Leading The Way
Published on Nov 19, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
LEADING THE WAY:
ESTABLISHING AN ADAPTIVE CULTURE IN CONGREGATIONS
In the rapid change we inhabit in the 21st century, how we adapt to those changes has an impact on how well we can thrive.
Photo by Jaako
WHAT IS OUR CULTURE?
ADAPTIVE LEADERS MUST TACKLE BIG QUESTIONS:
If you don't know what your culture is, just try to change something, and you'll find out. Organizational culture is those unspoken "rules" about how we do things here and that we pass on to new members. Often those rules no longer work for us, but we need to do significant work to determine what they are and to make changes to them.
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ARTIFACTS
VISIBLE: EASY TO SEE, HARD TO DECIPHER
To start to surface organizational culture, we start with artifacts--those behaviors and things we hold on to, often without really knowing why. How do we conduct worship? How do we recruit leaders? How do we welcome newcomers? How do we communicate?
Photo by arbyreed
ESPOUSED VALUES
WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE IN
Once we identify artifacts, we ask "Why do we do it this way?" For example, if we use the prayer book during worship, why do we do that? Is it because of tradition, cost, or some other reason?
Photo by AndyWhite70
SHARED ASSUMPTIONS
UNWRITTEN RULES THAT ALLOWED US TO THRIVE IN THE PAST
Shared assumptions, or deeper assumptions, are the real hidden drivers for why we do what we do in our organizations. Sometimes these assumptions are based in old, outdated ways of working that are no longer effective. Sometimes they still hold true. But if we try to change something without understanding them, we will sink our ship on the hidden things that lurk below the surface.
Photo by NOAA's National Ocean Service
WHY ADAPTIVE?
SHIFT FROM ATTRACTIVE TO APOSTOLIC STANCE
Church in the 21st century is no longer something that we can automatically assume people will participate in. We can no longer assume that people will come to us--we need to understand that we are part of an ancient apostolic church. We are renewed and formed in our community of faith. And then we are sent out into the world to enact the Gospel in our lives.
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TECHNICAL PROBLEMS
CLEARLY DEFINED, OBVIOUS SOLUTION, DEFINED "OWNER"
Some problems are solved with relatively simple, technical solutions. These technical problems can be addressed with a single, obvious solution that can be addressed by a person or small group with the expertise required.
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ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES
COMPLEX, HARD TO DEFINE, STAKEHOLDERS MUST SOLVE
Adaptive challenges are completely different. They are complex, affect multiple people with a variety of competing needs and interests, and many people need to help solve them.
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INTERPRETATION SHIFT
FROM: TECHNICAL, BENIGN, INDIVIDUAL
When doing significant visioning work, it is adaptive challenges we need to consider. And we need to find ways to gather information from all the affected stakeholders.
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INTERPRETATION SHIFT
TO: ADAPTIVE, CONFLICTUAL, SYSTEMIC
Tackling adaptive challenges means we will have to face some difficult conversations, conflict, and understand that there will always be a gap between our intention and our impact.
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ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP PROCESS
OBSERVE>INTERPRET>INTERVENE
This work is a form of action research. In this type of approach, we first observe, then interpret our observations, then intervene or act. This is an iterative process--when we act, we observe the impact of it, interpret that, and intervene to refine and improve. Then do it again. And again.
Photo by Jeff Kubina
COMMON ADAPTIVE CHALLENGES
- Gap between espoused values & behavior
- Competing commitments
- Speaking the unspeakable
- Work avoidance
This is not easy work. If it was, it would be a technical problem. Knowing in advance what challenges you can expect can help manage expectations and frustrations.
Photo by Cody Ryan Reigle
BUILDING ADAPTIVE CULTURE
- Name elephants in room
- Shared responsibility for the congregation
- Expect independent judgment
- Develop leadership capacity
- Institutionalize continuous learning
Congregational leaders have to exist to partner with clergy. There is a long history in our church of abdicating authority in ALL things to clergy instead of working with them to make changes work and make them last.
Photo by digitalART2
CONVERSATION
- My Congregation: Adaptive or Technical?
- What are our Elephants in the room?
- Who is "responsible" for the congregation?
- Continuous Learning: How defined?
- Who are our current & future leaders?
