14 Reasons for Lead Pastors to Do a 360-Degree Evaluation

Serving as the lead pastor of any church carries with it a huge responsibility to carry out the mission of the church. In this process, God gives vision and the resources to accomplish it. However, at some point along the way, most pastors ask themselves if they are being as effective as they could in leading the church.

Different from other staff members, the lead pastor is the president and CEO of the church. Yes, they are the shepherd of the flock and they care for people. However, the larger the church grows, the greater the demand on the pastor’s leadership and effectiveness. They coordinate with a church board but they are the leader of the board. They coordinate with a church staff but they lead them as well. So how is it that a lead pastor can get an accurate read of how they are doing… and compared to what?

One of the best ways for a lead pastor to self-evaluate is to ask people around them to weigh in on what they see-to do a 360-degree evaluation. However, when you are the lead pastor it is often difficult to gain honest feedback. The risks of being honest are sometimes seen as too great by staff, board members, or key lay leaders.

Let me note that doing a self-evaluation should never be seen as a performance review. More than one lead pastor has gone down the path of asking for a performance review only to find that this results in an abdication of leadership to the church board. Not good. In the same way, boards that march down that path set the stage for the pastor to be seen as the highest paid hireling of the church. When that happens the growth of the church comes to a screeching halt. The lead pastor is not the highest paid hireling. The lead pastor is the leader, the person who seeks God for the vision of the church and casts it before the leadership, all to the accomplishment of mission.

To be clear, a 360-degree evaluation is a tool used by the lead pastor, staff and board to help the lead pastor get a sense of how their leadership is viewed by those around them. When used as it should be, the evaluation tool increases the strength and effectiveness of the lead pastor’s leadership.

In recent years, two fine resources have been developed to help pastors to this end:

1. Prism is a resource from the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA). Prism is designed to give honest feedback to pastors from a full spectrum of the pastor’s professional community. It is priced at $110 and reports out approximately 7-9 pages of research data. Research analysis and debriefing is available at approximately $150-$250. Contact Phill Martin at NACBA (http://www.nacba.net) for more information.

2. 360 is an instrument from Best Christian Workplaces Institute. This outstanding ministry firm has developed this tool for senior leaders to gain valuable feedback from board, staff and key lay leaders. It is priced at $495 and reports out approximately 45-50 pages of research data. Research analysis and debriefing is included in the price. Contact Al Lopus at Best Christian Workplaces Institute at (http://www.bcwinstitute.com) for more information.

Here are 14 reasons why I think it is important for every lead pastor to utilize something like Prism or 360 every three to five years.

1. Confirm or discover areas of strength from which to build greater leadership. Discovery reveals hidden strengths.

2. Confirm or discover areas needing improvement. Discovery uncovers blind spots.

3. Gain valuable feedback from thorough research analysis and debriefing provided by trained professionals. This allows the lead pastor to set the stage to make improvements where necessary.

4. Build stronger teams.

5. Strengthen the leadership of people and change management.

6. Avert the stalling of the church that emanates from the pastor’s leadership.

7. Avoid the excessive risk that comes with the assumption that leaders see and know everything about them.

8. Gain comprehensive in-depth feedback. The larger the church, the harder it is to get honest feedback.

9. Gain self-awareness.

10. Learn how the lead pastor’s actions either advance or hinder the work and ministry of others around them.

11. Set a game plan for improvement.

12. Watch the board, staff and lay relationships improve.

13. Watch the mission of the church advance.

14. It improves communication between the lead pastor, staff and board.

At the end of the day, if the lead pastor goes for an indefinite period of time with only the criticisms or “atta-boys” that come from board, laity or staff, little improvement or forward progress in their own development as leader can be expected. I strongly recommend lead pastors pick up one of these two instruments and begin the journey of improving as the leader of the greatest enterprise on planet earth-the local church!