Home Office Morale Busters: What Puts Staff on Edge

Home Office Morale Busters: What Puts Staff on Edge

11 morale busters that most dishearten staff members:

1.  Constant Yet Directionless Change: The CEO who shows up every Monday morning with a different plan of action deflates a staff that is still working on implementing last week’s big idea. Constant change causes constant anxiety in the ranks. In order to cope, the staff will simply ignore new directives, knowing they will be changed again soon. In the meantime, everyone feels miserable because nobody knows where they are really heading.

2.  The Phantom CEO: Some mission CEOs travel so much, the staff never knows when they will show up in the office. Others, taking advantage of modern technology, reside far from the office and only occasionally make an appearance. I know of one mission executive who shows up one week a month at the office and spends the other three weeks at home literally three thousand miles away. Although today’s technology can fill in a communications gap, it does a poor job of replacing leadership by presence, example and modeling the way. There is a tendency to think the worst of someone you seldom see – that’s just the way the human mind operates.

3.  Lack of Trust: Too many leaders, especially new leaders, do not make deposits in the proverbial “bank of trust” before they begin to make “withdrawals.” Many leaders believe that since they have been given a title, a certain amount of trust automatically comes with it. That assumption could not be further from the truth. Trust is earned over a period of time, derived from a track record of good decision-making and interpersonal familiarity. Staff won’t follow well if they don’t trust their leader. Undertones of distrust will reverberate through the office. If, on the other hand, trust is strong, leadership will be accepted and approval will be voiced.

4.  Micro-Managing: This CEO style is the opposite of the phantom CEO. He can’t keep his hands out of the mix once a task has been delegated. Instead of asking for periodic updates, the CEO inserts himself in the process - many times behind the back of the person who was entrusted with the task. This is certain to frustrate and deflate the non-empowered staff.

5.  Heartless Managerial Dismissal: This involves the swift and unanticipated dismissal of staff who are often asked to leave the building immediately upon termination. Managerial acumen and common Christian graces are difficult to balance even in the best of times. But when office members are treated as a disposable commodity that can be terminated at a moment’s notice, it places everyone on edge. Job insecurity makes for low morale, thus the importance of performance reviews. Properly implemented, a review helps staff know how their performance is perceived and becomes the basis of job security.

6.  Authority Separation: Some CEOs prefer to keep their distance from staff, and prove it by where their office is located. Whether it is an intentional show of status or simply the floor plan of the building, in many instances the CEO’s office is tucked away from those he leads. I recall visiting a mission where the CEO and his wife had offices in a separate high profile building surrounded by the less impressive buildings of the support staff. To meet with the CEO, staff members left their buildings and walked outside to the prominent executive building. Distance alone sent a signal as to who was in charge and how approachable he was.

7.  Corporate Office Identity: When it comes to identifying the facility in which staff work, it would be helpful if missions gravitated away from the corporate and military jargon of by-gone years. The designations “headquarters,” and “home office,” carry an air of centrality of power. This puts undo pressure on the staff who are required to raise either a portion or all of their support, since churches and supporters naturally assume that if the mission “headquarters” employs their missionary, then it must also salary them through the corporate system. A more appropriate name for a mission facility is “ministry service center” or better yet “mobilization center.” This puts it in the ministry realm – and rightfully so. When you stop and think about it, every person in the “home office” (and every function carried out) mobilizes something that relates to their mission. Staff mobilizes fund, personnel, prayer, meetings, connections, and everything else related to the sending of missionaries. It is a morale booster to everyone in the mobilization center to know that they are performing their tasks for those serving cross-culturally.

8.  Limited Huddle Time: Whether it is called “chapel,” “prayer time” or “team meeting,” every office needs at least one time a week designated for the entire staff to meet together corporately. The wise CEO makes sure that such a time is a non-negotiable part of the schedule. It needs to be considered the focal point of the workweek for the staff – including himself. He models its importance by his consistent attendance. This is the time for information sharing and prayer, togetherness and harmony. It builds rapport, cohesion, concern, and trust. It can also be a place for encouraging and rewarding staff. I have noticed that some missions hold huddles five times a week, some three times, and some only once a week. The frequency is not as important as the fact that it does take place.

9.  Inflexible Future Casting (Strategic Plans vs. Strategic Initiatives): Planning for the near and far future is a major responsibility of a CEO, though iron-clad, straight-jacket “strategic plans” have become a thing of the past. The speed of change in today’s world is so accelerated, how can any mission perfectly plan for three, five, or ten years out? Forging ahead without flexibility puts a staff at a tremendous disadvantage. It frustrates the thinking, cutting-edge, versatile staff member. Thus the prudent leader plans in terms of strategic initiatives when projecting the future. In this way direction is given, but flexibility and course corrections allow for better navigation of the changing times.

10.  Limited Value (No Voice): The degree to which a staff member feels valued impacts office morale. Many mission office workers feel undervalued. Much of this feeling of little value is played out in how much their opinions matter. Some feel as if there is little opportunity for their voice to be heard. They feel stifled when it comes to engaging in planning and problem solving – things that go beyond the rote activities of normal role performance. Although they may not have legitimate access to the top echelon of office leadership, they find it difficult to get their immediate supervisor to listen to what they have to contribute. To them no voice means no value.

