Organizations, teams, and leaders often feel stuck. With a clear vision in hand, taking the next step is often one of the hardest things to negotiate. The question is often: Where do we start? This is especially true within the church and non-profit world. We would contend that one of the leading causes of this can be “paralysis of analysis” where we spin our tires trying to have the perfect plan before moving forward. Another factor in this failure to launch is simply a lack of well-defined goals. Goals are the fuel that get us moving.
A helpful structure for developing, structuring and reviewing goals is the SMART system. This simple acronym tells us that as we look to achieve our vision, the markers that will help guide us along the way must be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-based
For a great synopsis of each of these, we would point you to this site as our purpose here is more to focus us on how goals fit organizations who are committed to joining God in His work in the world commonly known as the Missio Dei.
Some would argue that you have to choose between being Spirit-led over and against a goal-based approach. This does not have to be the case. There are numerous cases in scripture where God paints the vision, then his people get to work in making plans that are not void of His leading but rather soaked in it.
With a well thought-out vision, the work of the staff and leaders is then to seek God and make plans. Predetermined planning periods are incredibly helpful to get the ball rolling and helping teams prepare to present their ideas. It’s also helpful to note that there is a constant back and forth in yielding our hearts to God while also putting our minds to work. We advise opening up space for all necessary parties to share their ideas on plans to achieve the goals during the planning period, then mark time in your weekly agenda to pray over them. We then advise to taking at least a quarterly approach to review and make course corrections as needed.
Some goals will need more of a weekly review by subsets of the overall team. This illustrates that a key in achieving goals is empowerment and which allows creativity to flow through the process. Every good idea and way of doing something has value, but so does letting yours go so someone else can flex their leadership muscle.
We believe that organizations who are committed to seeking God together in the Missio Dei while also being creative, pursuing excellence in their work, having a structure for goal setting, and holding one another accountable to objectives can see great things happen in their collective journey.