tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60789349516074253962024-03-05T04:41:13.386-08:00Perspectives on Congregational LeadershipExploring the application of Bowen Systems Theory to the practice of congregational and organizational leadership.Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-602076129283946312015-07-15T05:16:00.000-07:002015-07-15T11:28:58.454-07:00Ghost hunters and exorcists: The Leader and Secrets<div>
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Leaders new to a system often have to contend with the "ghosts" in the system, things that go bump in the night and block progress, defy explanations and create corporate habits and practices that make no sense. Ghosts and their secrets can foster behaviors and attitudes that inhibit openness in communication. There's something going on, but no one's telling. Some systems are more haunted than others, and, there are both benign and malevolent systemic forces at play in any system. But when a leader finds him or herself inhibited by a haunting that impedes progress and health in the system, it may be time to become a ghosthunter and exorcist.<br /><br />
<b>THE LEADER AS GHOST HUNTER</b><br /><br />
New leaders need to determine how to deal with the ghosts in the system---every system has them. Some leaders set out to be ghost hunters, others try to be exorcists. Those ghost may be a beloved former pastor who has been elevated to sainthood, or the demons of generations past who still haunt the system through legacies.<br /><br />
Dealing with secrets in a system is a challenge, not only because the issue is complex, but also because organizational leaders, especially clergy leaders, are expected to be the official designated secret-keeper in the system. How often does a conversation start with, "I'm telling you this in complete confidence, Pastor . . . ," or "Just between you and me...." Referring to "secrets" in this case we do not mean betraying a confidence, or the indiscriminate release of sensitive, private, or potentially harmful information. In other words, when ghost hunting, it's important to differentiate between secrecy and privacy. Secrets, as a transactive dynamic is a system, tend to be willful, unhealthy, anxiety-driven, and potentially toxic. What is "private" is not necessarily harmful, and indeed, may be healthy. For pastors in a system that uses its leader as confidant to secrets that bind anxiety, it can be helpful to refuse to carry the secret or it's burden, or for the pastor to find a confidant who can help navigate how to handle secrets without being left powerless. In other words, pastors, or any leader, can use the power of the confessional to bind the anxiety of the secret.<br /><br />
The ghosts that leaders content with in a system are secrets that are an intentional concealment of information by one or more persons in the system who are impacted by it. Secrets are used as a form of information control, in which some information is under the control of a person in the system who purposefully hides this information from someone else. In this type of secret the information that is withheld is critical to the one whom the information is concealed from because it has an impact on his or her life or ability to function. It is not uncommon for systems to withhold information from new leaders about sensitive issues, thereby setting up an immediate pattern of secrecy, and, leaving the leader powerless to address the issue.<br /><br />
Often, leaders as ghost hunters must seek out the intergenerational ghost in the system passed on though multigenerational transmission. This can be the lingering influence of a founding pastor, unresolved issues from a crisis with a former staff member, or a secret in the system based on shame or guilt. In a theological school, it may be a "faculty of origin issue." A painful church split can leave a number of lingering ghosts in the system. At a former congregational ministry context it was four years until I discovered, quite by happenstance, that the church had previously dismissed a staff member in my position. No one had ever mentioned that incident, not during the hiring interviews, and, not even in the intervening four years of personnel reviews, staff meetings, committee meetings, or myriad of conversations.<br /><br />
<b>Symptoms and manifestations of ghosts in the system</b><br /><br />
It takes a lot of energy to feed a ghost and keep a secret, and, it can take a toll on a system and on individuals. Look for a symptom bearer who exhibits the manifestations of secret-keeping: stress, anxiety, depression, and shame. Sometimes one symptom is misplaced distrust and anger toward the leader. Check to see if the blowback on certain questions and issues is disproportionate to questions and feels like a personal attack. Organizationally, ghosts and secrets in the system create a difficulty in maintaining intimacy in relationships, maintain chronic long standing cut offs, even result psychosomatic symptoms. Characteristically, secrets in the system leave people feeling powerless.<br /><br />
Evan Imber-Black identified four main ways that family secrets may shape and scar us: (1) they can divide family members, permanently estranging them; (2) they can discourage individuals from sharing information with anyone outside the family inhibiting formation of intimate relationships; (3) they can freeze development at crucial points in life, preventing the growth of self and identity; (4) they can lead to painful miscommunication within a family, causing unnecessary guilt and doubt. Since secrets can serve the same function in any relationship system, any leader may find her- or himself dealing with these in an organization as well.<br /><br />
<b>THE LEADER AS EXORCIST</b><br /><br />
Sometimes it becomes necessary for a leader to play exorcist when ghosts impede progress or health in the system. One way is to <b>uncover the narrative of the secret.</b> Often, it's not the secret that holds a power in the system, it's the narrative built around its origin and subsequent interpretations. Like the parlor game of "telephone," over time, the secret gets corrupt and convoluted to the point that what really happened hardly matters--it's the fact that the secret is maintained and serves a transactive function in the system that matters. In this case the leader-exorcists can simply ask persons to "tell me the story about what happened." Listen for both content and emotional process, though it's the transactive process that will be most telling (do people maintain the secret, protect the ghost, share the "secret" readily, keep the leader in the dark?). One way to get the ghost out of hiding is to compare narratives. Sometimes, playfully challenging the narrative in a non-threatening way can challenge recall, misinterpretation, or dig deeper. The conversation may go like this:<br /><br />
Leader: "That's interesting. Someone told me that the reason was ________."<br />
Staff person: "Well, that's what I heard."<br />
Leader: "Does that ring true to you?"<br />
Staff person: "Well, no, come to think of it. It does sound a bit strange."<br />
Leader: "What do YOU think might have really happened?"<br /><br />
Another way to exorcise ghosts is to <b>reinterpret the narrative</b> around the secret. Leaders enjoy the privilege of having the platform to not only envision the future narrative of an organization, but also to reinterpret its past--including, re-weaving and re-interpreting the narratives around ghosts in the system. It can be as simple as sharing, "You know what I think really happened?" Interviewing the "ghosts," like a former pastor or boss, will yield a different perspective that can be shared as a corrective to a toxic narrative: "Let me share with you how ___ remembers it." Certainly you'll want to ask permission to share in order to not violate a trust.<br /><br />
One powerful, and redemptive, way of exorcising ghosts is to absolve the IP or the scapegoat at the center of old secrets that keep the system stuck. The function of blame fosters irresponsibility, and ghosts and secrets often enable that. Long dead family members can be blamed for the lack of success of individuals in the family, or, of a whole generation! As long as they are kept "alive" as ghosts in the system, people can choose to not take responsibility for their own fate. I know of one pastor who, after some ghost hunting, chose to exorcise a shame-related secret that kept the congregation stuck on issues related to anyone occupying the position of "pastor" in the congregation. This pastor invited a former pastor, who functioned as "ghost" in the narrative of the congregation, to the annual church homecoming one year. Merely naming the pastor's presence and his place in the history of the church served to shift the story and "out" the negative demonizing narrative maintained by some members.<br /><br />
<b>Engage in selective disclosure</b><br /><br />
I like Peter Rober's concept of selective disclosure as an approach to dealing with secrets is a system. It can help invite others to participate in exorcising the ghosts. "The concept highlights that what we are dealing with is a multifaceted continuing process in time: a process filled with tensions, small decisions, and good intentions. It refers to a process of selection as to whom to tell what, how much to tell, when to tell, and so on," wrote Rober. It takes into account the reality that what is needed is not just more more information, rather, it is attention to emotional process that creates a dialogical space in which questions can be asked and some things can be said, without requiring, or demanding, that everything is revealed.<br /><br />
