Gloom, Boom, and Zoom

God Willing, the Post-COVID-19 Era Might Usher in an Unprecedented Response to the Gospel

Wow! All bloggers today (no matter the subject) are medical, financial, psychological, and pastoral experts. COVID-19 has unleashed the advice-giving genes in every LinkedIn and Facebook user. So…here is my three cents-worth:

#1. GLOOM. Even the newspaper comic strips have themed into the despair. (See “Pearls Before Swine” by Stephan Pastis for last Tuesday. Click here.) Some board members—one layer removed from the day-to-day action/survival plans—may inappropriately tilt toward gloom. Be aware!

But—when you are a student of your CEO’s, board chair’s, and board members’ “3 Powerful S’s” (click here for more on spiritual gifts, strengths, and social style), you’ll understand and balance their responses to crisis. For example, the way each of the four social styles act is different: 
   • Analyticals are cautious.
   • Drivers are decisive.
   • Amiables are slow.
   • Expressives are impulsive.

Your board needs deep discernment from all members—before moving in the wrong direction to address your unique crisis. And—remind the drivers on your board—that you may need to stop and lament. (Read N.T. Wright’s thoughts on lamenting in Time magazine. He writes, The mystery of the biblical story is that God also laments.”)

#2. BOOM. Possibly, God willing, the post-COVID-19 era might usher in an unprecedented response to the Gospel. Are your board, CEO, and senior team making plans—not for surviving, but thriving? Maybe:
   • Colleges and camps will become residential villages of revival.
   • Churches will re-invent themselves.
   • International outreach will be resourced with an outpouring of funds and volunteers.
   • Christian ministries will innovate down Holy Spirit-led paths.

Maybe, one more time, we should read The Prayer of Jabez.

#3. ZOOM. (Note: I’m not an online meeting expert.) While there are hundreds of articles and columns on how to facilitate online meetings with Zoom, Skype, and other portals—is anyone actually reading these articles? I don’t think so!

Four suggestions:
   • Your screen presence. If I can see the ceiling in your office or third bedroom, repeat after me: “Position the camera at EYE level.”
   • Meeting agenda. Please email the agenda at least two to seven days in advance. 
   • Should you postpone a decision? Hopefully, our business-by-bunker environment will end soon. But—caution! There are two enemies of sound board decisions—and one is to make major decisions online, and not in person. And if you must meet online, estimate the length of the meeting—and then double it.
   • Ask for feedback. Zoom meetings will unlikely meet the needs of all four social styles, but always (always!) ask for feedback. Every meeting can be improved. 

BOARD DISCUSSION: Around-the-Zoom-room: What are you feeling today? What are your insights about the future? What is God saying to you?

MORE RESOURCES: Read Lesson 29 in More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom, “The Two Enemies of Sound Board Decisions. Avoid being pressed for time and making major decisions remotely.” Click here. 

TOOL 4 – Five-Finger Feedback

Fast Feedback in 3 Minutes!

Ken Blanchard reminds us that “feedback is the breakfast of champions.” And Romans 12:3 (NIV) cautions: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…” 

So here’s a Fast Feedback Tool that will immediately improve your board and committee meetings. 

TOOL #4: FIVE-FINGER FEEDBACK
Use This Tool to Enrich Engagement and Immediate Feedback

Tool #4 in the new resource, ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance, can be used creatively with the other 21 tools.

At the conclusion of a board’s Nominating Committee meeting we facilitated, the newly elected committee chair asked for feedback.

“At every board or committee meeting I chair,” he told us, “I always ask each participant to rate the effectiveness of our meeting. So on a scale of one to five (five is high), I’ll ask each of you to give me your rating. How did we do?”

The committee members each shared their rating—holding up the appropriate number of fingers—and also shared the rationale for the rating. Next, the Nominating Committee chair gave his rating—a five—which was an encouragement to everyone.

At our next meeting, I know two things will happen:
1) We’ll be asked to rate the meeting.
2) Throughout the meeting, we’ll be thoughtfully contributing (listening more than talking) to help the ratings stay high!

It’s a brilliant idea—and it took less than three minutes.

Order the tools book from Amazon by clicking on this title: ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance: Time-Saving Solutions for Your Board, by Dan Busby and John Pearson. The book gives you full access to all 22 tools and templates—formatted as Word documents so you can customize the tools for your board’s unique uses.

BOARD DISCUSSION: What if…you’re the chair and the Five-Finger Feedback exercise reveals low scores (just one or two fingers up)? What would you say or do?

MORE RESOURCES: If you prefer paper-and-pencil surveys, check out the “Bonus Resource Tool” on page 30. You can download, customize and then distribute this quick five-question survey just before adjournment. The five-minute evaluation asks board members to rate their preparation, their engagement in the meeting, and the overall engagement of the board. Plus, there’s room to list a highlight and a “lowlight.” The last question is a fill-in-the-blanks request: “Next month’s meeting would be more effective if…”