Plate spinning.

I enjoyed variety shows on t.v. when I was growing up. You never knew what kind of act you were going to see - music, comedy, dogs dressed in little dresses doing tricks. But there’s one act from way back that stuck in my brain. On the Ed Sullivan Show [no, I'm not that old, I just watched reruns...] there was a guy who came out and… spun plates. Plate spinning was pretty nerve racking - he would balance and spin a dinner plate on top of a stick, then set the stick in a floor holder. The excitement built as he would begin spinning new plates and setting the sticks in the holders - all to the frenetic music of the Hungarian “Sabre Dance” [ok, I had to google it]. Trick was, as he focused attention on the new plates, the old plates would begin to wobble, and he’d have to run back and give them a spin to restart their momentum. He could get 10, 15, 20 or more plates spinning. But sometimes he couldn’t get to all of them, and plates would begin crashing.

I’ve always thought about that plate spinner at stressful times in my job [evidently so have a lot of other people - google 'plate spinning' and see what you find!]. There’ve been times in my career I felt like I had too many major responsibilities to keep spinning - and I’m stressed that something is going to crash.

I’ve come to realize that stress is actually a healthy warning sign - it can mean that I’ve exceeded my “plate spinning” capacity.

Leadership and management coaches tell us we each have our “plate spinning” capacity. We can lead, manage, oversee, carry the responsibility for only so many job areas. Beyond that limit, we lose effectiveness at the least, at the worst - plates crash.

At WRC we’ve identified 6 plates of responsibility - “job areas” - that each of our directors must give focus to. Directors oversee the major ministry areas of the church. Their job targets are different, but these 6 job areas are the same for each one. These are called the KEY MANAGEMENT AREAS [KMAs]…

• Vision/Strategy – piloting the dreams and plans that grow my ministry within the WRC Journey
• Message – charting and communicating the teaching for the flock
• Team (paid, volunteer) – lead the team that runs this ministry [enlisting, equipping, engaging]
• Flock – shepherding the spiritual growth of people through groups
• Programs – create and produce the events that lead people on the journey
• Resources – administrate the finances, facility, equipment/ materials, and systems of the ministry

Even though these 6 are on the job description of each director, reality dictates that they can only focus on 3 or 4 of these each week. As such, they must assign who on their staff or volunteer team will carry the other 3 KMAs. Most directors will focus on the vision/strategy, message, and team KMAs.

When I know my job is to oversee 6 spinning plates each week, handling 3 of them myself and leading my team as they spin the other 3, I can experience greater productivity and impact.

So… how’s your ‘plate spinning’?

• what are the KMAs on your job description - the major job areas that will help you reach your job target?
• on how many are you personally focusing?
• who on your team feels the responsibility and ownership of the other KMAs?