker-sensitive and otherwise, I’ve found that most churches admit to having mixed success at best.  And the truth is, even the ones that initially maintain that it’s working great fade under any serious cross examination.  Why?  Because it is a tough thing to get right!  That being the case most of the time, let’s assume that you have some kind of coaching strategy but you’ll admit that it isn’t working all that well (if you don’t yet have coaches for your small group leaders, hang in, this information will help you too!).

Step One: Assess Your Current Coaching Team

If you have a coaching structure and it isn’t working, your first objective will be to assess your current team.  There are at least 7 reasons why coaching fails.  The reasons are almost always related to who your coaching team members are underneath the veneer of their title.  I’ve found that coaching fails when you have:

• Coaches in name only: They may have the title, but they’re really only place-holders.  You learn that you need one coach for every five small group leaders…so you recruit a few “coaches” but they’re not the right people and they really don’t do anything.  Expectations are very low and their work is never seriously inspected.  Symptoms: Small group leaders don’t know who their coach is or can’t remember the last time they talked.
• 30-Folds in the place of 100-Folds: This is a very common mistake.  It is a great temptation to use “warm and willing” instead of “hot and qualified,” but it is a huge mistake.  I’m using Jesus’ “30, 60, and 100 fold” to describe the relative capacity of people.  When you put a 30-fold into a slot you need to realize that they’re not going to be able to influence even another 30-fold.  Don’t let idealism get in the way of reality.  Symptoms: Leaders aren’t drawn to their coach.  No zip to the relationship.
• 100-folds wearing multiple hats: This is also very common.  You get the right people on the team but don’t help them clear their calendar.  Bandwidth is a precious thing.  If you’ve openly declared small group ministry to be a key to your strategy, you’ll need the full attention of these key players focused on this one responsibility.  Symptoms: Coaches aren’t clear on what to prioritize.  Leaders don’t feel prioritized.
• Unclear objectives. This works both ways.  Coaches are often unclear about what their role is.  This results in their defaulting to a kind of accountant, checking on whether the group meets, who is in the group, etc.  The flipside is that leaders are also unclear about the role of their coach.  Their most common comment is that they don’t need a coach. Symptoms: Leaders don’t look forward to connecting with their coach.  It’s a chore for both parties.
• Unrealistic Expectations: This also works both ways.  Many times a new coach is recruited and released into action without anyone preparing the leader.  Because first impressions are so important this results in an unexpected call and results in an insurmountable barrier between the new coach and the leader.  On the flipside, the leader is introduced to their coach but poorly prepared for the coach’s involvement.   Thinking that the coach is a watchdog or an accountant when they could be a mentor.  Symptoms: “Who are you?  Why are you calling me?”
• Poor matches between coaches and leaders: This may be the second most common problem with the whole coaching idea.  I refer to it as “the arbitrary assignment” issue.  Here’s the situation: I’ve got 20 groups and I want to develop a healthy span of care so I recruit 4 coaches and deal out my leaders.  Five for Bob.  Five for Steve.  Five for Joe.  And five for Debbie.  And we’re done.  The problem is that it’s tough to make a meaningful assignment that way.  It’s arbitrary.  Symptoms: The start-up energy is too great and takes too long before actually paying off and seeming like a good investment to either coach or leader.  It’s a formality.
• Time lag between the group’s beginning and assigning the coach.  This is the number one problem and the main reason coaching fails.  Without question the easiest time to assign a coach is at the very beginning.  Any time after that only increases the likelihood that the graft won’t take.  Once a group has made it through their first 6 to 12 meetings they’ve figured out most of the very basic coaching issues (how to engage Sue’s husband, how to help Bob and Carol to come on time, how to help Bill not dominate, etc.).  The groups that couldn’t figure out the basics are dead anyway.  They often don’t make it through this season.  The leaders of the groups that do make it have legitimate questions about why they need a coach.  Symptoms: “Why do I need a coach?”

