431: How a Top 100 Church Transformed Its Culture from Unhealthy to Flourishing

Many leaders struggle with workplace dynamics that drain energy and hinder mission impact—but what if your culture could truly flourish? In this episode, Jesse DeYoung, Executive Pastor at Flatirons Community Church, shares practical steps to break free from dysfunction and build a thriving, Christ-centered organization. 

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In this episode:

Flatirons Community Church’s Vision and Ministry Approach

• Aims to bring the “awesome life of Christ” to people in a lost and broken world. (04:30)

• Focuses on reaching those who feel disconnected from church or have had negative experiences. (04:52)

• Ministry style is raw, real, and relatable, with strong biblical teaching. (05:20)

• Encourages attendees to take steps of faith and invite others. (05:29)

Recognizing and Addressing Unhealthy Staff Culture

• Began working with Best Christian Workplaces in 2019 through an Employee Engagement Survey. (05:44)

• Initial survey results revealed unhealthy staff dynamics. (06:15)

• Led to the board asking the lead pastor, Jim, to take a six-month sabbatical for personal and organizational health. (06:36)

• Staff initially believed removing one leader would resolve issues but quickly realized broader organizational unhealth. (07:10)

• Leadership made a deep commitment to cultural health and staff well-being. (07:33)

Key Commitments to Organizational Health

• In 2020, church elders prioritized staff health over growth or financial metrics. (07:43)

• Half of the staff left due to voluntary severance or personal decisions. (08:28)

• Those who remained took ownership of their part in the organization’s unhealth. (08:40)

• Leadership acknowledged that cultural change would take as long as the decline had taken. (09:01)

• Emphasized patience and genuine progress rather than quick fixes. (09:17)

Steps Toward a Flourishing Workplace (2020-2025)

• 2020: Focused on basic health, staff reorganization, and fostering unity. (10:33)

• Encouraged staff members who didn’t align with the culture or leadership to step away. (10:40)

• Increased team meetings for prayer, worship, and communication to build togetherness. (11:01)

• 2021: Defined and improved church culture. (11:21)

• Identified seven key cultural values. (11:58)

• Integrated values into hiring, staff development, and performance management. (12:08)

• Recognized and rewarded staff who embodied the values. (12:15)

• Strengthened alignment in leadership and workplace culture. (12:35)

• 2022: Survey results showed that employees loved the culture but found the strategy unclear. (13:16)

• The leadership team realized that culture and strategy must go hand in hand. (13:33)

• They implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to bring clarity to strategic goals. (13:51)

Implementing EOS and Trimester Planning

• The organization operates on trimesters rather than traditional quarters. (13:59)

• Trimester goals provided stability, ensuring that objectives remained unchanged for four months unless necessary. (14:10)

• Employees felt more engaged and saw the direct impact of their work on the organization’s health and success. (14:26)

• This structure also provided clear indicators of progress and success. (14:33)

Leadership & Communication Challenges

• Strategy scores improved, but leadership scores declined. (14:48)

• The leadership team realized they had overemphasized strategy while underemphasizing leadership and rapport. (15:04)

• Efforts were made to improve communication and leadership presence. (15:16)

• By 2023 and 2024, leadership scores still hadn’t improved as much as desired, prompting deeper self-reflection. (15:23)

Shifting Leadership Responsibilities

• Leaders recognized they needed to better model spiritual practices and decision-making rooted in faith. (15:47)

• Change management had been concentrated within the leadership team, but employees wanted leadership to focus on vision, not micromanagement. (16:00)

• Mid-level managers, such as campus pastors and department heads, were empowered through the Strategic Alignment Team (SAT). (16:18)

Leadership and Organizational Improvements

• Flatirons improved significantly in leadership between 2023 and 2024, with 12 out of 15 key improvements being leadership-related. (17:35)

• Jesse implemented EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) in the church, applying business best practices to ministry. (17:45)

• He views Jesus’ teachings on shepherds as a reference to business leaders, supporting the use of leadership principles in the church. (17:59)

Delegation and Mid-Level Leadership Development

• The church has 110 staff members, with 16 mid-level leaders. (18:50)

• Jesse implemented “skip-level” meetings to connect directly with mid-level leaders, fostering teamwork and alignment. (18:58)

• Delegating leadership responsibilities helps strengthen the church’s vision and culture. (19:06)

Core Values and Hiring Approach

• Flatirons uses Patrick Lencioni’s framework to define values, with three key ones: (19:32)