The concept of selective disclosure takes seriously the potential destructiveness of "outing" secrets while making space and opportunities for a safe way in which people can deal with sensitive "family" issues. This approach removes the toxic element of willfulness and coercion on the part of the leader and helps create a more open, safe, and honest environment in which to talk about the ghosts in the system. In this way leaders can provide "a dialogical space in which people listen to what is said, accept that not everything can be said, respect that there are good reasons why things cannot be shared, and are open to whatever is said that has not been said before. Such a view based on the concept of selective disclosure invites compassion and empathy and recognizes secretholders as well as those who do not know in their struggle to find stories they can live with" (Pelias, 2008, cited in Rober, et al. (2012)).<br /><br />
All leaders will need to deal with "ghosts" in the system at one time or another. Those that impede the leader's effectiveness and maintain pathological patterns of dysfunction in the form of "secrets" are often the most toxic to a system. Leaders do well to respect the power of secrets in a system, and the potential consequences of unlinking them from the functions they serve in a system. But leaders are also called to foster health and responsibility in the systems they serve. On occasion, leaders may find themselves functioning as ghost hunters and exorcists in order to bring about release and redemption in the system.<br /><br />
<b>Sources</b><br /><br />
"The emotional burden of secrets. Consequences for somatic health and implications for health care," by Wismeijer AA, Vingerhoets AJ. Journal Tijdschr Psychiatr. 2007;49(6):383-9.<br /><br />
"Family Secrets," Allan N. Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. Updated: Apr 25th 2007.<br /><br />
"The Power of Secrets," Evan Imber-Black. Psychology Today 31.4 (Jul/Aug 1998): 50-53+.<br /><br />
"In Search of a Tale They Can Live With: About Loss, Family Secrets, and Selective Disclosure," Peter Rober, et al. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy38.3 (Jul 2012): 529-41.<br /><br />
Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">The Hidden Lives of Congregations</a></i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives on Congregational Ministry</a></i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A Family Genogram Workbook</i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-50702085589730056502015-04-22T00:30:00.000-07:002015-04-22T07:01:49.489-07:00Triangles in the emotional field<div class="MsoNormal">
Students of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) learn early about the importance of triangles in relationship systems. The concept of the emotional triangle is one of the original eight basic concepts in BFST. So foundational to the theory of emotional process is the concept of emotional triangles that it is often said, “If you understand triangles, you understand the theory.”</div>
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<b>The eight concepts</b> of the theory, and their derivatives, are interrelated, together they comprise part of what is “systemic” in BFST. To truly “think systems” one cannot focus on one concept without considering all others. While not all concepts within the theory are equally applicable to the same extent for any particular case or issue, some are consistently linked in terms of emotional process in systems. For example:</div>
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Anxiety and reactivity<br />
Overfunctioning and underfunctioning<br />
Change and homeostasis<br />
Differentiation and neutrality<br />
Triangles and the emotional field.<br />
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One insight we often fail to apply to the concept of emotional triangles is that they exist and function within the dynamic of the emotional field to which they belong. One cannot truly understand the emotional process at play merely by identifying the triangle formed between three persons (or two persons and an issue) while ignoring the emotional field in which that triangle is being played out. In other words, context matters. Triangles are not just a result of anxiety, they are the product of the emotional field. </div>
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<b>Friedman on the emotional field. </b></div>
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Edwin Friedman explained the concept of the emotional field:</div>
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“. . . Bowen has at times used the phrase “emotional field” rather than emotional system. So used, a field may be defined as an environment of influence that is not material in itself (a magnetic or gravitational field, for example) but comes into existence because of the proximity of matter to matter. However, once this field does come into being, it has more power to influence the discrete particle within it than any of those pieces of matter can continue to influence the field they have, by their presence, “caused” to exist.” (Friedman, <i>Myth of the Shiksa</i>, p. 167).</blockquote>
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Further, he wrote,</div>
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“The term ‘emotional system’ refers to any group of people or other colonized forms of protoplasm (herds, flocks, troops, packs, schools, swarms, and aggregates) that have developed emotional interdependencies to the point where the resulting system through which the parts are connected (administratively, physically, or emotionally) has evolved its own principles of organization.” (Friedman, <i>Myth of the Shiksa</i>, p.163).</blockquote>
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In light of that statement we can consider that triangles are part of the principles of organization of the emotional field. </div>
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<b>Components of the emotional field</b></div>
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The Emotional process in the emotional field that affects everything in it, including the formation and maintenance of emotional triangles, can include the influence of the following components to one extent or another: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The positions of the individuals in the field and the functions they serve (leader, IP, etc.)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The field is moderated by the level of differentiation of self within and among the field <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The field may be mediated by culture<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The field is influenced by biology<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The systemic structures of the field (type of system—biological family, corporation, congregation; developmental stage of the system)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The field is influenced by external and internal forces—positive and negative<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The field is influenced by multigenerational transmission dynamics.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
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The next time you identify emotional triangles in a system, work at gaining a deeper understanding of the emotional process at play by remembering that triangles are situated in the context of an emotional field. <o:p></o:p></div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-25211855519819130152015-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:002015-02-19T06:32:41.563-08:00Your Mother Was Right: Life's Not Fair (and sometimes, you shouldn't be)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Most of us carry a little tape in our heads of things our mothers said repeatedly. And sometimes we repeat those things, often unintentionally mimicking mom’s voice. One of those things your mother probably said, especially if you had siblings, or, when little friends came over to play was, “Play fair!” But you likely remember what your mother also said on those occasions you protested “It’s not fair!” She likely quipped, as countless mothers have through the ages, “Life’s not fair.” (And, if your mother was like mine, she may have added, “Get over it.”). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">One source of anxiety for many leaders is the need to be, or at least appear to be, “fair.” Adult employees or staff persons, like children, will cry “foul” when they feel they are treated unfairly. And reactive employees, or church members, will be quick to charge pastoral leaders with being unfair as a quick way to get a hearing or gain an advantage. The trap for any leader comes when he or she feels the need to live up to the expectation that it is the leaders’ job to always be fair, and to live up to what that means for everybody in the system. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">But the fact is, as your mother said, life is not fair. And, not everything is equitable or needs to be. What seems fair for one person or group in the system will seem unfair to another. And while I always say “Never question people’s motives,” I am also fond of reminding myself, “Never underestimate the power of the baser motivations.” On any given day, anxious persons will always choose what is best for them over what is best for the system. