Building a Lasting Culture Through Gracious Goodbyes
The Culture Conundrum
“Culture will shape you or you will shape it.” - Jenni Catron
In today's fast-paced ministry environment, the mantra is clear and resounding: culture matters. Over the last few weeks, whether attending conferences or scrolling through my social media feed, one theme has continuously emerged—building a healthy workplace culture.
Ministries and organizations worldwide are diligently working towards creating a culture that embodies their values, missions, and beliefs. From open-door policies, regular one-on-ones, encouraging work-life balance, to listening to employees’ ideas, they're pulling out all the stops to foster a positive culture. If the organization is Christian-centered, the stakes get even higher with the incorporation of spiritual development and Christian values into the workplace.
The Often Overlooked Element: Departures
But there's a hitch. A significant aspect often overlooked is how we handle transitions. The true measure of an organization's culture isn't just about how we treat employees when everything's going smoothly but how we handle departures. The unsettling reality is that all the years of hard work, resources, and time invested in building a robust culture can almost instantly unravel when a team member's departure is poorly handled.
When a person leaves the team, whether by choice or otherwise, the process can harm everything previously built if the exit is abrupt or insensitive. Goodbye to the healthy culture you worked so hard to develop, farewell to a positive, safe working environment, and adieu to your team's productivity.
Our Calling as Christian Organizations
Yet, as Christian organizations, we're called to be different. We're called to be a light in the world, a reflection of God's grace and love. This includes the painful and often challenging process of saying goodbye to team members. John Stieger, CMO at Wilke Global, says, “How you treat people on their way out the door does not go unnoticed by the rest of the organization.” Therefore, we must be intentional about creating an exit process that maintains our culture's integrity and supports the transitioning member.
The Pastoral Transitions Approach
We believe that handling departures with grace, respect, and empathy is vital for preserving and promoting a healthy workplace culture. Through this, we can demonstrate Christ's love, while also shielding our ministry from potential harm. Every person that leaves can either add to or detract from our organization. Our focus should always be to send team members off with grace and gratitude, regardless of their tenure or circumstances leading to their departure.
A healthy goodbye is a testament to a robust, thriving culture that extends beyond the daily operations of an organization. It underlines that we value people more than their roles, their contribution more than their tenure, and their dignity more than their mistakes.
Building Enduring Culture
To build this enduring culture, it's necessary to have a strong transition plan in place. At Pastoral Transitions, we help you create an effective, Christ-centered exit strategy, ensuring your team member's transition is handled with grace, compassion, and dignity, and your ministry continues to shine a light in the world.
Remember, every goodbye matters in the story of your organization's culture.
Let's make each one count.
Matt Davis served as a Teaching and Executive Pastor for more than two decades in Orange County, California. After going through his own pastoral transition out of ministry, Matt learned the difficulty of this season. He helped start Pastoral Transitions, a ministry committed to helping ministry leaders navigate pastoral transitions with grace. As President, he seeks to bring healing a reconciliation to churches and their people.
