Several years ago I did some work with a church that was forced to deal with reality: Change or die. This was an extremely complex and emotionally taxing situation for this church. The parishioners were stressed by the mere suggestion of change. They couldn't fathom the idea of letting go of their cherish traditions and long held norms. However, they were fully aware that if they continued to ignore reality their demise was imminent. They DIDN'T want to change!!! They DIDN'T want to die. They wanted to continue doing what they had been doing only to get different results.
During my time at this church I did some work with the elders about leading through "adaptive challenges." I drew heavily from Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky. This is an extreme practical book published by Harvard Business School Press. While it is publish by a business school it is intended to help people see the many ways that they can be leaders "at work, at home, in our local communities, and in the global village." In chapter 1 Heifer and Linsky lay a foundation for leaders wanting to lead through adaptive challenges. They write things like:
"We call these adaptive challenges because they require experiments, new discoveries, and adjustments from numerous places in the organization or community. Without learning new ways - changing attitudes, values, and behaviors - people cannot make the adaptive leap necessary to thrive in the new environment."
"If Leadership were about giving people good news, the job would be easy."
"People don't resist change per se. They resist loss."
"You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of a lifetime."
"But, adaptive work creates risk, conflict, and instability because addressing the issues underlying adaptive problems may involve upending deep and entrenched norms. Thus leadership requires disturbing people - but at a rate they can absorb"
"Adaptive change stimulates resistance because it challenges people's habits, beliefs, and values."
These quotes accentuate the reasons why leading in churches or organization or families in transition is so challenging and dangerous. You are literally disturbing people's equilibrium and this may cause them to react in mean and hurtful ways.
As I presented the material form Leadership on the Line to the leaders of this particular church in transition, it was like a light bulb came on. They got it!!!! Now it was time to move forward.
Last week in my Toward a Theology of Church Leadership class we were assigned to read sections of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership which builds on many of the same principles found in Leadership on the Line. After class several students pointed out the irony of using a business school leadership book as the foundation of a leadership course at a seminary. After thinking about their/our concern a little, I came to the conclusion that it is essential for the church to be interdisciplinary aware and open to learning from other fields of study. After all, it only makes sense for leadership principles to have multi-disciplinary relevance because whether in the church or in a corporate setting or in our neighborhoods or in our homes we are leading people. It would be foolish for us to neglect these resources and not benefit from their wisdom. I believe, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership is a must read for every pastor, teacher, administrator, community activist, spouse, parent, and leader in any capacity because we are daily faced with adaptive challenges.
Comments