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Recently a pastor shared his experience during a church business meeting in which a troubling and willful church member took the floor during a time of debate. As is typical during times of congregational crises, attendance during this particular business meeting was robust. Acting as moderator the pastor sought to keep things orderly and announced that each person would be allowed to speak three minutes for or against the issue under debate. The troubling member was the first to stand to have his say, but strongly protested that three minutes was not enough time to speak his case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Not wishing to seem unfair, and thereby antagonizing the troubling member and his supporters, the pastor said that he would stick to the three minute rule, but would allow others to “give” the speaker their three minutes. Whereupon, starting with the man’s daughter, several people “gave” the man their three minutes, enabling him to go on to monopolize the business meeting for about fifteen minutes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">In a moment full of anxiety, trying to appear “fair” (and likely with all good intentions about acting fairly) this leader effectively not only empowered the most willful person in the room, but also failed to challenge people to take personal responsibility for their thoughts and beliefs. The tactic failed to challenge persons to take a self-defining stance for their positions, viewpoints, or beliefs. Instead, this leader facilitated a “herding” mentality. Instead of each individual standing up and taking responsibility for him- or herself, many chose to allow another to speak for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Leadership requires courage, and acting courageously in the midst of crisis is hard. But leaders need to remember that they are first responsible for the welfare and health of the system as a whole, and their own functioning in their leader position. Everything else is secondary: other people’s functioning, other people’s happiness, or, whether every decision is “fair” for every individual or group in the system. </span></div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-25060947555691946202015-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:002015-01-15T06:00:06.171-08:00Do you want to be great?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have come to appreciate the cycle of blockbuster best-selling leadership-in-organization books. To be honest about it, they’re good for business. It isn’t too long after one of these best-sellers hits the bookstores that I get an uptick in consultation requests. I used to get calls asking for help in getting organizational staff leaders to develop “habits” for being effective leaders. Then, the calls were about helping organizations and schools become “learning organizations.” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then, the calls came from leaders asking for coaching to help their organizations go "from good to great," thanks to Collin's best-selling book, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-Others/dp/0066620996?ie=UTF8&tag=thothas-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><i style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap and other don't</i></a> It seems lately a lot of leaders have decided they want their organizations to be great. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’m not too optimistic about how many “merely good” organizations can become great given my experience so far. The short of it is that while leaders and others in the organization become enamored with the idea of “being great,” few seem able to get to the point of committing to actually doing the things that will help them achieve greatness. Achieving greatness has a cost to it, and when it becomes clear what the cost entails, few seem willing to commit. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is my challenge to organizations who say they want to become great, whether a congregation, a business, or a school:</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Organizations that want to be great need to do the things great organizations do</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The biggest challenge to organizations that want to go from good to great is the necessity to change the culture. No organization can become great without doing those things that great organizations actually do. It is not enough to mimic or imitate what the great organizations do, one must create the culture that provides the inherent values that foster greatness. For example, to become great an organization needs to develop a culture of intentionality about both what it does and how it does it. However, about 80% of this entails what many consider boring and mundane: policies, practices, structures, and processes—those foundational matters that sustain every organization characterized by excellence. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">you do things matters, the little things count, you have to sweat the details, spelling counts, and style matters. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Any culture that tolerates attitudes of “Yeah, whatever,” or “That’s good enough,” will never be great. </span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Organizations that want to be great need great people on board.</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For organizations that want to move from good to great no issue seems to be more difficult to deal with than the matter of attracting, cultivating, and keeping, great people. Congregations especially seem to face difficulty with this issue. To move from good to great a congregation will often need to let go of long-tenured, much-loved staff persons who have served faithfully but who cannot provide the qualities of greatness required to help move the organization to the next level. While it is necessary to make this transition in personnel, rarely does it happen without crisis. It is part of the price to pay to become great. But a different price is paid in keeping people who are not top-drawer: their inability to help move the organization forward becomes a hindrance to those who desire to do so and can. Leaders who cannot make the tough call often find that they loose their top-drawer people because of it, leaving the organization with personnel who do not have the capacity to move the organization to greatness. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Top-drawer people seldom are motivated by how much money they make, but they are not naïve about what they are worth. One high-performing second chair leader, shortly after leaving an organization, was asked, “What would it have taken for them to keep you?” He answered, “$3000.” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That was the difference in salary between what he was paid and what another mediocre employee was being paid. The organization’s failure to balance the “seniority” of tenure of a poor-performer (who had little capacity to move the organization forward) with rewarding and acknowledging their high-performing top-drawer employee resulted in losing the person they most needed to keep. The top employee moved on to a more challenging and satisfying job (for less money) while the company got stuck with an unmotivated worker who made little contribution during the remaining five years he stayed at the company—needless to say, he had little motivation to improve his performance since the lesson here was that the company was willing to reward mediocrity. </span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Organizations that want to be great need to do great things. </span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, great organizations do great things beyond what their mission calls for. They “stay hungry” and maintain a trendsetting and pioneering perspective. They are characterized by boldness, imagination, and a willingness to risks when the timing is right. This means that they do not fear failure and so are not characterized by timidity. When great organizations do “great things” their intent is not to make a splash, but to make a difference. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The tragedy here is that too many leaders and members of organizations prefer guarantees rather than risk. They desire safety rather than adventure. The greatest impasse for leaders who want to move their organizations to greatness is having too many in the organization who want to be taken care of rather than engaging in what it takes to do great things. One hard questions leaders need to ask, then, is, “Do I have the people in place to make our organization great?” </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, do you want to be great? </span></div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-65847222476201613002014-07-29T09:14:00.000-07:002014-07-29T09:14:15.972-07:00The Five People You Need as a Leader<div>
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Leadership is lonely, the say. That is true to a real extent. Few understand the weight of responsibility that comes with leadership, or the shifts in relationship that can bring isolation and distance. But to say leadership is a lonely position does not mean one can do it alone. Even the most differentiated leaders need to be meaningfully connected to others in the work system, and, to a personal support system. Ask most leaders for the secret of their success and they'll likely tell you two things: "I surround myself with the best people," and "I have invested in a long-term peer support system."</div>
