According to a research study by The Concours Group and VitalSmarts, 85% of all project failures can be attributed to “organizational silence.”

VitalSmarts also brings to our attention additional online survey research that shows:

• 90% of employees know far in advance when projects are doomed but feel capable of speaking up
• 81% say approaching a key decision maker about the project is nearly impossible
• 78% say they are personally working on a “doomed” project right now
• 71% say they try to speak up to key decision makers but don’t feel they are heard

Are any projects or programs at your church failing because no one communicates?

Delegation to staff and volunteers is an essential task of large, growing churches, but the leaders doing the delegating must not forget to do three things:

1. Listen
   Make time for gathering feedback. Encourage it. And avoid prideful thinking that your way is the best and only solution.
2. Respond
   Listening is worthless if you never respond to feedback. Recognize the good ideas and do them. Dismiss the ideas that are not right for your church but be sure to explain the “why” behind the dismissal. And if success requires you doing a specific task, you better do it because no one wants to follow a leader who can not do his part.
3. Create a Positive Culture
   If your staff latches onto the negative mindset that something is “doomed,” success is far less likely if not impossible. They have already failed in their minds. Create a positive, optimistic work environment. Of course, you still must encourage feedback, but the key to success is how leadership handles the feedback.

[via Project Management Source]