Handout #1 useful here:
How Adaptive is Your Congregation?
How Adaptive is Your Congregation?
IT'S NOT CHANGE WE RESIST
WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE OURSELVES
In organizational culture, Ed Schein talks about the tension between Adaptation to the External Environment and Internal Integrity & Integration. In the first, if we don't adapt to the environment, we die. In the second, if we change too much, we die. We are no longer ourselves. So instead of "change resistance" what we struggle with is "change ambivalence."
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TRANSITION
ADAPTIVE LEADERS MUST GUIDE THROUGH
We all go through a variety of changes in our lives. As in the riddle of the sphinx that Oedipus encounters (Q: What walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs in the evening? A: Man--as a child he crawls, then he walks upright, and in old age he needs a cane), we can all expect certain transitions in life. Development, career change, marriage, divorce/death, retirement all will involve transition.
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CHANGE
IS SITUATIONAL
Maybe your office moves down the hall. Or you get a raise. Or your child moves from 3rd to 4th grade.
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TRANSITION
IS PSYCHOLOGICAL
Transition involves an inner psychological reorientation. It is baffling, it is difficult, and it is inevitable.
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ENDING
FIRST, THERE IS AN
Sometime we know transition is coming, sometimes we don't. In organizations, some people may be in a different place than others.
5 stages of Ending:
Disengagement
Dismantling
Disidentification
Disenchantment
Disorientation
5 stages of Ending:
Disengagement
Dismantling
Disidentification
Disenchantment
Disorientation
Photo by DeeAshley
THE NEUTRAL ZONE
FOLLOWED BY
The Neutral Zone is a period of re-orientation as we adjust our psychological bearings. Just as with a strange attractor, up close and in the situation, there seems to be no pattern to this period. However, with distance and perspective we can see there is pattern and beauty and tremendous energy in this space. And it is very difficult.
Photo by Don Granatto
NEW BEGINNING
LEADING TO A
Once there is clarity about where you are going, you can move into a new beginning. If you short-change the Neutral Zone experience, your trajectory will not be optimal.
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CONVERSATION
- When have I experienced Transition?
- Have I felt it as a church leader?
- Where am I in the Transition journey?
HEROES
WE LOVE THEM
When tackling adaptive challenges, we need more than Spiderman, or the priest, to solve them.
Photo by JD Hancock
LEADER AS HERO: ASSUMPTIONS
- Leaders have the answers
- People do what they're told
- High risk requires high control
Photo by JD Hancock
WHEN HEROES FAIL
WE BEGIN TO SEARCH FOR NEXT (PERFECT) ONE
We need to acknowledge that we need to work collaboratively to solve difficult, adaptive challenges, and confront our tendency to want it to be a simple, technical problem that someone else can fix.
Photo by improbcat
MORE TO 1&1=2
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE "&"
Calvin and Hobbes is more than just a boy and his stuffed tiger. In synergy, things are about more than the sum of their parts.
Photo by Thoth, God of Knowledge
OPENNESS
CREATES A STRONGER SYSTEM
An open & curious stance allows us to make significant system changes, now and moving forward.
Photo by nigham
QUANTUM UNDERSTANDING
RELATIONSHIP & CONTEXT
Quantum science is really weird. Is light a particle or a wave? It depends on what you want it to do and how you want it to behave.
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DISEQUILIBRIUM
LEADS TO GROWTH
It is adaptation, not stasis, that leads to growth and evolution. The Church is God's, so it will always exist--we might need to let go of what we humans think that looks like, but "my thoughts are not your thoughts."
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CHAOS
CANNOT PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT
And when we are up-close, it seems even more unpredictable.
Photo by Matzuda
"STRANGE ATTRACTOR"
A SELF-PORTRAIT DRAWN BY CHAOTIC SYSTEM
There is beauty and pattern with perspective. Our challenge is to let go, connect to the Source that is God, and let come. That surrender is difficult, and completely necessary.
Photo by bogdinamita
ENACTMENT
ENVIRONMENT YOU WORRY ABOUT, YOU CREATE
Letting go of expectations allows surprising things to emerge. We need to stop should-ing all over ourselves, and trust that God knows what is going on, and what can be created if we allow it.
Photo by dingatx
WHO DO WE WANT TO BECOME?