So the question is, “How does your team stack up?”  Do you have the right people in the right place?  Do you have a mix (some of the right people and some that aren’t a match)?  Or do you need to rebuild?

Don’t dodge the question.  This is a key step and needs your full attention before you move on.

Step Two: Reposition Where Needed

One of the best known principles from Good to Great concerned getting the right people on the bus.  An important part of that principle takes it a step further to make sure that you’ve got the right people in the right seats on the bus.  The implication is that there will be times that you need to reposition in order to actually win the game you’re playing.  If you’ve clarified the win for this position, and if you’ve got people in the wrong seats (making it very tough to win), then you’ll need to move them to where they can be both fruitful and fulfilled (more on this idea in part three).

So if you’ve assessed your team.  Let’s talk about what comes next.

1. Develop a short job description that clearly states what a win is for your coaches.  Here’s an example of what I use for what I call “launch phase coaches or community leaders”.  You’ll notice that it’s not very specific on the day-to-day responsibilities.  Specifics for these candidates will be covered in their orientation.  They’ll also receive a very specific understanding of what a win will be in their orientation and every conversation thereafter.  Once they get through the launch-phase we’ll move them to a more formal job description with more detailed explanation of day-to-day responsibilities.
2. Carefully evaluate your team on the basis of fruitfulness and fulfillment.  You haven’t talked with them formally.  This is about forming an opinion on informal conversations (and possibly some interactions you’ve had with the small group leaders in your ministry).  On the basis of your evaluation you should begin thinking about more suitable ministry opportunities for those coaches that are mismatched with the role.  Remember, the goal for every person ought to be to find a way to serve that is consistent with their SHAPE.
3. Ask each of your coaches to assess their own fruitfulness and fulfillment.   You’re really looking for both.  It may be helpful to have your current coaches read and then think about the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) as it relates to their work as a coach.  It is possible to be fruitful (at least to a degree) and not fulfilled…but it won’t last for long.  It is very possible to be quite fulfilled and not bear any fruit.  Neither condition is desirable.  You want both fruitful and fulfilled.  Those players are in the right seat on the bus.
4. Schedule a one-on-one opportunity to talk with each of your coaches.  This will be your chance to talk with them individually about how they’re feeling about the job they’re doing.  At the same time, this is your chance to emphasize the importance of the role of a coach.  The outcome of this meeting should be to affirm and reenlist the coaches that are both fruitful and fulfilled and reposition (or at least begin the process) those coaches who are really in the wrong role.  Is there room for a probationary period for some who might want to continue but aren’t currently living up to the responsibility?  Sure.  Just remember that people do what you inspect, not what you expect.  Reinforce the job description, carefully define expectations, and give them a review date.

Short Version? If you want a meaningful coaching structure you will have to work at it.  You’ll need to have clear expectations.  You’ll need to recruit the right people.  And you’ll need to inspect what your coaches are doing.  A coaching structure won’t succeed without all three of these elements.  We’ll talk about how to recruit coaches in Part Three.

Need additional help?  Take advantage of my downloadable four session mini-course, How To Build An Effective Coaching Structure.  It comes complete with 4 audio sessions, job descriptions, and other handouts.

Building an effective coaching structure is one of the great challenges of small group ministry.  Every church wrestles with it.  And I mean every church.  I’ve not found a church yet that really has it figured out.  They may have a solution that works for them…but it’s not a problem-free solution.  It’s just the best they can come up with right now.

Open the floor for questions at any small group conference and questions about coaching are always among the first to be asked.

• “Where do you find good coaching candidates?”
• “How do you introduce coaching to an existing small group ministry?”
• “What do I do if my small group leaders don’t want a coach?”
• “What does a coach do?”

Good questions.  Great questions!  Maybe you’ve asked them.  They really are good questions.  So good that I’ve decided to begin a series that will answer them one at a time.  I’ve also developed a four-session coaching program called Building an Effective Coaching Structure designed to help churches take this important step.  You can find out all about it and sign up right here.

