It’s been said life’s only constant is change. For leaders that statement is always true. Whether the changes are personal, or in the marketplace, or among the personnel with whom we work, changes are the constant. How do we lead most effectively in the midst of change? The short answer is we do the best we can to anticipate the big ones, and make the most of the every day blips on the radar screen so we can ride the tide of change rather than being drowned by it. Here at New Life we’ve been experiencing nearly exponential change over the past several years. With the rapid growth of the church has come constant change. I mentioned to a staff member today that having tripled in size in just a few years has made it more than three times the challenge to lead. He looked at me and agreed immediately.
How have the changes you’ve experienced impacted your leadership? What have you changed in order to address the changes around you? I’ve found it necessary to lead from “farther away.” In other words, I used to lead people directly. I was engaged in youth ministry. I made many pastoral calls. Now, we have a youth ministry and a care ministry. I get to watch others lead, and even our youth pastor is often leading from a distance, as he and others on his team have equipped others to lead the small groups and do the hands on ministry. That means I’m two or three people away from the young person who is receiving ministry. At times I really miss the “good old days.” Then I remember how few people we were impacting in those days, and that having the opportunity to serve so many more people in Jesus’ name is a great blessing. It’s a massive change, but the change is for the better.
As leaders, we need to know when change is good for the organization and when it isn’t. After all, not all change is because we are moving forward, or growing healthier. We need to see when what looks like growth may be disease. After all, cancer grows rapidly in many cases, and brings change to a person’s body, but seldom is that change good for the body. Leading change can be like herding cats, but it can also be exhilarating. Many times which it is depends on the attitude we take toward it. Once we’ve identified that change is either positive or benign, we can flow with it and make choices that will keep us moving in the right direction. When we recognize the change as harmful, we must act quickly, because just as a rising tide lifts all the ships, it can also flood all the ports.
Leading is always a risky matter, and seldom one in which we have absolute clarity. The rate of change has accelerated throughout my lifetime to such a degree that the concept of ten year planning, or even five year planning is hard to imagine. We set a course and sail in the direction we see as being true, then we adjust as the various aspects of change come at us. I’m not saying truth changes, although many would say precisely that. I’m saying the truth stands as the foundation in a constantly shifting world, and out of that truth we make constant adjustments, not to the truth, but the circumstances we face. As I’ve often heard it said, “Our message doesn’t change, but our methods must change constantly. Otherwise, we find ourselves leading from truths that are still true, but take us where we want to go.
The key is always to remember what our “product” is and then change the preparation, production and delivery methods to address the changes around us. Our approach is so important when it comes to leadership, because if we are unwilling to change our approach, then we will miss the opportunity to lead. After all, if no one hears us because of how we speak, or no one follows us, because of the way we lead, then we have ceased being leaders. At the end of the day, one size never fits all when it comes to leadership. What methods have you been using that don’t seem to be getting results any longer? Where do you need to change to address the change all around you? What truth anchors you amidst the storms of change? These are the questions we must not only ask, but answer all the time if we are to meet the changes around us and continue to lead through them.
Here’s to leading better, by adjusting to change–today!