Today, I want to talk to you about the vote, voice, and view meeting framework. This framework helps you to strategically build culture, disseminate information, and develop leaders in your church by allowing them to see how key decisions are made. Let’s take a look.
First, it’s important to clarify if a person’s role is vote, voice, or view before inviting them to participate. Providing clarity on the frontend will allow the person to better understand expectations of their role and not distract from your team’s decision-making process.
If you have a vote, you’re sitting at the table. You are on, perhaps, a strategy team. You have the vote, the voice, and the view. If you have a vote, this is your role. You are influential and a key stakeholder in making strategic decisions for your church.
If you have a voice, you’re at the table because we want you to speak into a specific topic or present new information. You may not have a vote, but we value your point of view. You have a unique perspective or bring specific information that will add value to our conversation or decision. You may stay in for the whole meeting, or be asked to leave, or be asked to move from the table. But you are there specifically because we want your voice.
If you have a view, you are in the conversation to observe. This may sound harsh, but you do not speak until you are spoken to. You are here to listen and learn the process and watch how we engage in healthy conflict in decision making.
Using this framework allows your church to develop people as they learn how key decisions are made. As you invite others to vote, voice, or view, it instills trust in your church leadership and influences culture because the decision making process is not always behind closed doors with select individuals. Leaving everyone to wonder what they do in there.
Now that you understand the framework for vote, voice, and view, what are you going to do about it?
