Empowerment Leadership Model for Small Groups, Teams, & Families
Course 3, Lesson 2
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Target Selection, Tuning In & Recruitment
Note: Whenever "group" or "team" is used, it can mean "group", "team", or "family".
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Target Selection
Target selection is that process of determining who is to be reached that they might join a group or participate in a program.
The Target Population is then the focus of efforts to empathize and understand (tuning-in) in order to offer a group or program (Offer of Opportunity) that is sensitive to their needs.
Target Selection is actually the search for and response to God’s call to serve a specific group of people through a small group experience or a church program.
People who lead groups usually have something in mind that they want to happen or a certain type of people they want to get involved. So, after they decide on that, then they have to search for the people they need to target for the invitation to join the group.
For example, if the church wants to begin a powerful High School Youth Program, the group leader would begin thinking of the kind of people who would do a good job on the Youth Ministry Leadership Team. These people will be those targeted in recruitment.
Another example might be that the leader wants to start a Spiritual Obedience Group where the members will focus on helping each other grow in the faith by going beyond Bible study to ever-growing Bible obedience. He or she might want to target those who are in other leadership positions in the church. Or the target might be those who seem to ask "application questions" in Sunday School.
So, the first thing to ask is, "What do I want to see happen? What result would I like to have as the purpose of the group I will lead?"
Or, it might be the church wants something to happen and the leader has been recruited to gather a group or team together to make it happen. In this case, the group or team purpose has been decided and thought has to be given to who might be best in the group or on the team.
Sometimes, a leader knows from the start what is the target population for group membership. This might happen if the group is to be those teenagers in the church who are getting into trouble and intervention is critical. Or, could be high school seniors headed for secular colleges in the Fall. Perhaps it is the deacons of the church. Because these kinds of groups focus on people already identified, it is important to remember to develop a compelling purpose for the group. A group for deacons is not good enough. It should be a group for deacons to (outcome, result), as in "to help every church member in need of assistance in any way, be that food, clothing, shelter or some other vital need."
The Target Population is then the focus of efforts to empathize and understand (tuning-in) in order to offer a group or program (Offer of Opportunity) that is sensitive to their needs.
Target Selection is actually the search for and response to God’s call to serve a specific group of people through a small group experience or a church program.
People who lead groups usually have something in mind that they want to happen or a certain type of people they want to get involved. So, after they decide on that, then they have to search for the people they need to target for the invitation to join the group.
For example, if the church wants to begin a powerful High School Youth Program, the group leader would begin thinking of the kind of people who would do a good job on the Youth Ministry Leadership Team. These people will be those targeted in recruitment.
Another example might be that the leader wants to start a Spiritual Obedience Group where the members will focus on helping each other grow in the faith by going beyond Bible study to ever-growing Bible obedience. He or she might want to target those who are in other leadership positions in the church. Or the target might be those who seem to ask "application questions" in Sunday School.
So, the first thing to ask is, "What do I want to see happen? What result would I like to have as the purpose of the group I will lead?"
Or, it might be the church wants something to happen and the leader has been recruited to gather a group or team together to make it happen. In this case, the group or team purpose has been decided and thought has to be given to who might be best in the group or on the team.
Sometimes, a leader knows from the start what is the target population for group membership. This might happen if the group is to be those teenagers in the church who are getting into trouble and intervention is critical. Or, could be high school seniors headed for secular colleges in the Fall. Perhaps it is the deacons of the church. Because these kinds of groups focus on people already identified, it is important to remember to develop a compelling purpose for the group. A group for deacons is not good enough. It should be a group for deacons to (outcome, result), as in "to help every church member in need of assistance in any way, be that food, clothing, shelter or some other vital need."
Tuning In
Tuning-in is the process of understanding other people very well by estimating their life circumstances and their thoughts and feelings about their own realities as they might perceive them. As such, tuning-in is a range of possibilities to be verified upon contact with the target population.
The purpose of tuning-in, or accurate empathy, is to become sensitive and responsive to the real needs of people in the target population.
NOTE: The group has no responsibilities in tuning-in, as the group has not yet begun.
The group leader tunes-in prior to the group’s beginning. The leader thus prepares him/herself to understand what goes on and be empathetic in the first few meetings, especially the first meeting. No one wants to be in a group or program led by someone who does not seem to understand.
STEPS TO GOOD TUNING-IN:
The purpose of tuning-in, or accurate empathy, is to become sensitive and responsive to the real needs of people in the target population.
NOTE: The group has no responsibilities in tuning-in, as the group has not yet begun.
The group leader tunes-in prior to the group’s beginning. The leader thus prepares him/herself to understand what goes on and be empathetic in the first few meetings, especially the first meeting. No one wants to be in a group or program led by someone who does not seem to understand.
STEPS TO GOOD TUNING-IN:
Brainstorm, list and consider carefully:
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1. the various realities faced by those who are or will be group members.
2. the range of thoughts that might be associated with the various realities of potential group members. 3. the range of feelings that might be associated with the various realities of potential group members. 4. the range of thoughts and feelings that might be associated with joining a group and about yourself as the group leader. |
Then, carefully consider your own thoughts and feelings about the potential group members and the group as a whole.
