Team Organization
The Ritual Committee at B'nai Tikvah asked me to spearhead a project to host Friday night dinners at the synagogue. The goal was two-fold. First, transform a long-standing program that targeted families with young children to a program that would attract families of all ages. Second, build a team that would include as many people as possible. It would have been easier for me to simply cater the dinners, doing all the work by myself, but a team builds a sense of community and inclusiveness.
I'm a big believer in "the medium is the message." The design of this Work Plan plainly and clearly explained what needed to be done to accomplish a dinner for 60 to 80 people. Everyone could see the tasks and who was doing them. For the day before and day of the dinner, the plan expanded into blocks organized by the hour, to help everyone see exactly what work needed to be accomplished.
From the very first dinner, the process ran smoothly. Team members felt useful and not overworked. The meals were delicious, on time and hot. It's not easy to cater a dinner for 60 to 80 people with a team of volunteers, but this Work Plan set us up for success.
The Ritual Committee at B'nai Tikvah asked me to spearhead a project to host Friday night dinners at the synagogue. The goal was two-fold. First, transform a long-standing program that targeted families with young children to a program that would attract families of all ages. Second, build a team that would include as many people as possible. It would have been easier for me to simply cater the dinners, doing all the work by myself, but a team builds a sense of community and inclusiveness.
I'm a big believer in "the medium is the message." The design of this Work Plan plainly and clearly explained what needed to be done to accomplish a dinner for 60 to 80 people. Everyone could see the tasks and who was doing them. For the day before and day of the dinner, the plan expanded into blocks organized by the hour, to help everyone see exactly what work needed to be accomplished.
From the very first dinner, the process ran smoothly. Team members felt useful and not overworked. The meals were delicious, on time and hot. It's not easy to cater a dinner for 60 to 80 people with a team of volunteers, but this Work Plan set us up for success.