Daily Archives: May 12, 2009
Why do we promote talent over integrity?
In chapter 5 of Ten Stupid Things that Keep Churches from Growing author Geoff Surratt looks at how churches (his own included) sometimes find out the hard way that talent of some staff and volunteers gets them positions their integrity would not. This is not usually unintentional. We all want people with both integrity and talent (and in that order), but there are a few times that we get blinded by the talent and fail to do a few checks on the integrity of the individual.
Surratt has some fantastic insight not only in how to know if a talented leader has integrity, but also how to recover when a leader already in place has a lapse of integrity. This kind of information could be beneficial for leaders of any organization, not just church leaders.
I want to share the IQ test at the end of this chapter. Each chapter has an IQ test at the end of it, and this is one iIwould like for you to take and – if you feel appropriate – share your answers in the comments with everyone. Your insight could be invaluable to other readers.
- How do we screen for integrity in new leaders in our church?
- How do we ensure new leaders share our core values? how can we improve this process?
- Has there been an instance in the past when we have promoted talent over integrity? what did we learn? how can we prevent this from happening in the future?
- What, if any, systems do we have in place for ongoing accountability in our leadership? how can we improve those systems?
- Are we having the hard conversations with our staff and key leaders? are any current leaders possibly struggling in the area of personal integrity? how are we going to discuss our concerns with them?
Ten Stupid Things that Keep Churches from Growing is available in print or as an eBook.
Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, ChristianBook.com, or visit Zondervan.com for more retail options.
