Coaching Churches

When we think of the word vision we are drawn to a picture of the future of how things can be better than they are in the present.  Most vision casting does a good job of painting a hopeful image of the positive benefits involved but not a very realistic job of the costs involved to get there. 

This is a major problem because when the negative forces and fears involved in the change process start to appear and people are not prepared they can give up very quickly resulting in the death of the vision.  John Kotter in his book Leading Change lists all the characteristics that should be included in an effective vision:

1.      Imaginable:  Conveys a picture of what the future will look like

2.      Desirable:  Appeals to the long-term interests of employees, customers, stockholders, and others who have a stake in the enterprise

3.      Feasible:  Comprises realistic, attainable goals

4.      Focused:  Is clear enough to provide guidance in decision making

5.      Flexible:  Is general enough to allow individual initiative and alternative responses in light of changing conditions

6.      Communicable:  Is easy to communicate; can be successfully explained within five minutes

The change process for most people is extremely difficult because of the fear of the unknown.  There are powerful forces involved that will try to maintain the status quo at all costs.  The pain of the present must be contrasted with the pain of the change process so that the people will know that the option of no change is not realistic.

People also need to be told on the front end that sacrifices are probably going to need to be made and there will be discomfort involved during the transition.  However, if the vision takes the group to a better and more viable place then all the costs involved will be worth it every time.

One of the major mistakes we make in major change initiatives is that we oversell the long term goal at the expense of dealing with the short term realities.  People do want to know where they are going but they want to know even more what does all this mean for me right now?

Once the new change plan has been implemented it is critical for everyone involved to experience the benefits of short term wins so they can stay motivated for the future and the change that is yet to come.  John Kotter list several roles that short term wins play:

1.       Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it:  Wins greatly help justify the short term cost involved.

2.      Reward change agents:  After a lot of hard work, positive feedback builds morale and motivation.

3.      Help fine-tune vision and strategies:  Short term wins give the guiding coalition concrete data on the viability of their ideas.

4.      Undermine cynics and self-serving resisters:  Clear improvements in performance make it difficult for people to block needed change.

5.      Keep bosses on board:  Provides those higher in the hierarchy with evidence that the transformation is on track.

6.      Build momentum:  Turns neutrals into supporters, reluctant supporters into active helpers.

Therefore it becomes critical in any change planning to build into the strategy several things that can be done within the first six months that may be small in scale but clear wins that everyone can celebrate.

Every individual and organization at some point in time will face a crisis and the way they respond will determine if the situation potentially becomes fatal or they experience a complete and total recovery.  I have learned a lot from personal experience on this subject over the years and probably the most important lesson is to be incredibly proactive and not stick your head in the sand and hope it will get better.

In Jack Welch’s great book Winning he gives some great advice on how he dealt with crisis situations at G.E.  These are his five guiding assumptions:

1.      The problem is worse than it appears—No matter how hard you might wish and pray; very few crises start small and stay that way.  The vast majority are bigger in scope than you could ever imagine with that first phone call and they will last longer and get more ugly.

2.      There are no secrets in the world, and everyone will eventually find out everything—Information that you try to shut down will eventually get out, and as it travels, it will certainly morph, twist and darken.   The only way to prevent that is to expose the problem yourself and tell the truth.

3.      You and your organization’s handling of the crisis will be portrayed in the worst possible light—The very nature of a crisis means that you and your organization will be portrayed in a light so negative you won’t even recognize yourself.  Don’t hunker down.  Along with disclosing the full extent of your problem you have got to stand up and define your position before someone else does for you.

4.      There will be changes in processes and people—Crisis requires change.  Sometimes a process fix is enough.  Usually not because the people affected by the crisis demand that someone be held responsible.

5.      The organization will survive, ultimately stronger for what happened—There is not a crisis you cannot learn from, even though you hate every one of them.  After a crisis is over the tendency is to put it away in a drawer.  Don’t, teach its lessons every chance you get.