Change - Part 3

This is a series of posts on change.  Many of us have things that we want to change - our weight, our church, our culture, our family, our job environment, our denomination, etc.  These posts will stem from a review of Building the Bridge as You Walk on It by Robert Quinn.

It is common in times of transition to have some strong resistors.  Most are capable of turning around.  Some are not and they never will change.  Often times the resistors are competent people who play a powerful role.  Such people seldom speak up and express their opposition to you directly.  Instead, they consciously or unconsciously sabatoge the change process.

A change leader needs to develop a team that moves with one mind.  They share a vision of what could be and should be for the future.  However, that team is often not within the upper echelon of the organization (they are not the formal higher up's).  It is a grass-roots movement.  It is often a network of converts that cuts across formal boundaries.  Over time the message/vision spreads to more and more people.  Eventually there is critical mass.

A change agent must have a critical mass that is willing to look at challenges in a new way and work on new solutions.  This is how social movements work.  We never convert everyone.  We do not need to.  To move the organization where it needs to go, we need only the critical mass.

Reaching a critical mass has marvelous impact.  A "new energy" is present.  With this new energy, the group also seems to have new perspective and new capacity.  What previously seemed impossible now seems obtainable.

Next time we will talk about three general strategies for effecting change that we often use but rarely work.  Then we will talk about a fourth strategy that is most effective.

Comments

[Nathan]

I'm enjoying this series, makes me want to go buy the book.

Concerning this post: Would you say transition makes it all the more essential to have Christ-minded leaders in place from the start? That way, God-inspired transitions are done much more cohesively. What do you think?

[Padawan]

Yes, but history shows that in any human system (including churches) leaders are often resistant to changes proposed by the next generation. It seems that each generation has "new wine" that needs to be poured into "new wineskins."