When engaged in visioning processes, we need to try to let go of what things were, what we think they need to be, and allow ourselves to aspirational. What are our gifts? How do we lift them up?
Photo by Ivana Vasilj
CREATE PROCESSES
TO CLARIFY OUR INTENT
We need to review our history, engage in difficult conversations in safe ways, and be okay with beta-testing of new initiatives. They don't all have to be perfect, and we need to have ways to carefully observe->interpret->act. There are no clear, linear paths to resolution of adaptive challenges, but rather you need a plan for how you will be able to deviate from your original plans as new information emerges.
Photo by rishibando
CRITICAL CONNECTIONS
HOW DO WE AMPLIFY DISTURBANCE IN THE SYSTEM?
As stated earlier, if you want to find out about your organization, just try to change it. How do we thoughtfully and proactively engage a variety of internal and external stakeholders to capture and use the energy created by change to help continuously improve?
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LIVING IN DISEQUILIBRIUM
- Manage yourself
- Help others tolerate discomfort
- Stay in productive zone of disequilibrium
There will be ups and downs in the amount of disequilibrium that the system can tolerate. If you let it drop too low, there will not be enough discomfort to push through and make necessary changes.
Photo by martinak15
NEW PEOPLE & INFO
STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH
Test hunches with people who are new, or have not been involved in leadership or changes. New perspectives help better understand the challenges as well as possible solutions.
Photo by whatmattdoes
HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
PATTERNS REVEAL THEMSELVES THRU BEHAVIOR
People struggle sometimes to articulate or explain why things are the way they are, or why they are ambivalent about change. Look for behaviors rather than just words to help see patterns and ways to amplify or change them.
Photo by VinothChandar
MEANING
THE GREATEST FORCE OF ATTRACTION
Being able to clearly articulate the WHY of an enterprise attracts people and amplifies energy as you address challenges in new ways.
Photo by zeevveez
COLLECTIVE SELF-IDENTITY
AFFECTS INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
Group dynamics theory tells us that no one wants to deviate too far from average. Who we way we are as a group has impact on how we behave as individuals. Lewin's studied how group decisions affect individual choices, even if the group never meets again.
Photo by zubrow
SHARED ATTENTION
REAL CHANGE HAPPENS WHEN WE SEE WHAT'S WORTHY OF
If we can find common agreement about where our new beginning leads, we can see what needs to happen and make sure it does happen.
Photo by Franco Folini
LEADERS
MAKE SURE ORGANIZATION KNOWS ITSELF
Learn and share your history. If you find you need to leave behind old ways of working, make sure everyone knows the WHY of that choice. Who we are leads to what we do.
Photo by Patrick Feller
ADAPTIVE LEADERS
MOBILIZE STAKEHOLDERS
Adaptive leaders have left behind the need to be heroes. They seek to find, engage, and energize stakeholders for meaningful and sustained change.
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KEY HUMAN DYNAMICS
- Need for trust
- Need meaningful work
- Want to contribute
- Want thanks for contribution
- Want to participate in change
Photo by Camera Eye Photography
LEADER AS HOST
TENSION: "I DON'T KNOW" & "I TRUST YOU"
Rather than heroes, adaptive leaders host meaningful conversations and anchor meaningful adaptive change efforts. When you don't know, say so. And say, "Let's pray about that." Then tell the change agent, "I trust you to figure this out." Keep conversations open, but you don't need to give directions. Stay open and flexible.
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EFFECTIVE LEADERS
- Communicate powerful vision
- Motivate people to work hard
- Achieve results
- Exceed plans
- Implement change
Photo by MightyBoyBrian
PATIENCE
IT TAKES 12-18 MONTHS TO BUILD TRUST IN PROCESSES
Take lots of deep breaths. It's gonna be okay.
Photo by Gwenaël Piaser
GOAL
- A resilient and adaptive congregation
- Able to survive disruptions
- Congregation grows in capacity
- Doesn't lose its way when leader leaves
In the canons and in the prayer book, the first order is that of the laity. It is also the largest order. In our church system, our priest belong to the bishop, not to the congregation. So it is critical that lay leaders lean in and learn to be adaptive leaders who can partner with our skilled and necessary clergy leaders.
Photo by -MRGT