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When one is in a position of leadership one's network of relationships both expands and narrows. You'll be connected to a wider number and variety of people in the organization to some extent and in several capacities. At the same time you'll narrow the scope of your direct charges, your "inner circle" of second-chair leaders and associate staff. In other words, you need to be present to all but accessible to only a few. In the mix of those networks there are five people every leader needs to help her or him be more effective. </div>
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You may discover these five people within your organization as work colleagues. Others may exist outside of the job environment. Regardless, they each will contribute something important to your success as a leader. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><b>1. The Encourager.</b> Whether friend, second chair, spouse, deacon, or Mom, this is the person in your life, sometimes the ONE person, who says "You can do this." And because he or she genuinely believes it, you'll believe it too. This may also be the person that helps you give yourself permission for taking a day off, or allowing yourself a "mental health day." Sometimes, this is merely the person who, regardless of circumstance, just likes you, no matter what. </span><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
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<b>2. The Antagonist.</b> While irksome, every leader needs an antagonist. Iron sharpens iron, and leaders may grow dull without the challenge antagonists provide. Antagonistic people may be reactive, but they are not necessarily unintelligent. If you can listen to their arguments and perspectives past the grating annoyance, they can provide correctives to your blind spots. Believe it or not, antagonists can be a resource to a leader, as long as they don't tip over into sabotage. </div>
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<b>3. The Skeptic.</b> Most leaders are, by necessity and character, optimists. They likely would not have taken the job if they didn't believe in possibilities, potential, and ultimate positive outcomes. This is what helps leadership "sell" the vision that gathers others around a shared value and the tasks that make things happen. But an overly-optimistic leader with Pollyanna rose-tinted glasses does not serve an organization well. Skeptics can help you curb your enthusiasm in those times when operating out of realism is a necessity. You don't have to buy into a skeptic's perspective, but he or she can provide a balance to our tendencies for wishful thinking, self-referencing, and denial. </div>
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<b>4. The Lieutenant.</b> God bless this type! Most leaders would be lost without them, and most organizations would fail to make progress without their energy, skills, and single-minded drive. The Lieutenant in the organization is the one who delivers on the dreams. She's the one who makes it happen. He or she is your "Number One." Give them a vision and they'll find the ways to make it a reality. Most of the time, the best thing a leader can do is get out of their way and let them do what needs to be done in the way THEY think best. </div>
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<b>5. The Sage.</b> The best leaders tend to be smart, but none are omniscient. In fact, those who seek to be ("know-it-alls") very quickly cease to be effective as leaders. In leadership, a little bit of humility goes a long way. Yes, your staff and your constituents want, perhaps need, to believe you are smart and know what you are doing. But, the reality is that the challenges of leadership are more about knowing how to function than knowing answers. Effective leaders know there's a difference between expertise and wisdom. This is the value of the mentor, consultant, or advisor in the life of a leader. The Sage helps the leader with three critical practices: perspective, discernment, and self-understanding. </div>
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Do you have these five people in your life? Where are they in your support networks--at the job or outside of work? Which do you need to cultivate to complete this company of the five people you need as a leader?</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com/">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</span></div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-40839160223407065062014-07-21T09:54:00.000-07:002014-07-21T10:38:36.014-07:00Six "Tells" of the Differentiated LeaderI had an interesting conversation with a doctoral student during a recent trip. He was at the proposal writing stage of his study but struggling with putting his thoughts together. He said he wanted to "study something about differentiation of self and pastoral leadership." I said it sounded like he was at "the fuzzy stage of research," that point where we have a notion about what we want to write about, but not really sure what, exactly.<br />
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"Yes!" he said, "that's exactly where I'm at!"<br />
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We talked some more about his ideas. I found it an enriching conversation, and it sparked in me some thinking on the issue. Recently, someone else had asked me "How can leaders know if they are functioning in differentiated ways?" That's a great question given (1) the limitations of our own subjectivity; (2) our propensity for self-referencing; and (3) the challenge of Bowen Family Systems Theory to "stick to observable facts" when interpreting emotional process.<br />
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One common error is the misunderstanding of striving to "be a self-differentiated leader." That is, achieving some mythic state of being. Leaders will do better to focus on what Murray Bowen called the "functional level of differentiation." I think that means that the "tell" of a differentiated leader is more about one's capacity to function in context and relationships and less about an over-focus on some internal state of being arrived at through gnosis, expertise, or practices.<br />
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<b>Here are six ways to"tell" one is functioning as a differentiated leader: </b><br />
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<li>Assess your pattern of functioning over time. Is there evidence of consistent self-regulation and effective functioning over a span of periods of high-anxiety, crises, stress, and times of relative calm? </li>
<li>Assess your repertoire for responding to rather than reacting against anxious behaviors and situations. Do have have a wider range of responsive options than you did previously? Can you both act differently and think divergently? </li>
<li>Assess to what extent and in what ways your functioning directly influences toward the better the functioning of people most closest to you. </li>
<li>Assess your capacity to consistently take a more principled position and hold it against the opposition of important persons in the system. Do you function consistently out of your values than out of what is expedient? </li>
<li>Assess the extent to which your functioning is increasingly mature and non-reactive in the face of stressors that used to trigger reactivity and poorer functioning. </li>
<li>Assess the extent to which other people close to your leadership position exhibit higher levels of functioning and less reactivity (fewer cutoffs, less enmeshment, less seriousness, reduced gossip, less secrecy, etc.). </li>
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My new doctoral student friend thanked me for our conversation. He reported being encouraged and having some new ideas after our talk. I think he'll do well with what sounds like an interesting research project. I look forward to his research. I hope he'll discover additional evidences of a differentiated leader. I think we can always use a few more.<br />
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<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com/">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-17283127236337811542014-06-20T10:52:00.000-07:002014-06-20T11:10:16.962-07:00Marcuson's 111 Tips to Survive Music Ministry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvDh5x_KxmHF9iTth_vD7UXd_eIoA8XaBQiBParr-RDnUIN6hOf11E36Pg6EKoVk2AiaRQvE7BWDDDfHVGy-lx6nuNPeKJF5Tp_KiJm0zWNR8cK7-UZrcwC_DvcLV4X0O8TwE3Jrw8-9V/s1600/111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvDh5x_KxmHF9iTth_vD7UXd_eIoA8XaBQiBParr-RDnUIN6hOf11E36Pg6EKoVk2AiaRQvE7BWDDDfHVGy-lx6nuNPeKJF5Tp_KiJm0zWNR8cK7-UZrcwC_DvcLV4X0O8TwE3Jrw8-9V/s200/111.JPG" /></a></div>I've worked with several church musicians over the years, in various ministry contexts. I've been fortunate that most of those working relationships have been positive, collegial, and enriching. I'm doubly grateful in that some of my most interesting coaching sessions with pastors and staff often involve issues with "the music person" at the church. Church musicians tend to be a creative and artistic lot. Often it seems the biggest challenge with working with church musicians is that they are, well, creative and artistic. But, truth be told, church musicians have it just as challenging working with overly-cerebral, left-brained, tone deaf colleagues.
