Q: Within the Church's pastoral staff, how do you define performance in "Powell's Principle" #3: reward your best performers, get rid of non-performers? In non-profit organizations, there is a feeling of family. How do you fire a family member?

A: Both Bill and Gary confirmed that it's not good for the mission of the organization, nor the individual, for an individual to be in a job they're not good at. You have to know your people and walk them through a process that gives them every possible opportunity to perform. Some years ago, Willow started using the "ABC" system of evaluating staff performance. Initially, there was push-back, but now, the staff enjoys the clarity it's brought. Here's how it works: each year, staff members receive a grade (A,B,C) from their supervisor on their effectiveness. If they receive two "C's," the staff member is not going to stay in that role. That's just understood. "B" level performance is the backbone of the organization, meeting expectations, doing really good. It's your "A" level players that take you to higher levels and come up with the breakthrough ideas. If you have a mission that you think is critical to the kingdom of God, and if you really love your people, then you've got to have the right people in the right positions, doing extremely well, or it hurts on both sides. It's not "firing" a family member when you are respecting both them, and the mission, by being honest in love.