1. Compete to Honor – Candidates should speak honorably about past relationships and work experiences. (19:51)

2. Raw and Real – Staff members are encouraged to share their struggles openly rather than presenting polished stories. (19:52)

3. Have Fun – Fun is embedded in the church culture, and candidates must be able to engage in a lighthearted work environment. (19:55)

• Hiring decisions are made based on these values, ensuring alignment with the church’s culture. (19:57)

Flourishing Workplace and Trust

• A flourishing workplace leads to: (21:29)

• Harder-working, more engaged employees. (21:41)

• Stronger trust within the staff, allowing for innovation and risk-taking. (21:53)

• Reduced division between senior leadership and mid-level/front-line staff. (22:28)

• The church has worked to bridge the gap between leadership and employees by delegating authority to mid-level staff, allowing senior leaders to focus on spiritual leadership. (23:07)

Cultural Feedback and Staff Sentiment

• Jesse surveyed staff to gather honest feedback on culture. (23:22)

• A staff member described Flatirons as a place where employees feel valued, which enables them to do their best work. (23:40)

• Unity and a supportive culture contribute to staff feeling empowered. (23:55)

Impact on the Congregation

• During past struggles, some members sensed that something was off, even if they couldn’t pinpoint it. (24:31)

• With a healthier staff culture, leaders, including Jim (a key leader), feel more confident in decision-making and preaching. (24:43)

• Alignment and trust reduce unproductive “sideways energy” (e.g., unnecessary meetings and conversations), leading to greater innovation and progress. (25:21)

• Time previously spent in conflict or inefficiency is now focused on building momentum and serving the congregation effectively. (25:40)

Acknowledgment of Leadership Challenges

• Expresses empathy for leaders struggling with organizational health. (27:15)

• Recognizes the emotional weight of leading a mission-driven team when things aren’t working as hoped. (27:24)

Unhealthy Culture and Its Costs

• Leadership can ignore or deny unhealthiness for a time, but it eventually reaches a breaking point. (27:36)

• The impact of an unhealthy organization can be long-lasting, affecting former staff who carry negative experiences. (27:50)

• Reflects on the pain of losing valued staff members due to organizational unhealthiness. (28:21)

The Difficult Journey to Health

• Getting healthy isn’t an easy fix—it can be the hardest thing an organization does. (28:40)

• Some employees may resist a healthier culture because they were more comfortable in the unhealthy version. (29:00)

• The process involved significant loss and difficult conversations. (29:10)

• Took about four years to reach a point where leadership felt the next year might not be harder than the previous one. (29:27)

The Benefits of a Healthy Culture

• Culture transformation takes time—often 3-5 years or more. (29:47)

• Once an organization becomes healthy, leadership won’t want to go back. (29:53)

• Leaders feel a greater sense of trust from staff, reducing resistance to difficult decisions. (30:28)

• A healthy culture allows for faster decision-making, strong alignment, and a more enjoyable work environment. (30:39)

Utilizing External Resources for Growth

• Encourages organizations to seek external help for evaluating health. (30:51)

• Highlights Best Christian Workplaces as a valuable resource for annual organizational checkups. (30:55)

• Outside consultants can provide insights that leadership might not see, accelerating the path to health. (31:06)

• Once an organization reaches a flourishing culture, maintaining it becomes a priority. (31:54)

Spiritual Formation & Leadership Renewal

• Church staff can struggle with staying spiritually filled while working in ministry. (33:48)

• Flatirons encourages leaders to stay fresh by engaging with people and hearing stories of transformation. (33:29)

• Pastors should “smell like sheep”—meaning they must remain connected to the people they serve. (33:34)

Intentional Spiritual Practices

• Recognizing spiritual dryness, Flatirons held a retreat focused on prayer, lament, and reflection. (34:21)

• Monthly staff meetings include extended time for spiritual practices and connection with God. (35:00)

• Sabbaticals are provided for all staff as a way to step back, gain fresh perspective, and prevent burnout. (35:14)

• Personal practices like journaling (e.g., a five-year journal) help leaders track growth and challenges over time. (36:33)

Employee Engagement & Workplace Health

• Workplace health is an ongoing process, not a one-time achievement. (37:56)

• The Strategic Alignment Team (SAT) takes ownership of reviewing Employee Engagement Survey results and implementing improvements. (38:42)

• Work-life balance is both appreciated and a challenge—Flatirons is exploring solutions. (39:22)

• Communication remains a key focus area for improvement. (39:37)

• Healthy competition among teams fosters engagement and ownership of culture. (40:03)

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