Latest / The Healthy Church Staff Podcast / The Volunteer Who Thinks They Supervise You

Transcript

The Volunteer Who Thinks They Supervise You · The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Your kids director does not report to the volunteer who's been in that room for 14 years.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: But somebody needs to say that out loud.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Hi there, my name is Todd Roads.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the co-founders at Chemistry Staffing.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you're listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: The tables were already moved.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: The volunteer did it.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: They have been in that room longer than the person that you hired as the children's ministry director.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: So they treat that room like it's theirs, and the kids' director is the guest.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: You call it ownership.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: They call it being managed by someone who does not sign their paycheck.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: The longtime volunteer, no doubt, is a gift.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: A longtime volunteer with a veto is the second boss that you never named.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And you can see it in two chairs on your team right now.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's the kids, maybe it's the worship.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same script.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: The kids director gets notes after every Sunday, not from you, but from the volunteer who's always done it this way.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: The staffer is supposed to lead.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: They spend the week negotiating instead.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Worship gets the same script from a little bit different seat, right?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: A big giver, an elder spouse, maybe.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: They say after rehearsal, the person worship pastor has the title, but they don't have cover.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: And when they push back, they look ungrateful.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: When they don't, they look like the staff who report to the volunteer.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you already know which one they're gonna pick, right?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when the feedback arrives dressed as kindness, that's kind of what we're talking about today, right?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's never a conversation when you, as the supervisor or the boss, or the pastor, is in the room.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how it happens.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: It happens in a hallway, it happens in a text, it happens, hey, can I share with you something real quick?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times a volunteer is kind, so the feedback lands like instruction because nobody told them that it isn't.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then you hear about it later and you kind of wince.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you say you'll mention it, but you don't.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And the staffer learns the real org chart really quick.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: You and then the volunteer, and then them.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's the org chart.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know you're not trying to hang your kid's director out to dry.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: You probably just hate conflict.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of us do.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: That volunteer's been here through three pastors, maybe even before you got there.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: They show up, they give, they love those kids by name.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's decent.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Man, they're a valuable part of the team.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also how you teach a beloved person that they can manage the staff that you hired.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Kindness that will not draw a line is not kindness to the staffer.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: It might be kindness to the volunteer, but it's not kindness to the staffer.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, for the volunteer, you're providing them cover.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And you leave your staff member unprotected.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: The staff does not need you to fire the volunteer.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what they're asking for.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: They need you to say who they report to in the same room with the volunteer present.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Not a private pep talk in the hallway.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Not just ignore it, not they mean if you will not say it, you're choosing the volunteer.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you're choosing the easier relationship.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: You choose not to be the boss.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Staff will not win a particular popularity contest with a 14-year-old volunteer.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: They just won't do it.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, that's not your job.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's your job as their supervisor.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So silence is a reporting line.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: You just didn't write it down.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, what do you do with this?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Pick one dynamic this week and say it where both people can hear it.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: In the same room this week, pick one volunteer over staff dynamic, not a policy, just one pair.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: You, the senior pastor or the boss, actually say it in the same room, who the staffer reports to and who they do not.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe in a volunteer meeting, say, hey, Krista reports to me.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: They don't report to you guys.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: I want you here.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You're valuable, but I need you to stop directing their work.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: You probably say it a little bit sugarcoated a little bit more than that.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: But say that.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: With both of them in the room, and then stay in the room.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do not leave the staffer to translate that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Don't soften it in the parking lot.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you cannot say it with the volunteer standing there, you already decided that the volunteer is the supervisor.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody needs to say it out loud this week.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So here's your bottom line.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Your kids director does not report to the volunteer who's been in that room for 14 years.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Beloved is not a supervisor.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Say it in the same room.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: This one is one that I mean, we just it's hard to do, right?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because you don't want to lose the volunteer, you don't want to offend the volunteer, but you also have hired a staff person to do a role, and they're not going to be able to do it unless you do what I've described today.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: You actually want your staff to be able to lead the rooms that you hired them to lead.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this has been helpful for you today.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a little hard to hear, but I hope it's been helpful.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're here every day Monday through Friday.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you'll join me again right here tomorrow.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, pop over to Church Staff Assessment.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you would take that free Church Staff Health Assessment, that'll really help us out as we prepare our new report in January for 2027.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it for today.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out to me anytime, podcast at chemistry staffing.com.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you right back here tomorrow.