Shalem's Internal Structure Change
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A Call To Teams
by Diane Paras
Spirituality in the workplace can be a challenge; sometimes it calls for change. Here at Shalem, it called for teams. Teams are an organizational structure that is non-hierarchical. We moved toward this change because of our own growth. During Shalem's history, programs and projects steadily increased, and staff were added to support them. Two years ago, as we celebrated our 20th anniversary, the Board of Directors decided to take a fresh look at our mission statement, and we embarked on an envisioning process to examine what we were doing and what it called from us for our future.
From this process we realized that we needed to change our internal structure. Though Shalem was born with a typical hierarchical structure, our growth made it cumbersome for one or two people to be in charge of all Shalem's activities. Also, turnover is very slow, and employees were eager to contribute more to the ministry. We needed to make room for their gifts. But it wasn't only that calling of the employees to contribute more to Shalem that caused our organizational change. Nor was it only that we had gotten too big for the structure of our early days. The real impetus was much more radical. Praying together, "practicing the presence" together, we saw each other as equal persons in the sight of God, and it gradually became essential to make this spiritual view of each other as equals manifest in our workplace.
So we became three teams. The Business Team is made up of administrative staff who work closely together to coordinate all aspects of running Shalem. The Program Team, or full-time program staff, takes responsibility for program envisioning and projects. The Executive Team--the working Board that meets once a month--stewards the overall health and future of Shalem.
Though not always smooth in the transition or the adjustment, we feel we've been very successful. Productivity is high, morale is very good, commitment to Shalem's mission is deeper than ever. Everyone on staff desires and is expected to pull his/her weight, to be responsible for her/his own sphere of expertise but also to pitch in and help in other areas of the organization.
We believe we recognized the need for this change and were able to accommodate it because of the contemplative dimension of our time together. As a praying community, listening in unison to God's call, spirituality in the workplace became more than a topic of conversation, more than a shared desire. It was our struggle to function in the workplace contemplatively that brought us to the team structure. Only by taking an open, flexible, and trusting stance could power and responsibility be shared to such a great extent.
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On Giving Away Power
Patricia Clark
My first experience with the team approach, although I didn't know it at the time, was about five years ago when I was on retreat. As usually happens, I took my life problems to work out, including some about Shalem. I did a lot of journaling, made discernment charts, etc., and suddenly one afternoon found myself kneeling in my room on the floor, praying to Teresa of Avila, my saint of equality and mutuality.
I've never knelt alone willingly on the floor before or since and can't remember if I prayed to Teresa or if her image came to me. She was silent, and yet I knew she was there as a vision of friendship and mutuality. I took it as a sign with no clarity about action and began to see my whole spiritual journey to be about power and control. I had mistakenly for many years projected this out as taking away power from others or others giving up power so I had more. Teresa, however, seemed to be leading me to be the one to give up and surrender, showing me that what was to be given to others was to come from me. But I was minimally conscious at this time that giving up part of my salary might be what was symbolically needed.
After several years of struggling with this, talking in meetings about gardens (where all flowers have beauty) and levelling the playing field, I found myself eyeball to eyeball with my colleagues on the Business Team, knowing my higher salary was a key point, that Teresa definitely had this in mind, and now I needed to do what the team wanted in its heart. The night before a crucial salary meeting and what it meant as a team, I went home, prayed and got real clarity about my security, that all was possible in a world full of God's abundant love, and that I need worry about nothing. This was not an ethereal feeling; it was very practical and solid. I knew what I could give up financially. The team came together the next day and worked out a formula using the salary money of the team to be divided in a new way recognizing equality of responsibility, the value of each person's gifts, experience and longevity. The formula matched my practical prayer answer exactly.
Though this was a shaky time for me, now after about two years, I see it as key to so many things about real trust for me as to God's leadership in my relationship with money, power and self-image. Every day I am led to more relinquishment of self-image and power (as viewed by others) to know a true image of love, giving and compassion as known by God. I am indebted to the team and my friends, true spiritual companions, for their unconditional love throughout this process.
---------------------------------------------
Six Months on the Team
Emily North
Shalem's team structure was evident to me from the beginning. Most of my job interview questions centered around the qualities needed to work as a team, such as flexibility, willingness to be accountable, good listening skills, but just as important were issues around spirituality. In both interviews the team wanted to know about my spiritual journey: what is it about? am I actively seeking God's presence in my life?
At my first staff prayer, as I observed how people related, I was amazed by the care and love they showed each other. Whether they shared insights or prayer concerns, there was a corporate lifting up of the person to God's care as she or he spoke. It does not mean there are not tensions or personality clashes, but there is a genuine attempt to see the Divine within each person.
What does this have to do with working as a team? Everyone's contribution is counted as essential to the well-being of the organization. There are no assumptions of rank or status, though obviously there are different roles. I am not the executive director and I cannot take Tilden's place, but my job as local programs registrar is as vital to the running of Shalem as a program director or fundraiser. I also influence and contribute to other aspects of Shalem through meeting with the team and helping out in areas where there is need. I know my opinion counts and I am asked for it, am expected to fully participate in all meetings I attend, and even though I am the newest member of the staff, am not "stuck" with the tasks no one wants to do.
My six months here have been the best work experience for me in terms of organizational structure and morale, and I believe Shalem's desire to be present to God has resulted in empowering its employees in a way that is seldom seen in most work settings. Shalem is not a perfect organization, but being open to the presence and work of God provides fertile ground for extraordinary results.
