Thoughts and plans as we continue towards organizational health.

As you might have read in a recent post, an operations assessment revealed it was time for Fishhook to either swim hard toward organizational health, or risk some pretty stormy seas. Today, I get to share some thoughts and announce our plans, which we began to implement about six weeks ago. (Pretty soon our website and bios will catch up with our new reality.)

As a reminder ... 

The major themes of our assessment were:

  1. Internal systems and processes are not what they need to be

  2. There needs to be a clarification of roles and responsibilities

  3. There is an imbalance between resources available and work to be done

  4. Finding common times for formal and informal meetings is difficult

The primary recommendations were:

  1. Make it someone’s job to work on internal systems

  2. Update/develop/formalize an organizational chart

  3. Fill open and new positions as soon as practical

  4. Implement core office hours

Because I’ve seen an abundance of good things come from transparency, I want to reflect on these openly with our clients/friends. Perhaps it will lead you to pray for Fishhook, cheer us on, or look at your own organizational challenges differently. 

It all starts with leadership.  

For several years, we’ve worked hard to make Fishhook less “Evan-centric.” I’ve never wanted Fishhook to be about me, it’s about God’s Kingdom and our desire to partner with churches and Christ-centered organizations to help them increase their impact. But, as the founder, a lot of early processes (and attention) were focused on me. While I’ve delegated many responsibilities to others, it’s time to get real and officially lean into a leadership team.

Org charts aren’t evil.

As someone who’s always worked to create a flexible and unique culture, this wasn’t an easy lesson to learn. Nearly every business consultant and leadership author will say organizations need less org chart and more collaboration. I’m convinced our team has their black belt in collaboration, but what I began to see is that we’re also an organization with people asking simple questions like, “who is my supervisor and where do I go for answers?” This is fundamental stuff that, I’ve learned, brings peace to people’s souls.

Preparing for the possibility of continued growth.

As I look at the horsepower and structure of our leadership team and org chart, it all feels a bit overblown. But, as God continues to connect dots and answer our prayers for awesome team members, we want to continue to obediently prepare for what we believe is ahead.

Announcing:

Design Team Lead, Meredith Erwin

Web Team Lead, Ben Goshow

Meredith and Ben are now responsible for the professional development of the members of the design/web team, and are the first "go-to" for design/web related questions for the larger Fishhook team. They also join in expanded leadership team conversations and serve as steward of the Fishhook brand/website.

Training and Education Manager, Jamie Shafer

Jamie serves on the leadership team, and will continue to develop and expand learning and education opportunities for church leaders. She will lead our Fishhook coaching offerings and serve as a Communications Strategist.

Marketing Manager, Aimee Cottle

Aimee serves on the leadership team, and leads Fishhook’s inbound marketing initiative. She will also continue to help churches develop strong online engagement strategies.

Systems Manager, Lindsay Dudeck

Lindsay serves on the leadership team, and is responsible for the Fishhook “backbone.” Her charge is to develop and implement processes, procedures, systems, tools and internal training.

Director of New Client Conversations and Internal Workflow, Shayla Kenworthy

Shayla serves as a director and is also on the leadership team. She has taken the lead on all initial conversations with churches who contact Fishhook to learn more, discuss collaboration or get started. She also helps our design, web and strategy teams keep their workloads balanced and on schedule.

Partner/Director of Client Strategy, Leah Norton

As announced recently, Leah is now a partner at Fishhook. She serves as a director and is also on the leadership team. Leah’s current focus is to grow and direct our Communications Strategist team - the front-line, client-facing leaders who bring it all together for our clients. She is responsible for the Fishhook client experience, to ensure work and relationships are God-honoring, energetic, strategic and fruitful.

Partner/General Manager, Chief Visionary and Caretaker of Organizational Health, Evan McBroom

As General Manager, I lead overall operations of Fishhook, and the director and leadership teams. As Chief Visionary (an odd title, but hopefully accurate), I’m to specifically focus on where is God leading us. As Caretaker of Organizational Health, I continually ask the following, “Are we healthy? Are we on track with core values and culture?” In the end, I’m a spokesperson, cheerleader, mentor and coach.

What’s Next?

We’ll continue to lean into this new structure while we watch this incredible adventure unfold around us … and we’ll keep you posted.