Crossroads Grace, an established and seasoned church plant in Manteca, California, is three decades into ministry in their community. As their staff of 32 and regular attendance of 2500 members continued to grow and flourish, they saw a need for a tool to streamline and optimize communication. They knew a simplified process, and implementing the same tools for the entire team to use across the board would bring more alignment and clarity. With their staff on the same page, they could focus on the work at hand rather than the processes that slowed them down.
“Whether it's during Covid or just in regular times, communication, clarity, and alignment are some of the biggest elements that shape our culture.”
- Ed Applegate, Executive Pastor, Crossroads Grace Church
Their staff faced the challenge of a melting pot of tools to help different people and different communication styles do their work effectively. While Ed pointed out that his team got stuff done using software like Basecamp, Google, or Asana, setting goals and seeing the big picture direction for their work was difficult when it wasn’t all in one place.
Ed recalled that finding alignment when everyone was using a different tool was an obstacle, regardless of if the staff was working in person or remotely. But, he remembered, working remotely during COVID-19 seemed to amplify the disconnect and shine a light on a more urgent need for clarity and communication.
Leadr helped Crossroads Grace put all of their communication, planning, and goals into one simple and user-friendly place. This not only aligned their existing team to maximize connection, collaboration and goal-setting and goal-reaching, but it also gave new hires a clear starting place for communication and eliminated confusion about who or how to ask questions or find answers.
Communication is key to unlocking success in more than just to-do lists.
It wasn’t long before Crossroads Grace realized that Leadr offered more than just a communication tool. Leadr’s people management software also includes a meeting tool to schedule and track all 1:1 and team meetings, a feedback tool which provides a safe space to share input after meetings and presentations, and a reviews tool that allows direct reports and managers to collaborate through the yearly or semi-annual review process. As a result, Crossroads Grace is now seeing that all of their people development processes can be accomplished by utilizing just one tool. Their team can set meetings that accomplish clear goals and encourage effective feedback and efficient collaboration all in one place.
Their team has a unified space for HR resources, meeting notes, and annual reviews, for employees of all stages and experience levels.
And, as their team grows and develops, they have a platform for learning that brings the conversation full circle. This is, Crossroads Grace Church leadership said, one of their favorite benefits.
Through a library of learning videos and resources, they find ways to improve and personalize staff development for each team member, opening up space for one-on-one feedback and growth.
As a supervisor and busy executive pastor, Ed can assign a video to his direct reports with customized questions for them to answer in advance. With their tangible development work in hand, he and team members are able to sit down one on one and productively discuss takeaways, debrief on their own, and build a sense of discipline and personal commitment to growth as staff or leader. “I think my favorite feature is being able to find a learning tool, like a video, that I want my team to consider, being able to customize some questions for them to answer in advance, and then sitting down together in a one on one meeting to discuss that learning together.” Shared Ed.
“We need somebody to help us grow, and Leadr makes that really easy. As a supervisor, it gives me a chance to see what somebody's thinking, and then we can have a real conversation around that.”
- Ed Applegate, Executive Pastor, Crossroads Grace Church
Alignment strengthens team member’s passion for mission by equipping team members with clarified vision.
Before Leadr, Ed says his team was passionate about their mission and were growing and developing. But at some point, the process would break down. Ineffective one on ones weren’t propelling team members towards necessary growth. Instead, the deeper the organization got, the less effective meetings became. They began to feel more tedious and less effective.
So, Crossroads Grace Church went back to the drawing board, selecting a simple tool for every person to use. At first, giving clear direction to use one tool in one on one and team meetings felt awkward, but that dissipated as team buy-in increased once they saw Leadr’s software benefits.
A key component of their transformed meetings was introducing a central agenda. Having an open, collaborative agenda allowed team members flexibility to add items and communicate in their unique style while keeping the most essential topics and information in focus.
The agenda also provides a helpful record of the meeting for those who couldn’t make it, a guide for new processes discussed during meetings, and a record of any action items that came as a result of each meeting.
Intentional and aligned meetings helped team members visualize progress towards goals and work together effectively to meet them, without the distractions of many different tools for communication. Sharing one tool also helps team members see what their peers are thinking about and can proactively begin conversations and alignment without even having a discussion.
“It’s empowering for the whole team, from admin setting the agendas to teams collaborating. We know where we're going. We know what we're doing. We were limping a little bit, but it's helped us limp a little less and move forward faster because we're aligned better.”
- Ed Applegate, Executive Pastor, Crossroads Grace Church
Organization-wide success and adoption flourished when team members could see the software for themselves.
When it came to asking team members to adopt a new software while also setting aside their preferred tools, Ed knew the most effective way to encourage team members and help them truly understand and visualize how the Leadr software could help them go farther, faster was for them to see it for themselves.
Part of a strong organizational culture is ensuring that leadership trickles from the top down. That means that decision-making isn’t always just a few at the top. Teams who know their voice is heard are more likely to enjoy their work, put their heart into their roles, and become champions of the processes they collaborate on.
When making the decision to adopt Leadr, try to bring in as many of your executive leaders as possible in on the decision, Ed said. “I think they're going to love the program, but their ownership of the decision will make a big difference too.”
“In a world where there are so many different solutions, I wanted something simple. We didn’t want just one more product to use for a specific purpose. We wanted to make it easier on our team but not feel like we were compromising. Leadr answered all of my questions and brought the answers together in one place.”
- Ed Applegate, Executive Pastor, Crossroads Grace Church
With Leadr, Crossroads Grace is equipped to work with each other collaboratively in a software that doesn’t feel like they have to give up a preferred tool. Instead, their team has a clear focus on what they want to accomplish, and Leadr gives them a hub to come together and reach goals with the right combination of staff members for projects where vital information is at their fingertips.
Regardless of tenure or tech-savvy, their team is consistently on track and can check in on their progress while keeping the big picture in focus.