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Second to the congregational youth staff person, church musicians may be the most prone to be the focus of anxieties stemming from everything from tastes in styles, performance issues, aesthetic predilections, or systemic scapegoating.
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<a href="http://margaretmarcuson.com/">Margaret Marcuson's</a> new resource, <i><a href="http://cmag.ws/i8">111 Tips to Survive Music Ministry</a>,</i> is a great help to those working in music ministry. The tips are "right on": common sense, intuitive, and practical. The tips are organized by categories: worship, relating to the pastor, music, leadership, learning, pastoral care, and five more.
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The ebook is available from Creator for the special limited time introductory price of just $2.99. You can purchase it <a href="http://cmag.ws/i8">here.</a>
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<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-41464720529040738492014-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:002014-06-09T08:32:18.672-07:00Money and What it Represents Part 2: Approaching Stewardship Education As A Spiritual IssueI am preparing for an online course on money and ministry to be taught in the fall with author <a href="http://margaretmarcuson.com/">Margaret Marcuson</a>. Money, and what it represents is a complex issue in congregations. As an educator I'm interested in how people acquire what they learn, including perspectives, values, and habits. We know that certain things need to be learned in particular ways. As such I'm intrigued how often we teach things the wrong way, or, simply teach the wrong things. On the topic of money and stewardship, this seems to be especially true.
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Stewardship is about a Christian’s personal, volitional response to God's call to discipleship as part of the Body of Christ. As such, stewardship is primarily a value (an individual, but also a corporate one), a practice (behavior) only secondly, and a concept or belief, thirdly. Given that framework, most congregations seem to tend to “teach” it backward and incompletely. Too often we attempt to teach Christian stewardship by using the teaching-by-telling approach and leaving it at that, never touching on the affective and the volitional and failing to facilitate the practice. Then, we naively expect that change will happen in the life of our members related to stewardship.
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<b>Stewardship is a Spiritual Issue</b>
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Stewardship is a spiritual issue, and it must be addressed like every other spiritual issue in the life of the believer. The issue is not to TELL people that they need to give 10% of their money to the church, rather, it is to help people arrive at a conviction of value by engaging them in the dialogue of theological reflection by asking, "Share with me, how are you responding to God in your stewardship of life?"
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Our failure to help our members learn—--<i>really learn</i>-—-stewardship has had tragic results. Our unfortunate approach to teaching stewardship in the lives of our members means that we’ve done a great disservice to them over the years by being ineffective about helping them address the stewardship dimension of discipleship (except when it's time to ask for money for the church budget we tend to not even talk about it. And all evidence is that we’ve failed even there, since most members give only 2.3% of their income to the church).3 I suspect that we, the church leaders—pastors, teachers, deacons—have been irresponsible in helping our members in this, probably because we ourselves have not dealt with our own issues related to money.
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In most of our churches, a significant number of our members are under the oppressive burden of debt, so much so that they are unable to respond in responsible stewardship to God. I suspect they resent us for it, because we've been of no help whatsoever to them in dealing with financial stewardship while making them feel guilty about not giving more money to the church. We've not been prophetic about challenging the values of the world our members have embraced and the myths of materialism the world teaches. So when we once or twice a year make our pitch for money, they can’t hear it, at least, they don't hear it theologically. And then there are the church members who have bought into the values of the world's materialism: how many people in your congregation spend more on feeding and caring for their pets than they do giving to the hunger offerings at church? How many spend more monthly on their cable TV and Internet service bill than they do to missions? How many church members spend more money on their annual vacation than they do giving money to help the homeless?
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<b>It's About Values</b>
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The issue of stewardship is complex because it less about the money and more about values. I think that we ought to address the issue of stewardship in the same way we address issues about faith development and discipleship: by taking into account developmental life stages and cycles. Different epochs in life require different messages about one’s response about stewardship of life. As a specific example: mid-life calls for a stewardship of generativity (learning to face the limitation of means and beginning to invest in the next generation. In effect, learning how to give your life away.). But that is not the case for adolescents and young adults whose life stage work appropriately includes acquiring and building. And how unfair, and nonsensical to its audience, are messages about stewardship of money to young children—who have no money and no cognitive concept of percentages or of proportional giving? And end-of-life stages, and stages of senescence, call for different ethical and theological decisions about stewardship. Only through dialogical engagement can people deal with these issues authentically in their lives. I suspect we make our messages of stewardship ineffective when we assume that it is the same for everyone at the same time, and we attempt to teach everyone the same way.
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In terms of educational programming, <i>not everything is for everybody at the same time.</i> I think we confuse and make people feel uselessly guilty when we send the message that, regardless of their life stage, their family life cycle stage, and their particular life situation, they are supposed to function and respond like "everyone else." But rarely are they given the opportunity for learning through dialogue that leads to application, and therefore, I suspect most choose to make no legitimate response at all to God’s call in this area of their lives. Stewardship is as much a value and a choice as it is a concept and a practice. Unless we address all four domains of learning--knowledge, affect, behavior, and volition---our members will never “learn” stewardship.
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Adapted from: <i>How to Be the Best Christian Study Group Leader,</i> by Israel Galindo (Judson Press)
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To learn more about the course Money and Your Ministry, check out the <a href="http://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x17438596d3a">Center for Lifelong Learning</a>. Join us!
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<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-18067221188606753652014-05-21T06:35:00.002-07:002014-05-21T06:35:50.955-07:00Money and What it Represents. Part 1 <p>
I am preparing for an <a href="http://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x17438596d3a">online course on money and ministry</a> to be taught in the fall with author <a href="http://margaretmarcuson.com/">Margaret Marcuson</a>. Money, and what it represents is a complex issue in congregations. The course will examine money and ministry from a systems theory frame of reference. From that orientation, some systems concepts that can help in understanding what's going on are:
<p>
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<ul>
<li>Money represents something to people. Usually, it's emotional.
<li>Money often serves a function. Giving money represents a function of emotions, drives, or values.
<li>Since money is a complex emotional issue, it's helpful to never question motives, but observe function
<li>Stewardship is a spiritual-emotional issue and needs to be approached and understood as such.
