Growth

Growth is something we all seek as individuals, organizations, communities. Growth means we are aware of our surroundings, listening, learning, improving, increasing, and overcoming obstacles.

Growth is a direct outcome of your and your organization's values. Start by being very transparent about your values in announcing them and continually relating behaviors and accomplishments to your values.

Your values may include Service, Excellence, Respect, and Integrity or other character qualities. People and organizations both experience entropy in a static state without feedback. Leadership may speak to values, but our awareness and skills in applying them slowly deteriorate over time without intentional and regular feedback. So how do we overcome this entropy?

Fast Feedback

Fast feedback is looking at all relationships, communication, collaboration, and processes as often as possible, and provide as granular feedback as possible, as timely as possible. This way we have the opportunity to receive, respond and improve in small ways each day and week.

Start by using Bruce Tulgan’s FAST Feedback Model.

Frequent. Ask for feedback after any completion of work or group events. Smaller doses more frequently is more effective than an overload every so often. Remember that feedback can be positive or negative, so you should have ample opportunities to request it.

Accurate. Be sure to ask for specific feedback on each service offered, activity engaged in, or event. Ask for specific feedback, including on the goals, objectives, and activities in administrative services, worship, or teaching events.

Specific. Providing vague or general feedback is not helpful because it does not help them understand how to improve. Think about what was important in the process or activity and ask specific questions to understand if you reached the outcomes desired.

Timely. Don’t wait for annual or semi-annual organizational feedback forums. Look at any activity where there are outcomes delivered, whether a lesson, an event, or group get together.

Pursuing fast feedback is a core to humility, because it starts with us assuming we can always improve, and that we need the input of others to be able to know how best to do it.

Fast feedback is an essential part of the Christian life. We are to daily immerse our minds in God's Word through reading, study, memorization and meditation. As this embeds the Word of God in our hearts, and submit to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit can use it to provide us feedback on our thoughts and actions throughout the day.

Fast feedback is an essential part of the Church body. As we submit to each other we can be intentional about asking for feedback so that we can better serve others, and participate more effectively in the work of the kingdom of God.

Examples that have been effective in the church yielding great results have included;

• Feedback cards are provided weekly in every bulletin with the regular request for feedback, inquiries, or prayer requests. Worship leaders regularly ask for attendees to provide feedback cards during the service and the cards are collected as part of the offering collection or at the door.
• The pastor presents their sermon to the church staff an Thursday or Fridays to get feedback on how to improve content, delivery, relatability, and application. Staff can ask questions or provide feedback throughout the presentation.
• Teaching staff look to have a small circle of peers who they can periodically present their lessons to and get feedback.
• Staff send a quick person email when services are delivered and ask for feedback on the receiver's experience.
• For smaller group Bible studies, classes, or events, leaders deliver feedback every week to their group pastor regarding who attended and any issues they faced or questions they have. The small group leaders also deliver surveys every quarter (12 weeks), hand them out them in the session, ask for everyone to fill them out, and then collect them. Then the leaders review them as a group with their leadership, summarize any themes, and define action plans to apply any improvements. Be specific to ask about the lessons provided, the group interactions, the time of prayer, the comfort of the accommodations, and the results of the activities.
• After a larger event like a music concert or outing, hand out feedback cards, and have someone actively collecting them to show a desire for feedback.
• Have regular staff 360s, where an individual staff member can request feedback from 7 or more of their own staff, peers or leadership on an annual or semi-annual basis for feedback on how they are demonstrating the organization's values, exercising their gifts, or growing, so that they can know where to focus their growth going forward.
• Feedback can be collected face to face, manually through feedback cards, digitally through email, text or Twitter.
• Look for any process delivered in administration, worship or teaching and see how you can incorporate FAST feedback. Have staff that are providing services in the church meet to reflect monthly on what is working and should be celebrated, and what could be improved in the next month.

When members of any group observe other members asking for FAST feedback, it communicates humility and transparency, which builds trust. Trust is the emolient that allows for individuals and groups to experience growth more quickly. As you ask for fast feedback you will have better self awareness and be able to grow faster and stronger. As your organization asks for fast feedback, it will be able to be attentive and respond more quickly to peoples needs, waste less resources on things that are not of value, and achieve greater results and satisfaction.

Please provide me any feedback on if this article was helpful or if you have recommendations for improvement: realfaithinjesus@gmail.com