Spiritual Leadership During Times of Change

1. Spiritual Leadership During Times of Change Dr. Richard McCorry

2. Leading Change INTRODUCTIONS

3. “There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things . . .Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable.” Niccolo Machiavelli. 1469-1527.

4. Program Hopes 1. To identify better where each of us is personally with regard to change and its effects. 2. Provide us with a new and positive way of looking at change so it works to our advantage. • To provide the church leader with some tools to help them positively move their churches through change. • To give us a way to encounter the presence of God in the midst of transition and change.

14. Dancing with Change Change Responsiveness Survey

15. Dancing with Change

16. Early Adaptors Never Change Slow Adaptors

17. Change Resistance • To lower resistance to change • Increase dissatisfaction with status quo • Provide significant vision

18. Change Quickly Preferably in ne Minute Are You Comfortable Where You Are? CHANGE WHERE YOU ARE SITTING. NOW!

19. How Do You Feel When You Are Told To Change Quickly But Do Not Know Why? Change Imposed is Change Opposed

20. Change Resistance • To lower resistance to change • Increase dissatisfaction with status quo • Provide significant vision • Don’t surprise people. • Provide doable next steps

21. Change Leader • Motivating strategies leaders use to lower resistance to change (the Four P’s) • Pummel - do this or die - short term and for emergencies only • Pamper - do whatever you feel like doing - not leadership - only minimal changes - rarely last • Push - fear and pain oriented - do this or the ministry will die - moderate long term change • Pull - do this and achieve your dreams

22. Change Leader • Personal preparation for leader of change initiative: • listening for God’s voice • rest and recharge, mentally and physically • practice spiritual disciplines • revisit God’s mission for the church • conduct honest self-assessment • personal accountability - i.e., spiritual direction • proactively address problems • find the right pace

23. Change Leader Key Challenge Carving out the time necessary to discern God’s voice and living with the tension that creates.

24. Leading Change Best Practices

25. Change Process Guiding principles: 1. Confront reality 2. Identify and confront strategic levers 3. Build a powerful mandate for change 4. Establish a reasonable scope • Involve the target group in the change • Identify stakeholders

26. Change Process Guiding principles: 7. Communicate well 8. Measure results 9. Involve God & faith 10. Consider training needed 11. Plan your work and work your plan 12. Put it all together

27. One Change Process

28. Dream Team • Ideal qualities: • Diversity • Standing in the church • Spiritual maturity • Ability to make meaningful contributions • Willing to support right changes • Appropriate staff representation • Generally should be builder, progressives, and creators with moderate and above levels of influence

29. Dream Team • Address decision making and leadership issues up front • Provide necessary training • Take time to build community • Have each member describe their hopes and dreams. • Key challenge - creating an environment in which challenge and diversity leads to collaboration and commitment.

30. Dream Team Identify your Dream Team

31. Vision Process steps for determining vision • Find the right setting - i.e., a retreat, this should not be treated as just another meeting. • Pray • Start from the right perspective - this is not the people’s vision for the community but God’s vision for the community. • Seek input • Determine what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable - separate form from essence. • Write first draft

32. Vision Process steps for determining vision • Write first draft • Consider blind spots – consider outside consultant to help with this • Engage in a dialogue about the vision. • Seek private feedback. • Revise/second draft • Obtain public feedback • Develop consensus

33. Vision What might the vision statement for your parish look like?

34. Vision Evaluating a vision statement • It has heart • It provides a picture of desire • It provides a way out of today’s discomforts • It is full of hope • It provides a reason for unity • It provides God’s direction • It is powerful

35. Creative Tension • Creating energy for change • Contrasting God’s ideal with an accurate assessment of reality

36. Creative Tension Measuring current effectiveness: • Traditional: attendance & money • Non-Traditional: excellence & customer satisfaction • Surveys - event feedback • Interviewing newcomers and regulars • Focus groups • Ministry inventory - list all events, programs and meetings, compare with list of church values, and rate each on this scale of five: • Not vital, consider eliminating • Is this really needed? • Needs to be made more effective? • Good program, can it be improved? • What else can we do that is this effective?

37. Creative Tension Processes that sustain creative tension • acknowledge that tension is necessary • allow others to share the tension • develop conflict management skills • continue to clarify the vision • take care of yourself

38. Plan Change Improvement plan considerations • Who will we serve? • What will we need? • What ministry and administrative processes will we need? • What people and reward system will we need? • What structure/facilities/technology will we need? • How will we measure our progress? Reward what you measure

39. Plan Change Improvement plan considerations • Measuring considerations • Relevance • Reliability • Availability • Accountability • For major changes - begin incrementally and respect readiness

40. Plan Transition Plan Transition • What steps are necessary to get from where we are to where we want to be? • How much time should we take to implement these changes – general rule: the greater the change the longer the time necessary for people to adapt to the change. Also, larger organizations take longer to change than smaller ones.

41. Plan Transition Plan Transition • Transition time provides: • Opportunity for growth • Opportunity to confront issues of: • Power • Control • Selfishness • Letting go of the past • Personal preferences • Mourning loss of comfort

42. Communication • What needs to be communicated? • The vision - under communicating is one of the major causes of a plan failing. • The current assessment of reality - People need to know the reason(s) behind change. • The change plan. • The transition plan. • Status updates.

43. Communication • Steps and considerations • Pace – the rate at which people can absorb new information. • Personality - different learning style • Develop an explicit communication strategy

44. Communication • Steps and considerations • Be creative – communication about change requires more than just a sermon and bulletin article – consider: • Small group discussion • Drama • Music • Special newsletter(s) • Video • Web site

45. Communication • Steps and considerations • Use the dream team for this too. • Develop a unique vocabulary which has special meaning for your parish. • Repeat, repeat, repeat • Seek feedback to see if the communication is getting through. • Answering questions that people have.

46. Implementation A specific set of coordinated, high leveraged activities which move the parish toward the realization of God’s plan. Key challenge - coordinating multiple, concurrent action plans and achieving the right pace for the process, in consideration of resource limitations, congregational attitudes, and urgency.

47. Implementation • Considerations • a. Be clear about priorities • b. Plan before acting • c. Treat each new initiative as an experiment. • d. Measure, measure, measure • e. align gifts with needs

48. Implementation • Considerations • f. Support those responsible for new initiatives by empowering change leaders - cultivate a broader base of committed leaders and remove the barriers that would prevent them from serving effectively.

49. Implementation • The Rollout checklist for any change initiative: • Assess readiness • Create a change-receptive culture • Confront reality/sell the problem • Teach values underlying improvements • Make spiritual preparation

50. Implementation • The Rollout checklist for any change initiative: • Pray • Nurture • Develop the improvement team and implement the transition and change plan • Celebrate the past; say good-bye