</ul>
<p>
Some time ago a colleague in ministry called to share good news, and, a concern. He was new to the church, only eight months into his new ministry. A relatively new member to the church (she had joined two years prior) had expressed how much she appreciated his ministry and the excitement he was bringing to the church. She gave him an envelope with a check in the amount of $5,000.00, "to be used any way you want for your ministry." My colleague was elated with the affirmation and the gift, but he felt a bit stuck, also. He was seeking counsel about why he felt conflicted about the gift.
<p>
When a new (recent) member to a congregation gives a $5,000.00 gift, red flags go up for me. I won't question motive, but I tend to ask questions about emotional functioning. A very FEW people can give large sums of money to a church with no emotional strings attached--but most people cannot, in my experience. Since a congregation is an emotional system--and since small congregations mimic "family" emotional systems--it is naive to think that money (and what it represents by way of its function) does not matter in terms of the impact on the function of the system.
<p>
In the case of a large donation from a new member, we may ask, for example:
<p>
<ul>
<li>Is this person overfunctioning for the congregation?
<li>Is this person dealing with some issues in his or her life that has promted the gift? Why now?
<li>Does this person's (immediate) family know he or she is giving this gift? What is this persons relationship with the church? With the pastor?
<li>Did the pastor or staff get the gift or was it given to "the church" through usual giving channels?
<li>How does the giving of the major gift relate to patterns in the donor's life? In the church? In the pastor's family of origin?
<li>Are there guidelines in place (rules or policies) about "major gifts"? Were they followed?
<li>Does this action put you in a triangulated relationship?
<li>Were there "strings" attached to the gift? Overt or implied? Expectations? Subtle messages?
<li>Is the gift a "designated gift" for a ministry, staff person, pet program, pet issue that by-passes the regular budget? Is this gift given in stead or in lieu of regular offering and pledge giving?
<li>What are the systemic consequences to the congregation beyond convenience and financial relief?
<li>Given the donor's life circumstance, is this a "responsible" act? Is it appropriate?
<li>Given the pattern of giving and practice of stewardship of the congregation as a whole, is receiving the gift a responsible act? Is it appropriate?
<li>Will accepting this gift change or shift the relationship with the donor?
</ul>
<p>
Events like my friend's experience are great opportunities to do some stewardship education with the church leadership. At least for pastoral leaders who are willing to put the issues on the table and challenge the church about its responsible response to congregational stewardship. Most pastors seem to avoid dealing with it and then wonder why their congregational members are poor stewards. Go figure.
<p>
<b>NEXT:</b> Money and What it Represents: Stewardship Education As A Spiritual Issue
<p>
<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-62889289517672659532014-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:002014-05-07T09:22:26.251-07:00Hacks and Professionals: Which are you?In his book, <i>A Failure of Nerve,</i> Edwin Friedman wrote about the tendency of ineffective leaders that exhibit the tendency to seek the “quick fix” and who obsess over methods, techniques, and successful programs. This, in contrast to effective leaders who can engage in the hard work of leadership that focuses on bringing the kind of challenge to a system which leads to growth. He said, "The difference between a professional and a hack is not in their degree or training. Both may do what they do with polish; but the hack is not transformed by his experience." (<i>A Failure of Nerve,</i> p. 88).
<p>
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<p>
I think that’s a challenging word to congregational leaders. It speaks to the dependency of so many leaders on fads and packaged programs that provide the promise of the quick fix for quelling the anxious voices who want to be entertained rather than challenged, who want to have “the answer” that satisfies rather than struggle with the questions that challenge, and, who cater to the whining voices of those who cannot tolerate being "bored" by engaging in the very practices and disciplines that lead to growth through the engagement of mind and affections.
<p>
The biggest liability for any system whose leader provides the quick fix is that it removes responsibility, denies accountability, and caters to the most anxious and dependent in the system. In the end these actions are inimical to the very processes and experiences that foster growth. In such a system there will never be growth and development toward maturity.
<p>
<b>Being Transformed by Our Experience</b>
<p>
For ministers and congregational leaders, a disciplined and sustained engagement in the practices of <a href="http://infed.org/mobi/donald-schon-learning-reflection-change/">reflection-in-action and reflection-on-practice</a> is what makes a difference in moving from novice to wisdom (or in Friedman's terms, from hack to professional). They guard leaders from being perpetually" blown here and there by every wind of teaching" and becoming distracted from the seemingly unrelated series of experiences day in and week out. Mature leaders are transformed by their experiences as a product of intentional reflection for meaning-making. They are lifelong learners who are inner directed, agents of their own learning, and who know that meaningful learning is more about the cultivation of insight than it is the acquisition of other people's knowledge.
<p>
Friedman’s words certainly challenge the congregational leader's own lack of personal and professional growth. I often tell search committees to value personal maturity over “experience.” Some people have years of “experience” but seem to have learned little from it.
<p>
Similarly, I witness too many resident congregational educators who seem to spend their careers running a Sunday School or other programs as the end-all and be-all to what constitutes Christian education. Too many seem to not have been transformed by the very discipline they are engaged in: education. For example, too few congregational educators seem able to articulate a well-defined philosophy of education that informs the basic educational questions:
<p>
<ul>
<li>What constitutes learning?
<li>To what end are we educating?
<li>What is the nature and role of the teacher?
<li>What is the nature and role of the learner?
<li>What criteria do we use to discern what is worth learning from what is trivia?
<li>What does it mean to educate in faith?
<li>How do people actually learn, and therefore, how should we teach them?</li>
</u>
<p>
<b>Resources and Practices</b>
<p>
Here are some resources for becoming a reflective practitioner:
<p>
<ul>
<li>Kathleen McAlpin, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ministry-That-Transforms-Contemplative-Theological/dp/081463222X/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER">Ministry that Transforms</a>.
<li>Howard W. Stone, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Theologically-Howard-Stone/dp/0800699327/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=19VNWBW3WZ91G0EBRCPY">How to Think Theologically</a>
<li>Donald Schon, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reflective-Practitioner-Professionals-Think-Action/dp/0465068782/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399476970&sr=1-1&keywords=the+reflective+practitioner">The Reflective Practitioner</a>
<li><a href="http://app.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x1693946ed21">Leadership in Ministry Workshops</a>.
<li>Etienne Wenger, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Communities-Practice-Cognitive-Computational-Perspectives/dp/0521663636/ref=pd_sim_b_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NF2T0QMB1GPVHV55836">Communities of Practice</a>.
