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Why do most change efforts fail? Because the people who lead them do not address the most important step in the process.
Before you make a major change, it’s vital to consider whether anyone else thinks there’s a problem. If you’re the only one, or one of only a few people, who thinks the organization has a problem, the new initiative will meet an ambivalent embrace in the best-case scenario. More than likely, you will encounter outright opposition.
You can have wonderful ideas for a project and a captivating vision for the future, but most people are not receptive to new initiatives unless they feel dissatisfied with the current reality. According to John Kotter’s eight-stage process of change, leaders need to help others see there’s a problem with the way things are before they attempt to cast a vision for something new. Kotter calls this step “creating a sense of urgency.” We might think the best way to convince people the current reality isn’t working is to show them the data. Information is part of the solution, but change requires more than careful analysis. “Urgency” is not an analytical term. Urgency describes how we feel. When something is urgent, we feel like it cannot wait. We feel like the window of opportunity to act is closing, and we must do something right now.
Obviously, we do not want to cultivate reactivity or anxiety — but until people have a sense of urgency about why something matters, they will accept the status quo, even if it is less than ideal.
Resources
Balcony time and the art of faithful leadership
Reflection is not a luxury to enjoy after work is completed; it is part of the work, writes the director of Reflective Leadership Support at the Forum for Congregational Life.
By Jasmine Terry Okafor
From metrics to meaning: Leading with wisdom in the age of data
It’s important to recognize that while metrics tell part of a congregation’s story, they cannot measure the stirrings of conviction or the whispers of the Spirit, writes a church leadership consultant.
By Chris Aho
How do I know whether my church is ready to innovate?
Creative churches don’t panic when things go wrong. They pivot. But how do you know whether your church is prepared for it? writes an innovation consultant.
By Carmelle Beaugelin
A church isn’t a blank slate, and neither is a pastor
Leading change requires understanding a community’s system for relating and behaving — and understanding your own family system, too.
By Matt Johnson
Before you go
What I hope you’ll take away from this issue is that there’s a difference between a sense of urgency and a sense of desperation or gloom. We’re not telling the congregation that judgement day is coming. Urgency can and should be aspirational: Where do we want to go? How do we stay committed to — or return to — our mission and values? Are there people on the margins we have overlooked in our current ministries?
Congregational leaders can draw upon the imagery and narratives of Scripture to show what the future can be. Paint the picture. Tell the story. To borrow an expression from the call-and-response tradition in the Black church, “Make it plain, preacher!” When you “write the vision and make it plain,” the sense of urgency will inspire action and expectation.
You can always share your ideas or feedback with me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!
Prince R. Rivers
Editor, Alban at Duke Divinity