This team development project was aided by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. A full project report is available upon request from the Shalem office.
by Diane Paras
Spirituality in the workplace can be a challenge; sometimes it calls for change. Here at Shalem, it called for teams. Teams are an organizational structure that is non-hierarchical. We moved toward this change because of our own growth. During Shalem's history, programs and projects steadily increased, and staff were added to support them. Two years ago, as we celebrated our 20th anniversary, the Board of Directors decided to take a fresh look at our mission statement, and we embarked on an envisioning process to examine what we were doing and what it called from us for our future.
From this process we realized that we needed to change our internal structure. Though Shalem was born with a typical hierarchical structure, our growth made it cumbersome for one or two people to be in charge of all Shalem's activities. Also, turnover is very slow, and employees were eager to contribute more to the ministry. We needed to make room for their gifts. But it wasn't only that calling of the employees to contribute more to Shalem that caused our organizational change. Nor was it only that we had gotten too big for the structure of our early days. The real impetus was much more radical. Praying together, "practicing the presence" together, we saw each other as equal persons in the sight of God, and it gradually became essential to make this spiritual view of each other as equals manifest in our workplace.
So we became three teams. The Business Team is made up of administrative staff who work closely together to coordinate all aspects of running Shalem. The Program Team, or full-time program staff, takes responsibility for program envisioning and projects. The Executive Team--the working Board that meets once a month--stewards the overall health and future of Shalem.
Though not always smooth in the transition or the adjustment, we feel we've been very successful. Productivity is high, morale is very good, commitment to Shalem's mission is deeper than ever. Everyone on staff desires and is expected to pull his/her weight, to be responsible for her/his own sphere of expertise but also to pitch in and help in other areas of the organization.
We believe we recognized the need for this change and were able to accommodate it because of the contemplative dimension of our time together. As a praying community, listening in unison to God's call, spirituality in the workplace became more than a topic of conversation, more than a shared desire. It was our struggle to function in the workplace contemplatively that brought us to the team structure. Only by taking an open, flexible, and trusting stance could power and responsibility be shared to such a great extent.
---------------------------------------------
On Giving Away Power
Patricia Clark
My first experience with the team approach, although I didn't know it at the time, was about five years ago when I was on retreat. As usually happens, I took my life problems to work out, including some about Shalem. I did a lot of journaling, made discernment charts, etc., and suddenly one afternoon found myself kneeling in my room on the floor, praying to Teresa of Avila, my saint of equality and mutuality.
I've never knelt alone willingly on the floor before or since and can't remember if I prayed to Teresa or if her image came to me. She was silent, and yet I knew she was there as a vision of friendship and mutuality. I took it as a sign with no clarity about action and began to see my whole spiritual journey to be about power and control. I had mistakenly for many years projected this out as taking away power from others or others giving up power so I had more. Teresa, however, seemed to be leading me to be the one to give up and surrender, showing me that what was to be given to others was to come from me. But I was minimally conscious at this time that giving up part of my salary might be what was symbolically needed.
After several years of struggling with this, talking in meetings about gardens (where all flowers have beauty) and levelling the playing field, I found myself eyeball to eyeball with my colleagues on the Business Team, knowing my higher salary was a key point, that Teresa definitely had this in mind, and now I needed to do what the team wanted in its heart. The night before a crucial salary meeting and what it meant as a team, I went home, prayed and got real clarity about my security, that all was possible in a world full of God's abundant love, and that I need worry about nothing. This was not an ethereal feeling; it was very practical and solid. I knew what I could give up financially. The team came together the next day and worked out a formula using the salary money of the team to be divided in a new way recognizing equality of responsibility, the value of each person's gifts, experience and longevity. The formula matched my practical prayer answer exactly.
Though this was a shaky time for me, now after about two years, I see it as key to so many things about real trust for me as to God's leadership in my relationship with money, power and self-image. Every day I am led to more relinquishment of self-image and power (as viewed by others) to know a true image of love, giving and compassion as known by God. I am indebted to the team and my friends, true spiritual companions, for their unconditional love throughout this process.
---------------------------------------------
Six Months on the Team
Emily North
Shalem's team structure was evident to me from the beginning. Most of my job interview questions centered around the qualities needed to work as a team, such as flexibility, willingness to be accountable, good listening skills, but just as important were issues around spirituality. In both interviews the team wanted to know about my spiritual journey: what is it about? am I actively seeking God's presence in my life?
At my first staff prayer, as I observed how people related, I was amazed by the care and love they showed each other. Whether they shared insights or prayer concerns, there was a corporate lifting up of the person to God's care as she or he spoke. It does not mean there are not tensions or personality clashes, but there is a genuine attempt to see the Divine within each person.
What does this have to do with working as a team? Everyone's contribution is counted as essential to the well-being of the organization. There are no assumptions of rank or status, though obviously there are different roles. I am not the executive director and I cannot take Tilden's place, but my job as local programs registrar is as vital to the running of Shalem as a program director or fundraiser. I also influence and contribute to other aspects of Shalem through meeting with the team and helping out in areas where there is need. I know my opinion counts and I am asked for it, am expected to fully participate in all meetings I attend, and even though I am the newest member of the staff, am not "stuck" with the tasks no one wants to do.
My six months here have been the best work experience for me in terms of organizational structure and morale, and I believe Shalem's desire to be present to God has resulted in empowering its employees in a way that is seldom seen in most work settings. Shalem is not a perfect organization, but being open to the presence and work of God provides fertile ground for extraordinary results.
This team development project was aided by a grant from the Lilly Foundation. A full project report is available upon request from the Shalem office.
© 2008 The Shalem Institute.