</ul>
<p>
<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2014/05/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-41278069198533057732014-04-25T09:39:00.000-07:002014-04-26T09:02:24.326-07:00Do You Make these 7 Leadership Mistakes When Dealing with Conflict?Victor (not his real name) is a local church pastor who sought me out for a consultation. By the time we managed to work out a time to meet he'd been in conflict with some congregational members for eight months. He had been in his mid-sized congregation for three and a half years and thought everything was going well. That is, until he began confronting personal attacks, hearing about "secret" meetings, and noticing changes in some of his church leaders' behavior toward him.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-aN-3Z58-MPrwabT7aL_iArzm4PrYDWc-s-wyJCxGLttOZDw7G5LZQzXR6v4kosZFPr3Jbi6mH2o4FcgtzTAt_XAwpyqbQV0HjViyEH7qcc-p2tV-O6yOHy6vDDBTShf4OqPp1toVO0C/s1600/list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-aN-3Z58-MPrwabT7aL_iArzm4PrYDWc-s-wyJCxGLttOZDw7G5LZQzXR6v4kosZFPr3Jbi6mH2o4FcgtzTAt_XAwpyqbQV0HjViyEH7qcc-p2tV-O6yOHy6vDDBTShf4OqPp1toVO0C/s320/list.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
After struggling for eight months and not getting anywhere, Victor starting seeking help in understanding what was going on and what to do about it. To his credit, Victor was also seeking to understand his own functioning in the midst of conflict. He started to recognize long-seated patterns in how he responded to the difficult experience at his church. It did not take long for Victor to name seven mistakes he was making in how he was dealing with conflict. Victor actually wrote down the list of the seven mistakes he was making and worked hard at consciously changing the way he was behaving.
<p>
<a name='more'></a>
Here are the seven leadership mistakes Victor identified and worked at correcting:
<p>
<ol>
<li><b>Mistaking content of speech for emotional process.</b> The personal attacks (unkind and unfounded) were hurtful, and Victor found himself obsessing over them. Many times he felt the need to respond to his accusers point for point. Realizing that responding to emotional process was more beneficial, Victor focused on the question, "What's really going on here?" Emotional process is less about what people say and more about how they are functioning. <p>
<li><b>Failing to stay on message.</b> Visionary leadership that leads to developmental change requires persistence of vision. For those who feel threatened by change and who fear the loss of the familiar and of what has been (or what used to be), reactivity is not far behind. Victor became aware of his tendency to downplay his vision in an attempt to assuage feelings of fear and anxiety on the part of those who were against the changes he was starting to make. He realized that when he, as leader, failed to practice persistence of vision, he let the more anxious persons in the system set the vision. Victor determined to communicate clearly, and more often, his vision for the church.<p>
<li><b>Focusing on finding motive rather than on behavior.</b> One major point of stuckness for Victor was trying to interpret the motives behind the worst detractors. Eventually he accepted that when people are under the influence of reactivity--often as a result of perceived threat--they act out. As Victor put it, "I realized they are not in their right state of mind." Rather than focusing on mind-reading and questioning people's motives, Victor began to observe how they were functioning. Doing so he was able to see how individuals were working out the anxiety of the larger system. This gave him more options for approaching individuals within the church.<p>
<li><b>Taking it personally.</b> The first three months of the conflict were the hardest for Victor. In retrospect he realized how personally he took the attacks, the resistance, and the lack of response on the part of so many. With a bit of perspective he was able to remember that the conflict he was experiencing was rather normative and "on schedule." At three years, the honeymoon was over. There were enough changes in several areas of church life that people's routines and habits were being challenged. At three years into his ministry he was starting to get serious about making deeper changes in pursuit of the visioning work he'd led the congregation. Given that, the church was "on schedule" for its first conflict with the relatively new pastor. Victor was able to accept that while the reactivity was directed at him, it was not all about him, personally. On his list he wrote, "Don't take it personally. It isn't (though some of the most anxious in the congregation will make it personal)." Of all the six mistakes leaders make, this one challenged Victor the most.<p>
<li><b>Trying to go it alone.</b> One tendency we face when dealing with conflict is to withdraw and isolate ourselves. That's natural, conflict results in uncomfortable feelings, stress, and often, psychosomatic symptomatology. When the fight-or-flight response gets triggered within us, most of us would rather flee. Victor had given into his conflict-avoidance tendencies, which only contributed to the long eight months of conflict. Fortunately, Victor took the initiative of meeting with his staff and a close circle of mature church leaders. His staff, particularly, helped him accept that as the pastoral leader, he did not have the luxury of fleeing from crises. To do so is to defect from his responsibilities as leader. Soon his staff and lay leaders became a source of support for him in the midst of the conflict, despite the fact that one staff member tended to side with the opposers due to personal relationships.<p>
<li><b>Failing to hold people accountable.</b> As a conflict-avoider one of Victor's most costly mistakes was in failing to hold people accountable for poor behavior and irresponsibility. He dreaded this as it meant direct confrontation, dealing with hurt feelings, and risking rejection. In times like this a little voice from his family of origin echoed the phrases, "Who do you think you are to judge me?" and "You can't tell me what to do." Victor had to admit to himself that his failure to hold people accountable during the tense time in the congregation contributed to the drawn out conflict. Had he acted sooner things would not have gone on so badly for so long. Admirably, Victor started with holding himself accountable to function as the leader and do what the church needs of its leader--despite his personal timidities and anxieties. Next, he approached a staff member who was acting inappropriately in the midst of the conflict. While it was an uncomfortable meeting, Victor was surprised at how the staff member was able to function better after the meeting. <p>
<li><b>Accommodating to weakness.</b> Victor's conflict-avoidance tendencies made it easy for him to fall into this leadership mistake. In the midst of the conflict Victor sought to placate the complainers, who were those in the congregation who had the least capacity for change, and little tolerance for challenge. He'd given in to the illusion that in order to move forward with the vision he had to make sure everyone was happy. Doing so, he found himself investing a lot of time and energy overfocusing on the most immature in the system, and, accommodating himself to their weaknesses. This was not only overwhelmingly tiring, but after eight months, there was no change in those who were the focus of his attention. Victor determined to focus on the strengths in the system, on those people who were willing to move ahead with the vision. He started spending more time with his staff and investing in the lay leaders in the system who, while less vocal, demonstrated a deeper commitment to the welfare of the church, as a whole, over personal interests. Although the vocal minority did not go away, Victor was able to realize more immediate and tangible progress when he invested his energies in the most motivated and less anxious.
