ASPIRE Overview
Welcome to ASPIRE
Aspire is a self-assessment tool enabling you to obtain internal feedback on your organisation and to monitor the effectiveness of your Christian values in the workplace. It focuses on the organisational areas of Leadership, Relationships, Development, Resourcing, Recognition and the Foundations of the organisation. In parallel, it also examines the values of Christ-Centredness, Individual-Awareness, Inclusivity, Interdependence and Integrity.
Aspire will produce reports of your organisation's strengths and weaknesses in these areas. You may further analyse your feedback to examine internal perceptions and to further explore areas for growth. Our aim is to help you aspire to greater godliness in the workplace and increased professional excellence.
You may have already looked into this issue using our handbook Distinctives or been challenged as a result of legislation (see legal page). This assessment looks in a fresh way at how to develop your distinctively Christian ethos.
Why are you at this point?
There may be a number of reasons why you may be considering Aspire
- It may be prompted by a desire to look at your own organisation's values to see if they are consistently applied.
- It may be a desire to raise standards as a result of issues you are facing.
- It may be that you are keen to understand how your people management practices are perceived.
- It may even be that people are feeling burned out in your organisation.
- It may be for other more specific reasons.
Whatever your motivation, Aspire is designed to help you assess and develop your organisation as it aims to be professionally excellent, spiritually passionate and distinctively Christian.
A Christian ethos develops within an organisation as people live out their faith and Christian values. We recognise that ethos and culture define who we are and we know that when we get it right it is attractive to others because it reflects the love of Christ. Assessing the extent of Christian identity is a challenge as it is something that emerges from heart attitudes and inner relationship with God through Christ, which of course only God can see. However, a Christian identity in an organisation is manifest in attitudes, in approaches to work, in the direction of the organisation, in behaviour, in the way people relate and in the overall 'atmosphere'. These elements can be assessed, so Aspire seeks to measure these attributes of organisations.
There are many perspectives and expressions of the Christian faith, so the interpretation and application of a Christian ethos will vary between organisations. We have included a description of the values that we have drawn from the Bible and found to be foundational elements of the ethos of Christian organisations. These values are the basis for Aspire. If you find that you have articulated your own values and ethos very differently, you will need to keep this in mind as you consider your results.
Should you have any further questions then please email the Christian Distinctiveness Trust or call: 0870 3300213
The process
Aspire has been developed as a series of questionnaires that will help you to assess the Christian distinctiveness of your organisation. It measures not only the professional excellence of the organisation, but also examines your underlying values and how your team perceives these values.
Aspire is divided into six organisational areas:
Leadership
To what extent can you show that your organisation has a leadership team who endeavour to lead in a Christ-like manner?
Relationships
To what extent can you show that your organisation is committed to developing and maintaining relational ways of working for all involved that are based on biblical Christian principles drawn from the Christian's relationship with God?
Development
To what extent can you show that your organisation is committed to ongoing professional, personal and spiritual learning and development at all levels of the organisation; both of the staff and of the organisation as a whole.
Resourcing
To what extent can you show that your organisation is committed to operating systems and procedures that resource the organisation effectively and honourably?
Recognition
To what extent can you show that your organisation is committed to valuing, honouring and rewarding your staff in line with the organisation's Christian mission and ethos?
Foundations
To what extent can you show that your organisation is committed to Christ being central to everything it does thereby acknowledging God's sovereignty?
These organisational areas are individually assessed alongside the following underlying values, which we believe are key and generic to most Christian organisations:
Christ-Centredness
We have Christ at the heart of all that we do as organisations. This value expresses itself in areas such as seeking direction from God through worship and a reliance on prayer; showing dependence on God in our work, as we seek to put him first and placing value on a personal relationship with him through Jesus Christ.
This is the foundational value, with the other four flowing from being Christ-Centred.
Individual-Awareness (valuing each person)
We value each of our people as being uniquely made in God's image and recognise the importance of treating people as individuals while at the same time acting with impartiality. This value expresses itself in valuing relationships and treating individuals well: Treating them fairly, with compassion and understanding and supporting their holistic development.
Inclusivity (fairness and belonging)
We treat our staff without favouritism or prejudice and value their diverse gifts, experience and perspective. This value expresses itself in open communication, seeking input and feedback from all staff and involving them in the heart of the organisation, particularly as it relates to their lives. Bias will not be evident in the availability of training, or advertising of positions.
Interdependence (working together)
We recognise the need we have for one another and see this worked out in developing healthy relationships. You see this value in effective teamwork, in healthy team relationships and in an attitude of togetherness within a mutually supportive environment.
Integrity (in who we are and what we do)
There is a consistency between the stated Christian values and mission, and the attitudes and behaviours of the organisation's leaders. This applies both externally, in how they carry out the mission, and internally, in how the organisation is run and the staff are treated. The leaders are people of character and worthy of respect. The organisation's representatives are known to act with integrity in all that they do.
If you would like to know more about these values, then click here to read "Organisational Values: A biblical basis".
Please note: The data collected will be treated confidentially and will not be linked to a participant in your organisation by someone outside of your organisation. Your organisation's results will not be available outside of your organisation.