Integrating Organizational Needs and People Needs

I really enjoyed facilitating the Career Path Planning Workshop and was pleasantly surprised by the affirmative response (62 staff registered from 24 different countries around the world) which confirmed that this is a huge felt need for our staff globally. We also saw how it can help us implement some of our key LDHR objectives (i.e. help ensure our staff are known, needed, and have a future, and that every staff member is serving in the right place, at the right time for their maximum contribution).

During the workshop, one of the reminders for me was the way different processes in LDHR need to work together to meet both our organizational needs and the needs of our people. LDHR professionals must balance two key roles: Master Builders and People Champions. Master Builders expand organizational capacity and People Champions maximize individual contribution. There is a need for both, and both are necessary for the fulfillment of our mission.

One of our global priorities is the Leadership Pipeline process which seeks to expand our organizational capacity by providing a pool of the quality and quantity of leaders we need to meet our organizational goals. It is a process that primarily views our leadership needs through organizational glasses. But we also need the Career Path Planning Process to help our staff seek God’s specific leading for their best ministry contribution based on their God-given design, desires, and calling. As the diagram shows, these two processes can be effectively integrated through career and leadership conversations.