First What Then Who

With apologies to Jim Collins, you’ve got to start with the question, “What do you want your coaches to do?” Admittedly, there is a great temptation to start with the question: “Where do you find good coaching candidates?”  That is a question that many churches struggle with and it is a key question.  But before you tackle it, I think you have to start with a very clear understanding of what you want your coaches to do.  In other words, before you can think about the “who” question, you better spend some time thinking about the “what”.  So, what do you want your coaches to do?

Let’s acknowledge right away that a few minutes with a blank sheet of paper could produce a fairly complete job description.  You might already have one!  Maybe it includes things like: encourage leaders, visit their groups, keep track of what’s happening in groups, help with problem-solving, train leaders, mentor leaders, serve as a link between staff and small group leaders.  You could easily end up with a one or two page job description.  But would that help you find good coaching candidates?

It might…but truthfully, sometimes it might make it a little harder.  I actually think a one liner might get you closer to the essence.  Clarifying what a win is for each of your coaches in a single sentence may seem like a minor thing.  In fact, it’s a huge thing.  I love what Andy Stanley says about the importance of clarifying the win in his book The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.  He says when it comes to staff expectations you ought to be able to boil down a job description to a one sentence version.

So here’s the question: “How would you summarize the role of a coach…in a single sentence?”

Single Sentence Job Description for a Coach

Here’s mine for a small group coach: “A Small Group Coach needs to do to and for their small group leaders whatever you want small group leaders to do to and for their members.”

Need a translation?  If you want your small group leaders to be praying for their members…you better have someone doing that for your leaders.  If you want your small group leaders to help their members grow spiritually, and you believe that people can only give away what they’ve personally experienced…then someone better be building into the individual lives of your small group leaders.  If you want your small group leaders to help their members take spiritual next steps…then you better have someone helping your leaders take spiritual next steps.

“A Small Group Coach needs to do to and for their small group leaders whatever you want small group leaders to do to and for their members.”

Think about that statement.  The “what” question is the essence of the job description, and “what” comes before “who”. So if we’re clear on what a coach needs to do, we can move on to where do you find good coaching candidates because that is another way of asking the “who” question.

After What, Then Who

So once you’ve developed your own one sentence way of talking about what a coach needs to do you’re ready to start thinking about “who”.  And before we go any further I need to make sure that we’re on the same page about a key concept.  Here the short version: Wishful thinking won’t get the job done.

Here’s the long version: Only the right people are legitimate candidates for the coaching role.  Recruiting the right people will require sacrifice.  You will be tempted to compromise by filling the position with warm and willing instead of hot and qualified.  Wishful thinking won’t get the job done.

Let’s break that down:

Only the right people are legitimate candidates for the coaching role.  Clearly they must be able to do the “to and for their leaders” part.  If they don’t have that capability, you’re not talking with the right people.  You need to be able to envision them actually having that kind of relationship with the small group leaders in your system. Can you see it?

Recruiting the right people will require sacrifice.  Serving is a zero sum game.  In other words, we all have a finite amount of time and energy.  If you find a potential coach, but they’re already serving in another ministry, they may not have time to wear two hats.  In fact, if you’re really serious about the importance of your small group ministry, the coaching role will need to be the biggest hat they have on.  Moving to a different seat on the bus always means getting up out of the seat you’re in right now.  Feel the tension?

You will be tempted to compromise by filling the position with warm and willing instead of hot and qualified.  It will seem easier.  The leaders of other ministries won’t feel threatened.  You will feel like you’re helping more people get in the ministry game.  If you want the right people you will have to resist this temptation.  Warm and willing might seem good enough…but it isn’t.   Only hot and qualified delivers.

Wishful thinking won’t get the job done.  You’ve been given the assignment.  Build a small group system where no one stand alone.  Help us become a church of small groups.  Lead us to become the kind of church where people organically connect in community.  Don’t miss this point.  Wishful thinking won’t get the job done.  If you want to go to any of these places…you’ll need a coaching system that finds a way “to do to and for their small group leaders whatever you want small group leaders to do to and for their members.”

Read Part Two of this series right here.