United Thank Offering

New Board Member Training Provides Support

February 3, 2025
United Thank Offering

By the Rev. Kim Fox (she/her), UTO Formation and Development Committee 

Members new to the UTO Board were treated to small-group training with Sarah Ciavarri, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America clergy, Dare to Lead facilitator, and executive coach. Sarah has been creating small-group coaching experiences for over 12 years. Click here to learn more about Sarah and Level Up Leadership.

Sarah led the group of four new members through six 75-minute small-group coaching sessions, spaced roughly every other week. As foundational work, the group read Brene Brown’s book, “Dare to Lead,” as well as completed worksheets on trust and responded to discussion questions, while grounding their time together in prayer and Scripture.

Sarah also had the group take the DiSC assessment, along with all the board members, and a 2.5 hour debrief with the other board members will be held Feb. 4.

DiSC is a reliable framework that was specifically designed to measure the behavior of individuals. It stands for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. By understanding the four distinct behavioral styles, people can better assess their own interpersonal and behavioral style and recognize how other people might interact with them.

As Sarah explains, “Each of the four behavioral styles offers different assets that can be used alongside each other to boost productivity, improve teamwork, communication, self-awareness, and personal development. All it takes is learning to speak the ‘language’ of DiSC.”

More than “just training,” the small group provided a safe place to process reactions to the election and support for members going through moves and even a surgery. Bonds were formed and comaraderie created.

With UTO being a working Board, Sarah’s compassionate and expert guidance gave these new members the confidence to embrace their unique gifts for contributing to the Board in their various capacities.

A big thank-you to Sarah and to UTO for investing in new-member training!

Contact:
The Rev. Cn.
Heather Melton

Staff Officer for the United Thank Offering

Click here