Last year I used the phrase “organizational truth telling” to describe Winebrenner’s commitment to honesty and what some refer to as “transparency” (you can read the full post by clicking here). Winebrenner has a responsibility to provide evidence of how we are being faithful to God’s provision and stewarding the resources He has provided for us, which includes both internal and external aspects.
Internally, the sharing of information is most often done in the context of a meeting. We have intentionally revisited the organizational structure and meeting rhythm in order to reduce the number of times that the same information is repeated in multiple meetings. We currently have a single weekly “Check-In” meeting that provides a space for all employees – faculty, staff, and administration – to engage in the topics that have an impact on everyone’s role. If there are items specific to one group, additional space can be created that flows out of this weekly gathering. Two guiding principles for this meeting are if you have information, share it and if you need information, ask for it. We also consider the Board and students as internal to Winebrenner, and we make sure that the appropriate information is shared with them as well.
Since the word “communication” means something different to almost anyone you ask, I prefer to use the phrase “information flow” to describe how we share information both internally and externally. Regardless of your relationship to Winebrenner, there’s always an openness to ask anything! And, to stay true to the truth telling idea, I’ll answer “I don’t know” if that’s the case and in the rare event that I am unable to share I will provide an explanation of why I can’t pass along the information. Even in a digital age when information can be shared by email, text, our website, phone calls, mail (yes, the USPS still exists), and lunch appointments, there are always more questions.
Our commitment remains to be good stewards of all that God provides. Thank you for being part of the journey!
- Brent Sleasman, President
[…] to sharing information (you can read more about this in last week’s post by clicking here) and a willingness to actively participate in the life of the organization. The risk to […]