The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
We're all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
When Outsiders See It First
Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com
Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
- - - - -
Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.
Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.
Hey, have you ever had a consultant or maybe a new hire, somebody new on your team, on your staff, point out something really obvious that you and your team missed for years. And it's not because you're blind, it's because you're too close. And today on the podcast, we're going to explore why outsiders often see cultural misalignment faster than insiders do. And what that tells us about our blind spots and our leadership vulnerability and our courage to listen. Hi there, my name's Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders of overchemistrystaffing.com, and I'm your host right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Have you ever had someone just walk into your church or staff culture and immediately point out something that's been off for years? That's the power of a fresh set of eyes. But here's the tension. Why didn't your team see it first? After you find out about it, you look at it and you're like, man, it's obvious. How didn't we see that? And that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about the blind spots that only outsiders can see, and why ignoring them can quietly sabotage your mission at your church? All right, why does this even happen? Come on, we're bright people, we should figure this out. The truth is, familiarity breeds blindness. When you're a part of the system, it's hard to see the system. We normalize dysfunction because it's always been that way. And long-term staff maybe unconsciously adapt to unhealthy norms. And the truth is, the longer that you're in it, the more you stop asking, why do we do it this way? And familiarity just makes you comfortable. And comfort dulls that curiosity that you maybe normally have for other things. Outsiders aren't just smarter, but they're just not biased. Okay? So they don't have the history. They don't know how it used to be. They aren't emotionally tied to that one legacy staff member. They're the ones, the outside eyes and ears, they're the ones that notice the weird stuff because it's weird, not because it's normal. And when you bring in a consultant or a new team member and they see the cracks immediately, please don't take that as an insult. Take it as an insight. And that's why onboarding matters with new team members. And that's why you should always ask new staff what feels confusing? What seems to be broken? Where do we seem to be misaligned here? Because their fresh eyes are going to see things that you just can't see. So, how do you create a culture that sees it sooner? Okay? Without bringing in a new consultant every other month. How do you create a culture that sees some of these things sooner? Feedback's important. Build those feedback back loops into your leadership rhythm. And normalize asking outside voices. You don't have to always pay for outside voices. Sometimes they're well worth the money. But normalize asking people that are outside, that are outside your system, outside your norm, to kind of speak into your structure and your team. And celebrate that doesn't make sense as a leadership gift, not as a threat. Okay? And maybe just be more committed to clarity than to your comfort zones. Healthy leaders don't just seek the truth, they create conditions where the truth can be seen and said out loud. Here's your final thought for today, because maybe this has happened to you recently. You don't need to be embarrassed that outsiders see what you missed. Put that out of your head. Don't be embarrassed about it anymore. You just need to be brave enough to do something about it. I'd love to hear from you. What's something that maybe a new hire, maybe an outsider, maybe a consultant, somebody that's not on your team came in and helped you see about your culture? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me anytime, podcast at chemistry staffing.com. Love to start a conversation. Maybe you maybe you're looking for somebody to come in and get a read on your culture. I'd love to do that for churches. And you can reach out to me and let's start that conversation. See maybe we can partner together on this. My email address, podcast at chemistry staffing.com. All right, that's it for today. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. We're here every weekday, Monday through Friday, right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast with Reconny.
