Change and Leadership
By Frances Forde Plude
In our earlier discussion on change, Suzanne introduced John Kotter’s eight-stage ‘process for creating change’ in his book Leading Change, and there she covered his first four recommendations. She uses the titles of Kotter’s process but describes them in terms of a local congregation. Here Suzanne reflects upon Kotter’s four other concepts.
By Suzanne Nelson
Refer to Kotter’s book for detailed methods and case studies.
5. Empower Broad-Based Action
I believe one of the main jobs of administrators is removing obstacles so staff can move toward goals instead of having their creativity numbed by structural blocks. Empowering broad-based action is perhaps the most challenging part of the change process because structural barriers often stand in the way. Using the example of the vision statement, let’s “aim to establish an identifiable line of communication between each high school parishioner and at least one parish minister by the end of this year,” here are four areas to examine for “blockage.” 1) Are the parish council, commissions, and the budget structures aligned to enable us to accomplish this goal? For example, if the Parish Life Commission sponsors a youth event, how do they communicate it to the Youth Minister? Who pays for the food? 2) Do all parish ministers have the skill and attitude training needed to “establish a line of communication” with teens? For example, do the Eucharistic Ministers really want older teens involved in that ministry? Do they know how to train them? 3) Are personnel systems aligned to this vision statement? For example, will the Youth Minister get a raise for getting other people involved with youth? Or will he/she lose his/her job? 4) Who will confront those who undercut the planned change? For example, will the council or the pastor or some other authority support the Youth Minster and other ministers throughout the change process? Who will deal with those who block implementation of the plan? Will there be ways to peacefully negotiate when obstacles are encountered? It is easy to see that broad-based change requires commitment, energy, and broad-based collaboration.
6. Generate Short-Term Wins
Getting everyone behind the vision and getting them moving toward it is not enough. Short-term wins must be made visible and unambiguous to the supporting group. A short-term win is a visible display of a convincing piece of evidence that you are proceeding toward the goal. Keeping with our example of the youth involvement vision, a short-term win might be a photo display of all the ministry groups who have reached out to include youth by the third month into the project. Another example is a bulletin article graphing the increase in the number of young people involved by a specific date when compared with the previous year at that time. This would be followed each quarter with a similar graph.
7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change
The original ‘vision,’ to establish an identifiable line of communication between each high school parishioner and at least one parish minister by the end of this year, may at this point seem like one strategy in a broader vision. Leaders now want to celebrate the growing accomplishment of the original vision and at the same time lay plans for its expansion and for – consequently – more change and more growth. In our example, maybe by December, the parish is communicating with 80% of the youth, and those youth are participating in ministries. This involvement sparks an interest in learning more about the church on the part of adults as well as youth. Thus, a unique program of intergenerational mini courses is born, or a new social outreach effort, or a new calendar of social events, etc. By the following year, the Youth Leadership team becomes able to bring the concept of ‘comprehensive youth ministry’ into the parish visionary planning process.
8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture
Kotter is defining ‘culture’ as “norms of behavior and shared values among a group of people.” A new Youth Ministry approach, for example, can be grafted onto the old culture and allow some old practices to be replaced. But the new ideas will not stick unless they are perceived by the supporting body to work, unless leaders are enthusiastic about the validity of the change.
Conclusion
And a final warning from Kotter himself: If staff evaluation and promotion practices are not made compatible with the new practices, the old culture will reassert itself. Effective leadership, both clerical and lay, depends on natural talent, experience, desire to succeed, willingness to continue learning, to take risks, and to change. It also depends, of course, on spiritual wisdom and connection to the Holy Spirit. In the church of the next decade, change will continue to happen with greater momentum. The direction it takes will depend on each one of us.