Leadership Development and Recruitment Program
What are the Vision and Mission for the Program?
VISION: We envision that UUCR will have a reserve of inspired and skilled leaders to accomplish our mission and to continuously renew our leadership talent and resources.
MISSION: To inspire people to become leaders. Provide opportunities and support to grow skilled spiritually grounded leaders who form deeper relationships within our covenant-driven community.
Who is the Target Audience?
People with the potential for leadership, emerging leaders, current leaders, and members of committees, fundraisers, groups, task forces and teams are the focus of the Program.
Who is responsible for the Leadership Development Program?
The Leadership Development Team (the Team). Their responsibilities are to:
Invite members to consider leadership development and to discover how “profound and life changing/life giving it is to be in a position of leadership and the joy and satisfaction it brings, and to know you are nudging the world, even our little corner of the world toward a brighter future.” Cynthia Shires Thurston;
Develop and support new leaders;
Assist in recruiting leaders for vacant positions;
Recruit connectors to act as scouts for those with potential for leadership;
Finalize courses, determine frequency and type of course delivery and evaluation;
Identify trainers and provide training to emerging and current leaders;
Recruit mentors and train mentors;
Evaluate program effectiveness;
Use the UUCR website to advertise UUA leadership resources to encourage leaders/committee chairs to take advantage of online UUA information to equip our leaders and strengthen our existing programs; and
Evaluate recruitment strategy.
What are the recruitment methods?
Several practices and strategies will be used to identify potential leaders. We particularly invite young adults and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) persons to consider leadership. Recruitment approaches will encourage potential leaders to match UUCR’s opportunities for service to their passions. Spiritual leadership growth can serve them in their personal and professional lives, as well as at UUCR.
Whether someone is a newer member or has been at UUCR for years, there are opportunities to serve and lead. How does a member become a leader? Ideally, this happens by participating on a committee or team and becoming familiar with the mission and function. Committees/teams are encouraged to reach out to, share and invite new and interested members to join them.
Committee/team leads are encouraged to think ahead and help prepare for transitions in leadership. Overall, the recruiting process requires careful thought, sensitivity and respect with hopes that leaders will have a rewarding and fulfilling experience at UUCR.
Places to Look for Potential Leaders
Seek input from the minister.
Seek input from the staff to identify people who have potential or have expressed an interest in leadership or have already held leadership positions.
Continue the Activities Fair, enabling people to learn more about ways to serve in a fun and festive atmosphere. This provides a transparent, low-risk way for people to explore leadership service.
Host special in-person training events that include lots of interaction.
Identify "connectors" in the congregation. Ask them to act as scouts for potential leaders.
Who does the recruiting?
UUCR will pursue a multi-level approach to identify potential leaders and invite them into discernment about their skills, gifts and passions in service of the congregation's mission.
The Leadership Development Team will work in coordination with committee and team leaders, the Service Development Team, ministers, and staff to identify those who will be invited to participate in the leadership program.
The Nominating Committee annually will be asked to share the names of congregants that they considered for the Board and Nominating Committee positions but who weren’t ultimately nominated.
Qualities to Look for in Potential Leaders
An understanding and dedication to the congregation's mission and values;
An understanding and practice of covenantal relationship;
An openness to understanding that faith leadership is different than corporate or non-profit leadership;
Open to learning and growing, including challenging their own assumptions;
A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion;
Integrity—they do what they promise or let others know if they can't follow through;
Gratitude and a generosity of spirit to the others they work with;
Grounded and centered—spiritually, ethically and emotionally;
Seen as a leader that others follow—has influence;
Love of people in practice, not just in principle.
What are UUCR’s core leadership qualities?
Spiritual Community Leadership
Purpose-driven Leadership
Emotional Intelligence
Compassionate Communication and Conflict Transformation
Multicultural, Multi-generational Leadership
Understanding of the Congregation as an Interconnected Whole
Leadership Recruitment and Development
Leadership of Organizational Change
Group Leadership, Management and Development
The Team used UUA leadership qualities and competencies models to develop the nine UUCR core leadership qualities. This allows us to link our qualities to the vast, free and low cost UUA leadership development resources.
An example of UUA resources for the Spiritual Community Leadership core leadership quality is Spiritual Grounding for Leadership Development, Attachment 1.
How will leaders be evaluated against the core leadership qualities?
Attachment 2 is titled Leadership Qualities: Description, Self-Evaluation and Plan. It includes a description of each Core Leadership Quality. New leaders and current leaders are requested to complete a self-evaluation and share it with a mentor or an experienced leader.
The Team will reach out to new leaders to provide support.
What training is there for those considering leadership and new and current leaders?
After self-evaluation, leaders are encouraged to identify educational opportunities as appropriate.
UUA trainings include hundreds of educational opportunities: videos, webinars on demand, online courses (some free, some at low cost), websites, articles, and books. This enables leaders to pursue learning from a wide buffet of offerings at their convenience and pace. Contact leadershipdevelopment@uucr.org for tuition support.
The first in the UUA suite of Leadership Development trainings, Centered Leadership Part 1, is designed for people considering leadership, who are beginning to lead or who have leadership experience in contexts other than Unitarian Universalist faith communities.
UUCR trainings will supplement the UUA’s resources.
Is training required to serve as a leader?
No, completion of training will not be required for people to serve as leaders. However, we recognize that leading in the UUCR environment requires different skills, sensitivities and knowledge than a corporate or non-profit organization.
The Leadership Development Team encourages leaders to apprise us of their completion of development work on the nine core leadership qualities. Some leaders may have completed comparable training, for example, emotional intelligence, through their employer and can note that.
Are there strongly encouraged UUCR courses?
At least two courses will be strongly encouraged for those serving in leadership or identified as emerging leaders. The courses will be offered at regular intervals to encourage completion.
Quality 1, Spiritual Community Leadership and Quality 5, Multi-cultural, Multi-generational Leadership will be combined for one classroom course.
Quality 9, Group Leadership, Management and Development will be another classroom course.
Is there a UUCR Path to Leadership?
Yes. The UUA recommends a Path to Leadership. See Attachment 3 for a description.
Will there be Mentoring?
Yes, and we have in-house resources to provide mentoring. See Attachment 4 for a description of the Mentoring effort.
Succession Planning
The bylaws recommend that chairs of committees serve no more than three consecutive one-year terms. Growing new leaders is an important part of the leader’s role.
Attachments
Attachment 2: Leadership Qualities: Description, Self-Evaluation and Plan
