3 Ways Church Leaders can Build Trust with Staff and Volunteers

We can all look back at the various jobs and volunteer experiences we’ve had and say, “That one was great!” and “That one was terrible!” Some organizations are really good at treating people well and drawing out their best and others are well, not so good.

The question is: What’s the tangible difference? And more specifically, how can we ensure that we create an environment that lands in the "great place to work and serve" category?

I think it comes down to trust.

In great organizations and churches, staff and volunteers trust their leaders. So, how do you build trust? I think you’re well on your way when your people can honestly say these three phrases:

PHRASE 1: I FEEL APPRECIATED

Inevitably, in low trust environments, staff and volunteers say something like,

“I feel like a cog in the machine.”

Or

“I don’t feel like they care about me as a person.”

These statements are indicators that people don’t feel appreciated. You would think that churches would be immune from this criticism because of our commitment to the way of Jesus, but the truth is that many church staff and volunteers feel underappreciated.

The foundation for trust is quality relationships. For those of us who are in leadership positions in our churches, it is critical that we build quality relationships with the people we lead.

Our followers must believe that we actually like them and are for them. Practically speaking, how do we do this?

• Regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports that contain relational elements. Meet even when you don’t have much of an agenda, simply for the purpose of building relationships.
• Knowing your volunteer’s names. Volunteers understand that you can’t have a relationship with every single person, but knowing their names is a powerful step in the right direction.
• Encouraging notes go a long way in communicating value and appreciation.
• Scheduled relational time. It’s important that church leaders build time into their schedule for taking their people out for lunch and for simply walking through the office to say hi and be present. Even two hours a week can make a huge difference.

Staff and volunteers who trust their leaders feel appreciated and valued. This is the foundation of a culture of trust.

PHRASE 2: I KNOW WHAT’S EXPECTED

There’s a reason the human race invented scoreboards, speedometers, and grades.

We crave a clear understanding of how we are doing.

As a student, not knowing how you are doing in a class until the end of the year is frustrating, as an athlete, competing without a scoreboard feels pointless. And driving by a police cruiser when your speedometer isn’t working properly is frightening. Deep within human nature is a desire to know how we are doing.

Although it may feel counter-intuitive, it’s a relief for our staff and volunteers to actually know how they are doing. They want clear expectations and accurate and timely feedback.

In our student ministry, we try to be very clear with our small group leaders at the beginning of every ministry season by saying:

"If you do these three things then you win."

We try to make it simple and clear. And, every time we meet with one of our volunteers we spend a little time saying

“Here are a few things you are doing well. Here’s one area where I think you have an opportunity to grow.”

Here are a few keys to providing clear expectations and accurate and timely feedback:

1. Expectations must be communicated beforehand. It sounds obvious but expectations are often left unsaid. Do you have a document outlining the expectations of each staff and volunteer role? Have you communicated the expectations in a conversation? If the answer to either of these questions is no, then you haven’t really communicated your expectations.
2. Feedback must be accurate. By accurate, I mean that we must provide specific examples when we give feedback. Instead of saying: “Sometimes you come across as arrogant.”
3. Try something more like:
5. "Last week, in our staff meeting, when Sally suggested that we might need a new font for the bulletin, you rolled your eyes. When you do that, it comes across as arrogance."
7. It’s specific and accurate. It’s tied to a real situation.
8. Feedback must be timely. Often, we save our feedback for the annual review. Bad idea. For instance:
   “Hey, I’m giving you a 1 out of 5 on professionalism because you wear sweatpants to the office.” The response? “If you would have told me seven months ago that it was a problem, I would have changed!” I think you get my point. We owe it to our people to provide feedback within a few days. This way, the positive feedback means more and the constructive feedback is actionable.

A key component to a high-trust culture is clear expectations and feedback.

PHRASE 3: I FEEL EMPOWERED

No one wants to feel like a robot on an assembly line. We want meaningful work and we want to be good at what we do. Leaders who develop trust empower their people to do great work. This means two things:

1. Give them meaningful work. When we give our people projects and tasks that matter, they will feel that we trust them. In my experience, it’s a great idea to stretch your staff and volunteers by trusting them with projects and tasks that are just slightly beyond their comfort zone.

2. It will stretch their ability and build their confidence.
3. Equip them to do meaningful work. There is a huge difference between:
   “I want you to preach a sermon next month.”
4. And:
6. “I want you to preach a sermon next month and I’d like to meet with you to walk you through how I prepare my sermons and what I’m expecting from you."
8. In the first scenario, you are throwing them to the wolves! In the second, you are investing in them and empowering them to do the work. The first scenario builds fear. The second builds trust.
10. Organizations that have built a culture of trust empower their people to do great work. Think about the people you lead. Is there a task or project that is just beyond their reach that through coaching they could accomplish? This would be a huge step in the right direction.

BUILD TRUST IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

We all want our churches to be great places to work and serve. We want to build trust with our staff and volunteers. In my mind it comes down to making your people feel appreciated, providing them with clear expectations and feedback, and empowering them to do great work.

If you’re looking to grow in the area of trust, I’d encourage you to take a step in the right direction on just one of these ideas. You may also be interested in reading my article on creating an amazing staff culture at your church.

If you have any ideas, comments, questions, or stories relating to building trust within your own staff and volunteer teams, I'd love it if you shared them in the comments below.