Becoming a Connected Congregation

Presented by Lisa Colton

lisa@see3.com @lisacolton

#connectedcongs

April 9, 2015

Adapted from work with Connected Congregations: A UJA-Federation of New York Initiative with Darim Online

The Game Plan

1. Demographic Trends

2. What is a Connected Congregation?

3. Attributes & Examples

Who Are You Designing For?

Generational CharacteristicsBOOMERS GENX MILLENNIALS PLURALS

1946-196478 million

1965-198048 million

1981-199580 million

1996-200957 million

• Directive, command & control leadership.

• Raised to pursue the American Dream.

• Appreciate meetings

• Loyalty pays off.• Focus on money

and savings.

• Independent, consensual leadership.

• Pay your dues to advance.

• Time is precious, value flexibility.

• Focus on getting it done.

• Loyalty to people not necessarily organizations.

• Creating meaningful work and life.

• Flatter mgmt based on skill, not seniority.

• Moves jobs and location.

• Focus on fulfillment.

• Wary of institutions and bureaucracy

• Hyper global and hyper local focus.

• Multi-faceted identity as normative.

• Realistic and creative.

• Focus on skills more than information or tools.

• Their careers likely do not exist yet today.

• Influence family purchasing.

Jewish Community: Pew Report

Traditional Mindset: Hub & Spokes

“Institution as organizer and mediator” “Command and control leadership”

Connected Mindset: Social & Networked

Hubs are focus on influence, not the center. Currency are relationships and social capital.

Strength of network is the shape and maturity of the network, not # tushes in seats

I ndividual Relationships

Small Group I dentity

Community

Congregation

Synagogue

SYNAGOGUE STRENGTH & SUSTAI NABI LI TY

To strengthen the synagogue, we must invest in individual relationships, supportcollective identity and responsibility, grounded in Jewish values and action.The foundation of this is designing for social engagement with each other.

Congregation Beth Israel, San DiegoLisa Colton, August 2014

We need to matter to each other, and the collective.

MATTERNESS

Turn to the person next to you

Share a time when you felt like you really mattered.

What is a Connected Congregation?

A connected congregation is one that deeply understands the meaning of community, and works explicitly to build a strong, meaningful and engaged Jewish community.

Connected congregations prioritize relationships and shared values, and align all aspects of institutional management in service of the community.

Those within connected congregations feel a sense of shared ownership and responsibility for each other and the collective, and are empowered to contribute their ideas, energy and resources.

I ndividual Relationships

Small Group I dentity

Community

Congregation

Synagogue

SYNAGOGUE STRENGTH & SUSTAI NABI LI TY

To strengthen the synagogue, we must invest in individual relationships, supportcollective identity and responsibility, grounded in Jewish values and action.The foundation of this is designing for social engagement with each other.

Congregation Beth Israel, San DiegoLisa Colton, August 2014

4 LESSONS

1. Values are your DNA. Live them.

2. Define community and design for it.

3. Transparency builds trust.

4. Be adaptive and agile.

#1. VALUES ARE YOUR

CONGREGATIONAL DNA

They areexpressed

everywhere

VALUES ARE YOUR DNA THEY INFORM EVERY DECISION

Temple Beth Abraham, Tarrytown, NY:

“Our board had to discuss our approach to financial relief. The question posed was this: When families ask for special relief are we having a conversation about the pain that family is in or the state of their finances? In other words, are we acting as agents of Acts of Loving Kindness or the IRS?”

-From “Tilling the Soil”, a case study on the Darim Online blogBy Allison Fine, Immediate Synagogue Past President

Where are you now, and where do you want to be? Complete on your own, then you might want to compare later with others from your congregation.

You can download the blank worksheet for your own use athttp://connectedcongregations.org/organizational-values-worksheet/

Organizational Values Worksheet

2. DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF “COMMUNITY”

A connected congregation is one that deeply understands the meaning of community, and works explicitly to build a strong, meaningful and engaged Jewish community.

What does your Community Look Like?

How can you use data differently?

What impact does a program like Shabbat Connections have on this map?

Mike Moxness with Debbie Echt-Moxness On Living On After a Diagnosis of Cancer

• Values based• Nuanced protocols• Personal touch• Infused the DNA• Paying it forward

CARING COMMUNITY

At each step of design and decision making, we can ask ourselves

“is this in service of the community or the institution?”

#3. TRANSPARENCY

“Like authenticity, transparency is not defined by you as a leaders, but by the people you want to trust you and your organization. How much information do they need in order to follow you, trust you with their money or business?”

- Charlene Li

Open Leadership (pg. 193)

Organizational TransparencyWhat is today’s version of an annual report, congregational meeting, or a state of the union?

What kind of transparency, in what formats, helps stakeholders feel like insiders?

#4. Adaptive Challenges & Leadership

25

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES

• Clear cut need• Can be fixed or addressed• Can apply current experience or

skills (or find it)• Developmental change

e.g. building a new website

• Complex issues, dilemmas• No set procedures or policies• No analogous past experience• No expertise• Issue is transitional or

transformational for the organization.

e.g. move to a new revenue/ membership model, hiring a new rabbi

Biggest mistake: approaching adaptive challenges as if they were technical

Adaptive Leadership

Self Assessment

WALK THE WALK

CultureProcessProgram

MeasurementResource Allocation

Q&A