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Meaningful and powerful group purpose statements are developed from tuning-in to the reality of the potential group members and trying to accurately identify their thoughts and feelings about life. Thorough tuning-in leads to the design of purpose proposals (Offers of Opportunity) that grab attention and spur deep commitment. Hasty tuning-in leads to inadequate purpose statements and less chance for success.
Consider a group of kids in 1966 just starting sixth grade at a school in the South Bronx. They had maimed four teachers for life by the time they finished fifth grade. They were not a gang, but a few times a couple of them worked together to wreak havoc. As my second year field assignment for my Masters Degree it was my job to reach these boys and get them to voluntarily come to a therapy group twice a week after school. I had to go to the school and offer them a group purpose that would get them to try it out. To make it quite difficult, their attention spans were not more than fifteen seconds, so it had to be a quick and simple group purpose. I thought for hours about what their lives must be like in the housing project of 16 buildings and 30,000 residents. I brainstormed what they might think and feel about their lives, their families, their futures and being in school. In the end I came up with a proposed group purpose. When the time came, I said to them, “How would you like to come to my office twice a week and help each other make school more fun?” It was successful and my work with this group was presented to all of the group workers in New York City as well as written up in a textbook on group work. ("Group work" is the professional title in Social Work for small group leadership.)
A right-on-target group purpose can pull people in. I once saw a life-and-death situation and had to come up with a group purpose for a single meeting. One day in the housing projects I looked out and saw two African-American gangs chasing and shooting at each other -- and the playground was full of children. I said to myself, “You know, these guys are going to shoot a kid!” So I started to think about my skills. In tuning in, I knew that they weren't interested in not shooting each other. But I knew that there was a chance they might not want to kill their children. I called them up and asked if they would allow me to meet with them and negotiate an agreement where they would not kill their own children. They took me up on the offer and met with me at midnight in an obscure place, each gang sitting across from the other using three long tables lined up lengthwise in a big empty room. Each person had his gun on the table pointed at the person across from him, and in that hostile atmosphere I, a white person, helped them adopt the group purpose and carry it out (make the agreement to not shoot at each other where children were present).
If you take the time to tune-in, it is possible to reach all kinds of groups. A group of atheists could be invited to a group for the purpose of arguing with you about the existence of God. I once led a group in the military prison at Leavenworth, Kansas of the most hostile and dangerous inmates. They were of a different race and would only agree to a group purpose of hating me. Starting where they were in their minds and maturity, I agreed to help them get together once a week to hate me. Within eight meetings half of them were Christians.
In tuning-in and then creating a group purpose with which you would like to help as group leader, it is important to consider carefully what God would have you do and who He would have you reach. If you are a youth worker, the question is, “What does God want done with these kids and how can I join what God wants for them with what the kids want so that they will adopt a significant group purpose? If the kids are largely from broken homes and they are latch-key children, you want to bridge what God has for them with what they might think and feel they need. You then put it into an offer of service, an invitation to join a group with a specific purpose. In this case, you might ask them to come to a meeting. Then, at the meeting you would ask them if they want to form a group to see what God has for kids who have complicated family situations and a lot of time on their hands . This just might be a deal they cannot refuse.
Consider a group of kids in 1966 just starting sixth grade at a school in the South Bronx. They had maimed four teachers for life by the time they finished fifth grade. They were not a gang, but a few times a couple of them worked together to wreak havoc. As my second year field assignment for my Masters Degree it was my job to reach these boys and get them to voluntarily come to a therapy group twice a week after school. I had to go to the school and offer them a group purpose that would get them to try it out. To make it quite difficult, their attention spans were not more than fifteen seconds, so it had to be a quick and simple group purpose. I thought for hours about what their lives must be like in the housing project of 16 buildings and 30,000 residents. I brainstormed what they might think and feel about their lives, their families, their futures and being in school. In the end I came up with a proposed group purpose. When the time came, I said to them, “How would you like to come to my office twice a week and help each other make school more fun?” It was successful and my work with this group was presented to all of the group workers in New York City as well as written up in a textbook on group work. ("Group work" is the professional title in Social Work for small group leadership.)
A right-on-target group purpose can pull people in. I once saw a life-and-death situation and had to come up with a group purpose for a single meeting. One day in the housing projects I looked out and saw two African-American gangs chasing and shooting at each other -- and the playground was full of children. I said to myself, “You know, these guys are going to shoot a kid!” So I started to think about my skills. In tuning in, I knew that they weren't interested in not shooting each other. But I knew that there was a chance they might not want to kill their children. I called them up and asked if they would allow me to meet with them and negotiate an agreement where they would not kill their own children. They took me up on the offer and met with me at midnight in an obscure place, each gang sitting across from the other using three long tables lined up lengthwise in a big empty room. Each person had his gun on the table pointed at the person across from him, and in that hostile atmosphere I, a white person, helped them adopt the group purpose and carry it out (make the agreement to not shoot at each other where children were present).