11.  Weak Personal Motivation (duty vs. desire): Wise leaders motivate their staff to fulfill the role to which they feel they have been called. Rather than performing out of a sense of duty, the engaged staff person sees the bigger picture and desires to do his part to fulfill that greater goal. The wise mission leader ever keeps the mission (and a vision for the mission) in front of his staff members. They sense that they are part of something bigger than themselves, something meaningful to God. This, in turn, helps ward off the hollowness of routine. A clear vision inspires passion for the work.

Effective executives should periodically do an “Office Morale Assessment” by allowing the staff help identify which of these areas that are perceived as weakest. Corrected morale busters always result in effective morale boosters.

Morale Buster Assessment

In each of the categories below, circle the number in front of the answer that best describes your perception of the office environment and CEO leadership. Do not skip or leave blank any category. If there is not an answer that exactly fits your opinion, circle the one that gives the closest approximation. Circle only one answer for each category.

Change:

1.  We are in a rut – very little, if anything, ever changes

2.  I feel we are in constant, seemingly directionless change

3.  I feel clueless/uninformed as to why we are asked to change so much

4.  I feel we undergo moderate change at a moderate pace that seems justified

5.  I feel we undergo positive, stable change that has direction and justification

Presence:

1.  The CEO is hardly ever in office, I seldom know when he might show up, and he/she rarely communicates with the staff

2.  The CEO seems aloof, making periodic appearances, but not enough

3.  The CEO seems to be in office when can be, given the role he/she is in

4.  I feel comfortable with the amount of presence of the CEO in the office and am comfortable with the amount of interaction with him/her

5.  The CEO has a regular presence in the office, I know when he/she will be here, and I am satisfied with the amount of interacting time with him/her

Trust:

1.  I do not trust our CEO

2.  I have a minimal trust in our CEO

3.  I have a cautious but moderate trust in our CEO

4.  I have a strong trust in our CEO

5.  I have full, unquestionable trust in our CEO

Managing:

1.  The CEO holds tasks tightly, and does not delegate work to other staff members who are in positions to perform many of those tasks

2.  The CEO delegates assignments to staff members, but does not empower them, needlessly inserting himself/herself into the process

3.  The CEO delegates assignments, but does no monitoring of the progress

4.  The CEO delegates assignments, and does adequate monitoring (through intermediary administrators) of progress

5.  The CEO delegates assignments, empowers those entrusted with the task, encourages and monitors (through intermediary administrators) the process, and affirms the staff member at its completion

Dismissals:

1.  Dismissal of workers are swift, immediate, and usually a shocking surprise to the fired worker, with little of the Christian graces evidenced in the process

2.  Dismissal of workers is swift and immediate, but rarely a surprise to the one dismissed

3.  Dismissals are fairly processed, tempered with Christian grace

4.  Dismissals are processed fairly, well in advanced of termination date, and tempered with Christian grace

5.  Dismissals are based on performance reports, good rapport with the one being dismissed, in the spirit of Christian grace, and usually by mutual agreement

Authority Separation:

1.  My CEO is physically distant by design and intent, displaying a posture of non-accessibility

2.  My CEO’s office space is near, but he exudes a feeling of non-approachability

3.  Although my CEO’s office is distant, he makes an effort to be approachable

4.  My CEO’s office is near and accessible

5.  My CEO’s office is accessible, welcoming, with a reasonable open door policy

Office Identity:

1.  The mission facility I work in is called the “headquarters,” “home office,” or “main office,” with a strict corporate feel

2.  The mission facility I work in is called the “headquarters,” “home office,” or “main office,” but without a strict corporate feel

3.  The mission facility has a “ministry center” feel and mentality, but is referred to as the central “office” or “headquarters”

4.  The mission facility is referred to as the “ministry center,” or “mobilization center,” with a moderate feel of being a “service” to our constituency

5.  The mission facility is called a “ministry center,” or “mobilization center,” exuding a strong feel of being a “service” and helpfulness to our constituency

Huddle Time:

1.  There is never a scheduled time when the entire office staff meets corporately together. Such meetings are rare.

2.  The staff meets corporately together at a regularly scheduled time (in what is either called “chapel,” “prayer time,” or “team meeting”), but the CEO rarely, if ever attends

3.  The staff does meet corporately together at a regularly scheduled time (in what is either called “chapel,” “prayer time,” or “team meeting”), but CEO attendance seems perfunctory and he/she rarely lends leadership.

4.  The staff meets corporately together at a regularly scheduled time (in what is either called “chapel,” “prayer time,” or “team meeting”), with the CEO modeling to the staff its importance by his/her consistent attendance

5.  The staff meets corporately together at a regularly scheduled time (in what is either called “chapel,” “prayer time,” or “team meeting”) and the CEO models to the staff its importance by his/her enthusiastic attendance, using the time for information sharing, encouragement and rewarding of staff

Future Casting:

1.  My CEO leads the organization into the future by the utilizing of strict and clearly delineated “strategic plans” that govern and paces all that we do

2.  My CEO leads the organization into the future by the utilizing of “strategic plans,” but allows for variances when necessary

3.  My CEO leads the organization into the future by the utilizing of “strategic plans” but is willing to scrap them altogether if found to not be achieving desired goals

4.  My CEO leads the organization into the future by way of personally conceived “strategic initiatives,” allowing for flexibility and versatility, and staff input.

5.  My CEO leads the organization into the future by way of staff participation in the formation of “strategic initiatives” which allows for flexibility and versatility and office-wide buy-in into the resultant direction