I focus exclusively on synagogue unification by drawing on my history of helping over 400 global clients transform their organizations. Presently, many synagogues face not just questions of fiscal stability, but also of religious commitment. Clergy and lay leaders must identify their available options and then pursue the choice most likely to achieve long-term vibrancy. Often, this choice is unification.

If you determine unification is a superior option, then you should embrace that it is a system, a cohort of congregants and outside advisors acting and interacting together toward achieving an agreed-upon set of objectives centered around the anticipated value proposition that links congregants and key partners. In turn, a unification system is not static, but continuous because the state of the system can quickly change as the variables affecting unification change.

 

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Asking where do we begin chills most of us because of the myriad of moving parts, doubts about prior decisions, and not knowing what you don’t know. In all my projects, I begin with asking where do you want to end up and then go backwards to where you are today. Oddly, it is easier to first pinpoint your destination, which then reveals many of the steps necessary to complete the journey.

Unification and merger are not duplicative terms. The act of unifying melds two organizations with communal goals and historical respect. The act of merging absorbs one organization with the acquirer often declaring singular goals and limited regard for preserving the roots of the acquired organization.

It is difficult to ask your clergy to support unification, to step out from behind the pulpit, if they are unclear as to the vision their unified synagogue will embrace. Lay leadership and congregants, as well, frequently need assurance from clergy that unification offers opportunities not available otherwise, and yet that assurance is typically not forthcoming without a vision around which all stakeholders can coalesce.

In most cases, synagogues should set end dates within one year of commencing initial discussions to help avoid, or at least contain, deal fatigue amongst all stakeholders, especially following what is typically a burst of enthusiasm at the beginning of the unification process.

I recommend that you distill unification into five blocks of responsibilities from which sub-categories are formed that relate to the applicable block. In most instances, sub-categories are similar for most synagogues, but unique sub-categories are also likely and easily accommodated. Also, some synagogues designate a sixth block, Education, to separate it from Operations, although these two blocks remain interrelated, Finally, you should appoint a single individual charged with managing the unification process and reporting to the oversight committee:

Unification must embrace four essential principals that, in the absence of embracing, the likelihood of failure or underperformance rises considerably because your stakeholders don’t see the level of commitment necessary for their support. These four essential principles are:

  1. Agreed clarity of purpose
  2. Aligned clergy and lay leadership
  3. Detailed structure
  4. Controlled messaging

The oversight committee, working with one individual managing the unification process, must first identify: i) whether any gating (i.e., go/no-go) items exist; ii) if so, whether a resolution is acceptable; and iii) preliminarily, whether unification has the likelihood of improved financial performance. Once these three conditions are satisfied, clergy and lay leaders should develop a clear notion as to the thrust of the new vision statement as part of presenting to congregants that unification is in an evaluative phase with a set duration. Once that duration is reached, and that the necessary due diligence is completed, clergy and lay leadership should seek congregational approval to proceed with unification. A critical point is that unification steps, other than the appointment of the individual who will lead the unification, should not precede such approval.

For over thirty years, I’ve helped both for-profit and non-profit organizations develop and execute transformation plans. Within the for-profit sector, my work includes helping companies in North America, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Western and Central Europe, Japan, and Australia complete over $3 billion in transactions for restructuring, financing, and mergers. Within the non-profit sector, my work includes helping synagogues, churches, public agencies, and schools make difficult choices as part of broader restructuring objectives. As it regards synagogue unification, and applying my skill sets from for-profit engagements, I completed a large unification requiring intensive efforts to formulate processes, structures, and systems that I now deploy for other synagogues choosing to unify. As it regards my personal background, I graduated from Kenyon College, earned an MBA in Finance from Cornell University, and was awarded the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CIP (Competitive Intelligence Professional) designations. More importantly, I have always belonged to a synagogue going back to one of my earliest memories attending Junior Congregation at five years old each Shabbat, performing the Mitzvot of Tefillin at morning minyan when I was older, and marrying my wife in the same synagogue where we first met at 16 when I was inducted as President of my NCSY chapter. Today, my wife and I are active in the Reform movement and committed to its success.

All my time working with synagogues to help them unify is pro bono. Expenses, which are typically modest, are reimbursed to me.

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The framework for each unification project centers on four (4) interconnected steps: 1) sprints; 2) single team mission; 3) regular delivery of accomplishments; and 4) continuous feedback from the oversight committee and congregants.

  1. Sprints are shorter duration milestones that either complete a sub-category task or a key component of a sub-category. Using sprints as opposed to longer duration milestones provides measurable progress and encouragement for team members;
  2. A single team mission is how the category managers (defined previously) remain in proximity to one another and to the mission of unifying two synagogues;
  3. The regular delivery of accomplishments, which benefits from sprints, is akin to building any structure and allows for agility when the state of the system changes. Prior milestones, because they were achieved in a short duration, are more easily amended as compared to long duration milestones that are difficult to alter; and
  4. Continuous feedback from the oversight committee and congregants encourages broader engagement, approval, or notice of dissatisfaction that the category managers can incorporate into their sprints

At the core of unification are the teams assembled around the categories and their category managers. These teams of congregant volunteers directly affect the likelihood of unification success. Based on research conducted by Google in 2014, the most successful teams shared five (5) bi-directional traits between, in our case of unification, the category manager and their team members: 1) dependability; 2) structure; 3) trust; 4) clarity; and 5) impact:

  1. Dependability addresses the importance of each team member embracing that their individual contribution of time to the process of unification matters to the outcome and lapses in support affects the outcome;
  2. Structure, which is a theme that runs throughout the unification process, provides team members with a sense of functional order to the process they’re undertaking;
  3. Trust is perhaps the most critical of traits in that, as Google discovered, if team members become reticent about sharing ideas, observations, or opinions, then the team fails;
  4. Clarity means that the mission of the team is understood by all team members, as well as their individual role in its completion; and
  5. Impact highlights how these team missions relate to the overall unification and its success

Your religious school and early childhood center often require in-depth assessment as it regards both traditional (e.g., space, practical capacity utilization, census breakdown by grades and/or ages) and strategic (i.e., the relationship between market position and operations). In this assessment, candid discussion as to where the religious schools and early childhood centers reside relative to stability and strength is essential.

  1. A strong market position combined with strong operations represents the highest likelihood for both stability and potential by virtue of competitive preeminence and organizational leadership. In this circumstance, the strategic focus is on maintaining this leadership position and identifying future challenges (e.g., changing demographics, new entrants in early childcare);
  2. A strong market position combined with weak operations represents a diminished likelihood for stability because potential is offset by weak operations. In this circumstance, the strategic focus is on maintaining market leadership while concurrently improving operations (e.g., leadership training, revamping curriculum, changing staff);
  3. A weak market position combined with strong operations represents a diminished likelihood for stability that is partially offset by the potential emanating from strong operations. In this circumstance, the strategic focus is on improving market leadership (e.g., changes in promotion tactics, identifying where points of competitor vulnerability reside) while concurrently maintaining strong operations; and
  4. A weak market position combined with weak operations represents the lowest likelihood for both stability and potential. In this circumstance, the strategic focus is first on operations and rebuilding on your improving reputation before you address market position