If you take the time to tune-in, it is possible to reach all kinds of groups. A group of atheists could be invited to a group for the purpose of arguing with you about the existence of God. I once led a group in the military prison at Leavenworth, Kansas of the most hostile and dangerous inmates. They were of a different race and would only agree to a group purpose of hating me. Starting where they were in their minds and maturity, I agreed to help them get together once a week to hate me. Within eight meetings half of them were Christians.
In tuning-in and then creating a group purpose with which you would like to help as group leader, it is important to consider carefully what God would have you do and who He would have you reach. If you are a youth worker, the question is, “What does God want done with these kids and how can I join what God wants for them with what the kids want so that they will adopt a significant group purpose? If the kids are largely from broken homes and they are latch-key children, you want to bridge what God has for them with what they might think and feel they need. You then put it into an offer of service, an invitation to join a group with a specific purpose. In this case, you might ask them to come to a meeting. Then, at the meeting you would ask them if they want to form a group to see what God has for kids who have complicated family situations and a lot of time on their hands . This just might be a deal they cannot refuse.
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TUNING-IN WORKSHEET
TUNING-IN WORKSHEET
TYPE OF GROUP: _______________________________________
Step One: Understand the situations of potential group members. What are their lives like? What kinds of things do they face? What might be going on in their lives? What is normal behavior for them?
Step Two: What might potential group members be THINKING about their lives? About themselves? What do they want out of life?
Step Three: What might potential group members be FEELING about their lives? About themselves?
Step Four: Regarding the group or program you will propose, what might potential group members think and feel about it? And what might they think and feel about you, the leader?
Step Five: What do you think and feel about the potential group members? About the group as a whole? About leading the group? About your skills, the facilities, etc.?
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Recruitment
Recruitment is simply presenting a group opportunity to those in the target population.
Sometimes this is quite easy. A group of deacons already exists and they meet monthly. In this case, you are offering a new way for them to conceive of their already existing group. Perhaps the purpose is different or more explicit. Perhaps the concept of helping one another achieve a tougher purpose is what is new.
Recruitment is much more difficult when the target population is not seeking what you are offering. Perhaps they are even resistant, in which case your tuning in to their lives and the Offer of Opportunity must be sensitive and compelling. Consider in a church the plan to develop a Youth Ministry Leadership Team of those who relate the best with teenagers.
If the church leadership looks carefully to identify those who most naturally get along with teenagers, many people will be found who either have no idea that they are good with teens or know they are able to relate to adolescents but have never considered getting involved with them. And, many do not yet have leadership skills, so will immediately decline. But, the church needs these people to step up for the Lord and for the sake of building strong teenage Christians.
To recruit these people the Offer of Opportunity must include a "must do" (critical) purpose and help these folks recognize an inner need to be significant in the kingdom of God. This is one of the groups that we address in a subsequent lesson in this Course 3.
When possible, there are advantages to recruiting individuals at a meeting. But, there is no "right way". Perhaps you can only approach people individually about joining the group. But, it is more effective in many situations to invite people to a meeting to discuss the group and possible membership.
Usually acceptance rate will be high. But in cases where people are being targeted for membership to which they are resistant, it may be necessary to keep talking to them individually over time. Perhaps, for example, a person very good with teens will eventually become convicted that he or she is being sought for such service by the Lord and will clear his or her schedule to be able to join the Youth Ministry Leadership Team.
Sometimes this is quite easy. A group of deacons already exists and they meet monthly. In this case, you are offering a new way for them to conceive of their already existing group. Perhaps the purpose is different or more explicit. Perhaps the concept of helping one another achieve a tougher purpose is what is new.
Recruitment is much more difficult when the target population is not seeking what you are offering. Perhaps they are even resistant, in which case your tuning in to their lives and the Offer of Opportunity must be sensitive and compelling. Consider in a church the plan to develop a Youth Ministry Leadership Team of those who relate the best with teenagers.
If the church leadership looks carefully to identify those who most naturally get along with teenagers, many people will be found who either have no idea that they are good with teens or know they are able to relate to adolescents but have never considered getting involved with them. And, many do not yet have leadership skills, so will immediately decline. But, the church needs these people to step up for the Lord and for the sake of building strong teenage Christians.
To recruit these people the Offer of Opportunity must include a "must do" (critical) purpose and help these folks recognize an inner need to be significant in the kingdom of God. This is one of the groups that we address in a subsequent lesson in this Course 3.
When possible, there are advantages to recruiting individuals at a meeting. But, there is no "right way". Perhaps you can only approach people individually about joining the group. But, it is more effective in many situations to invite people to a meeting to discuss the group and possible membership.
Usually acceptance rate will be high. But in cases where people are being targeted for membership to which they are resistant, it may be necessary to keep talking to them individually over time. Perhaps, for example, a person very good with teens will eventually become convicted that he or she is being sought for such service by the Lord and will clear his or her schedule to be able to join the Youth Ministry Leadership Team.
Next, let's consider the development of an Offer of Opportunity and the all-important Contracting Process.
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Copyright 2012 Dick Wulf, Colorado, USA