Calvin Seminary Supervisor Training





Session 1: April 13, 2017
Session 2: May 4, 2017
Session 3: May 25, 2017
All sessions are from 1:30 to 3:00 pm.

Small Groups

Group 1: Aaron, Carolyn, Geoff, Jim
Group 2: Bob, Jinny, Ronald
Group 3: Dave, Jeff S, Rachael
Group 4: Karen, Jul, Mariano, Scott

Session 1: The DoKnowBe Tree

  1. Beliefs: What I know to be true, but cannot prove. Sometimes these are objectively true and good, and sometimes these are objectively false and harmful to ourselves and others. Our behavior is a key to our beliefs.
  2. Values: That which is most important to me. All values listed on the values exercise are positive things. We prioritize them differently, which can lead to conflict.
  3. Passions: The things that I love to do. I believe that our passions choose us, we don't choose them. 
  4. Gifts/Voids: Gifts are the areas where I am naturally strong, and voids are those areas where I am naturally weak. We are often blind to our gifts because they seem easy to us, and we think they would be easy for everyone.
  5. Wiring: How I naturally show up in the world. Wiring is very important, and our beliefs, values, gifts, and passions often override our wiring. 


Solo Processing

Before you meet with your small group, spend some time answering the questions below:

  1. What are your responsibilities to your direct reports? What do you believe you are doing well as a supervisor? What are you not doing that would make you a better supervisor to your staff?
  2. The DoKnowBe Tree illustrates how different we all are, and yet we tend to behave as if we all have the same root system (beliefs, values, and so on). What are some of the relationships you have with colleagues where you both would benefit from more fully understanding each other's root systems? What conflicts are you having that might be because of different beliefs and values?
  3. Read through the first three parts of The Human System, listed below. Do you agree with these statements? What thoughts do you have to further flesh these out?
    1. People are unique, with different beliefs, values, passions, gifts/voids, and wiring.
    2. People are dysfunctional, some are just quirky and others lead a wake of destruction behind them.
    3. People are blind, especially to their gifts and to the way their dysfunctions affects others.

Small Group Processing

Spend an hour or so with your small group. Please practice going one step beyond your comfort zone in your sharing and vulnerability in your small group. Begin by sharing your bios with each other. Take about five minutes each to share some additional information about yourself with your colleagues. You already know each other, and this is an opportunity to get to know each other a little better. Next, spend some time in your group working through the questions below:

  1. What stuck with you from the first session? What did you agree with? What didn't you agree with? What new insights have you had since our time together as a large group?
  2. Outline what is expected of the supervisor role at the seminary. What questions do you have about this? What clarity do you need in order to perform well as a supervisor of staff?
  3. Share some of your thoughts from your solo processing on how you might improve as a supervisor. Talk about how you can support each other's growth.

Extra Credit

Can't get enough of this stuff? Here are two additional resources that might keep you thinking:

How to Become Batman
This episode of the Invisibilia podcast shows how powerful beliefs (ours and other people's) really are:

What makes us feel good about our work
This TED Talk by Dan Ariely helps us understand what really motivates people to do their work well.