Two out of three Christian leaders are failing to truly inspire their employees according to a recent HR investigation carried out by the Evangelical Alliance.
27 February 2006
The findings are part of a survey thought to be the largest of its kind in the Christian sector. Only 36 per cent of employees rated their leaders as excellent in their ‘ability to inspire’. Less than a third (30%) marked their leaders as excellent in competence and professionalism. And only a fifth (18%) rated their leaders as excellent at delegating. The results highlight a need for more leadership training. In the areas of trustworthiness, integrity, spiritual maturity and compassion, however, they faired much better.
Sheila Jones, the Alliance’s Associate Director for Human Resources, commented, “The priority of character is a critical one and it is encouraging to find leadership emerging out of godly character, but it also flags up a lack of competence and the need for the acquisition of further leadership skills in many organisations. From an Alliance perspective we are looking to encourage Christian leaders in the UK to consider their personal development seriously and make use of literature for Christian and commercial leaders, and attend gatherings and conferences, that will inspire and equip them for the responsible task of leadership.”
There were 240 respondents to the survey, Authentic Christianity at Work, representing a spectrum of organisations from small churches and charities to large international Christian societies. It concentrated on eight main areas: communication, legislation, leadership, staff welfare, distinctiveness, learning and development, motivation and challenges.
In the area of Distinctiveness the survey makes the point that working in a Christian organisation should be different. Survey respondents listed the most important distinctive as ‘trust between leaders and staff’. However, when asked how well Christian organisations showed their strengths, ‘trust’ came fifth out of 11 distinctives.
Mrs Jones added, “This indicates that perhaps competence and a lack of leadership development is having some effect in the trust stakes.”
Unsurprisingly, benefits and salaries were not held up as positives when working for a Christian organisation, but, more encouragingly, high numbers of respondents had generous leave policies which encouraged a good work/life balance.
A Full Report on this survey, including case studies.
Media Contact:
Helen Draper / Liz Hogarth
Evangelical Alliance
020 7207 2117/ 2115
h.draper@eauk.org / l.hogarth@eauk.org
Notes to editors:
The Evangelical Alliance UK, formed in 1846, is an umbrella group representing over one million evangelical Christians in the UK and is made up of member churches, organisations and individuals. As part of a ‘movement for change’, the Alliance promotes unity and truth, acts as an evangelical voice to the state, society and the wider Church, and provides resources to help members and other evangelicals live out their faith in their communities.
