{"id":689,"date":"2023-05-16T10:52:09","date_gmt":"2023-05-16T14:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/?p=689"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:21:05","slug":"bend-not-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/16\/bend-not-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Bend, not Break"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are very close to signing the lease for our new location in Agawam and the signing of that lease is going to launch us into a very busy season of ministry<\/strong> so today I want to talk about expectations during this very busy season. I\u2019ve entitled the lesson BEND, NOT BREAK. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’ve ever cooked with bamboo skewers you know that they can withstand a moderate amount of applied pressure. But if you apply too much pressure they will first splinter, then break.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, you are the bamboo skewer and the season we\u2019re about to enter is going to apply tension and pressure to your life. And you can withstand a moderate<\/em> amount of applied pressure and be totally fine. But if too much pressure is applied you will first splinter, then break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now this especially applies to FT staff. We aren\u2019t increasing the number of hours worked for PT staff because it\u2019s not in the budget but the number of hours worked by FT staff will absolutely increase – perhaps significantly. This is normal and to be expected when launching a new location. The good news is that it\u2019s not a permanent thing. After launch we\u2019ll resume with a more normal work schedule, but leading up to launch, if you\u2019re FT, expect to work a good bit more than you\u2019re working now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please know that this is not something we\u2019re expecting from you, but won\u2019t be doing ourselves. The DLT has already made ourselves available on Fridays because we\u2019re now beginning to work with a contractor and we have to be available when they are, which includes Fridays. And just like us, you\u2019ll be expected to work more than usual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But though you\u2019ll be stretched in this season – and will bend in this season – we don\u2019t want you to break in this season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s my<\/em> goal with Andrew, Peter and Jon to do my best to make sure, though they bend, they will not break. Likewise, each of them will do their<\/em> best to make sure, though you bend, you will not break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s what we\u2019ve recently decided to help you not<\/em> break during this extra busy season we\u2019re entering into\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. We\u2019ve canceled the next two nights of prayer and worship. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. We\u2019ve canceled staff luncheons. We will cover any info we would normally cover at the luncheons via Slack or during Monday morning staff meetings. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. We\u2019ve canceled our Summer staff funtivity with plans to resume funtivities come Fall. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. We\u2019re modifying the summer internship. If we merely repeated what we did last year then our summer interns would compete<\/em> with preparations for the new location. But if we harness them to help with the new location, they will lighten<\/em> the load, not add to it. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. We\u2019re gonna have PT staff skip Monday morning staff meetings when needed. If it\u2019s an extra busy week we\u2019ll free you up from staff meeting to give you more focused time on preparing for launch. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    So do you see? Since we know how much extra work we\u2019ll be adding<\/em> to your plate leading up to launch, we\u2019re subtracting<\/em> everywhere we can so that – though you\u2019ll bend<\/em> in this extra busy season – you won\u2019t break<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing. Here are some things you can do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Cancel what you can. <\/strong>You need to check with your supervisor, but just like the DLT has canceled a number of things, you might be able to do something similar within your department. Again, check with your supervisor, but cancel something if you\u2019re able to and then pick back up after we launch. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Say no. <\/strong>Requests come in like the tide – and you\u2019re going to need to say no so you don\u2019t break in this new season. Say no to anything – just for this season – that doesn\u2019t relate to helping us launch the new location.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Don\u2019t tackle new initiatives. <\/strong>You may need to start something new or may need to completely overhaul something in your department. But if possible, wait to do this until after we launch. For example, I know we need to start an official leadership pipeline and a donor development strategy – and though I\u2019m collecting some ideas and taking notes of things I think of – I\u2019m not trying to launch either of those things until after we launch. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Focus your PD. <\/strong>Make your PD to learn about successfully launching this Fall vs having to learn all this new stuff about launching + some other form of PD. I set out this year to read a book a week and I\u2019m on pace. I\u2019m just now finishing my 21st book of 2023. But this past week I realized that my reading schedule is actually interfering with the PD I need to do to successfully launch this new location. So I\u2019m having to make midcourse adjustments. If similarly, you\u2019ve made an aggressive PD schedule – and none of it relates to multi-site per say, you too might need to make a midcourse correction. If you feel like that\u2019s you, talk to your supervisor and see if it\u2019s ok to make a switch. This will keep you doing PD but help you not break during this busy season. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Raise up new volunteers. <\/strong>You will have extra responsibilities, and if you will either have to multiply the number of hours worked OR multiply the number of volunteers in your department. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Take advantage of your time off. <\/strong>Don\u2019t use the weekend or your vacation to do activities that drain you. I don\u2019t want to say \u201cDo this\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t do that.\u201d It\u2019s not about restricting certain specific activities – it\u2019s about making sure you don\u2019t do stuff that drains the ever loving life out of you and making sure you do activities that bring rest, relaxation and rejuvenation to your body and soul. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Make no mistake about it: In this season that is now upon us we will bend, but if you apply the lesson today you will bend<\/em>\u2026but not break<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      DISCUSSION QUESTION: What specific step(s) do you need to take to ensure you don\u2019t break during this season leading up to launch? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      We are very close to signing the lease for our new location in Agawam and the signing of that lease is going to launch us into a very busy season of ministry so today I want to talk about expectations during this very busy season. I\u2019ve entitled the lesson BEND, NOT BREAK.  If you’ve ever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-how-to","7":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mike","author_link":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/author\/mike\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1304,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689\/revisions\/1304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/withskillfulhands.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}