Coaching: Asset for the Church

In a study conducted by the International Coaching Federation on “Building a Coaching Culture with Millennial Leaders,” Alejandro Campos,  Head of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Continental Tire Worldwide, is cited in this quote:

“Coaching is one of the instruments that we see can really boost performance and also help realize potential for people. We see it as something that is important to leverage our culture. So especially now that we are trying to be a more progressive and attractive employer, we’re trying to move from a culture of more top-down approach to a more collaborative approach in the more engaging leadership style.”

There is a crisis in ministerial leadership. In many denominations, there are fewer seasoned ministers available and many younger clergy are disenchanted about working in the local church. The stresses of church leadership increase exponentially. One way to address this concern is to incorporate basic tenets of coaching into the life of the church.

Coaching can benefit clergy in several ways:

Coaching provides the encouragement, development, and support needed by pastors to lead congregations in a rapidly changing climate, thus reducing burn-out and frustration.
By providing coaching, the congregation affirms its investment in the success and health of its ministerial leaders.
Leaders who develop a coaching mindset are more likely to apply this in empowering lay leadership in their congregations.

A coaching culture would also benefit congregations in several other ways:

Creating a more collaborative culture that fosters creativity and innovation.
Strengthening the bench with emerging leaders from all generations.
Assuring longer tenure for ministerial staff.

Churches that choose to embrace a coaching approach will be better equipped to face the challenges of discontinuous change they face today.

(A version of this post first appeared here on November 21, 2017.)

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