</ol>
<p>
In the midst of conflict and its stress, it is difficult to differentiate whether we are focusing on reactivity responses or on emotional process. Here's a chart contrasting the two:
<p>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TBmX9o7VWmSdH4Cg_SxBN74ye3vU51CzgKtNrglxQ4cw_FvYfQrPxnxbYca20gdeaJZBD6Jwb3O6N9OQynlwBWec_jHYUPz0ZV3seHZ2Kw8GxogF1XT5FZI8DXDn9HeRV_HvePwAFZ1M/s1600/contrastchart.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TBmX9o7VWmSdH4Cg_SxBN74ye3vU51CzgKtNrglxQ4cw_FvYfQrPxnxbYca20gdeaJZBD6Jwb3O6N9OQynlwBWec_jHYUPz0ZV3seHZ2Kw8GxogF1XT5FZI8DXDn9HeRV_HvePwAFZ1M/s1600/contrastchart.jpg" /></a>
<p>
I don't know how Victor will come out on the other side of the current conflict. It may be he will be forced to leave. Perhaps he will choose to leave. Or, if he perseveres, he and the congregation will arrive at a different place, a less anxious place, in their relationship as pastoral leader and church. Whatever the outcome, I suspect Victor's commitment to take responsibility for his own functioning and well being will yield growth.
<p>
Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-59588132526434451842014-04-07T09:50:00.000-07:002014-04-07T09:50:04.998-07:00Why are all systems so alike? During the past three months I've run the gamut in types of organizations during consultations--congregations, non-profits, theological schools, a small business. My experience reminded me of those conversations about how universal the Dilbert cartoons are in hitting the mark regardless of where people work—-from a large corporate firm to a small business, from a for-profit conglomerate to a non-profit. It begs the question, “Why are all systems so similar?”<p>
We hear hints about this apparent truth here and there. “Business is business, whether you’re manufacturing cogs, selling widgets, or selling a service.” I’ve been in certain leadership training seminars where the room held representatives from all manner of contexts, with corporate CEOs to clergy attending to the same latest ideas about how to lead better and manage more effectively in their organizations.<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDuC61CkwwQ4WBP2-rVpJkRd9bCyg0mCI9JUSAkHc5ZYsMOwlR8cKUdUdFcceL4nmUt5BwCONcVV0LJ2lRToOM98FxBAt2sNax3VEkLLSCBXPu8ML-hRrpuHVlfXhBT6miXcbkUUmvKuS/s1600/pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrDuC61CkwwQ4WBP2-rVpJkRd9bCyg0mCI9JUSAkHc5ZYsMOwlR8cKUdUdFcceL4nmUt5BwCONcVV0LJ2lRToOM98FxBAt2sNax3VEkLLSCBXPu8ML-hRrpuHVlfXhBT6miXcbkUUmvKuS/s320/pattern.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have some hunches as to why all systems are so similar:<p>
<b>Relationships systems follow universal rules.</b> I first stumbled across this insight when I picked up a book titled <i>How to Run Any Organization.</i> I still have in on my bookshelf, and I must admit it has served me well in all the contexts I’ve worked in: school administration, corporate, congregation, non-profits, etc. The second place where that idea finds support is in Bowen Systems Theory, which identified universal rules applicable to all relationship systems, from family to business; from government to church. Because relationship systems self-organize according to universal principles, we can expect to see certain characteristics that are shared universally. These include: the function of leadership, the presence of anxiety and the manifestation of reactivity, the emergence of homeostatic dynamics, the presence of reciprocal dynamics (overfunctioning-underfunctioning, seperateness-togetherness, etc.), the emergence of systemic patterns that serve a variety of purposes. <p>
Systems of a kind will tend to share the same organizational metrics as indicators of effectiveness, vitality, and viability. The metrics for "educational effectiveness" published by educational institutions--whether universities or theological schools--are similar, if not identical. The metrics used by non-profit organizations (e.g., those related to social value, market potential, and sustainability) apply to organizations of that kind regardless of size, mission, or location. While that makes common sense, what is surprising is how many leaders and board members of those organizations would not be able to identify those metrics if asked. <p>
<b>Complexity emerges from simple rules.</b> While systems and organizations may appear different on the surface they seem all to arise and operation on fundamentally simple rules. The most complex corporation started small and is effective to the extent it can “follow the rules” of its nature. Large congregations look different from small congregations, but ask any pastor and he or she will likely confirm that no matter the size of the congregation, leaders tend to deal with the same problems. A large theological school looks different from a small seminary, but a room full of deans from schools across the spectrum of denominations, geographical areas, and school size will all share about the same challenges. And, they'll immediately chuckle at the comment, "We all have the same Faculty." <p>
<b>Human nature is the same everywhere.</b> Culture, race, ethnicity, and epochs mediate the universal principles that direct relationship systems, but it doesn’t take much to scratch below the surface and discover that human nature is the same everywhere, and it has been for a long while. Perhaps the best place to see this is in narrative-—those stories that are so good about depicting the human spirit and its interior world. Reading the works of the Greek poets and playwrights to Shakespeare, to Checkoff and Dostoevsky to Mark Twain will serve to confirm that we humans laugh, cry, yearn, fear, and hope for the same things—-and always have. Idealists who want to create utopias and social organizations that are “totally new” often forget that those new creations will always be populated by the same old people.<p>
<b>The brain is the same everywhere.</b> There may be a biological cause as to why all systems seem so similar. The organic brain, its patterns and its epistemology, are universally the same for everyone everywhere in whatever culture. Hence the educational truism, “Everybody everywhere learns the same way.” For example, barring neurological anomalies or organic brain syndromes, every person’s brain learns language the same way. And, dismissing claims of clairvoyance and ESP, everybody’s brain processes phenomenon the same way, for the most part. Given that fact, we can expect that when a group of individuals gathers together to form Group A, they’re pretty much going to be more similar than different to the group of individuals that gather together for form Group B. That’s a great convenience to teachers who find they can effectively re-cycle a well-designed courses year after year with little change and still achieve desired learning outcomes with little variance from the norm. This insight can help ease the transition for leaders moving from one context to another is a system of a kind (from one congregation to another, from one theological school to another). Culture and context will mediate some things--like emotional process, practices, ethos, and values--but all systems of a kind tend to function in much the same ways. <p>
What are some of your hunches as to why systems are so similar?<p>
Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-83360264097609349412014-03-27T06:04:00.001-07:002014-03-27T14:10:34.649-07:00Five Essential Functions of Effective Leaders<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
Effective leaders, in any organization, are those who can provide the leadership functions their systems need of them. This concept puts on its head any personality-based notion of leadership (charisma, intelligence, gender, race, ethnicity, pedigree, beliefs, looks, confidence, etc.). In other words, leadership is a function of the system, not a product of personality. The counter-intuitive reality is that healthy organizations have strong leaders—conversely, it is not always the case that strong leaders have healthy, or effective, organizations. The question then, is, “What function will I need to provide to be an effective educational leader?”</div>
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Reviewing the literature on leadership yields five essential functions of leaders. These five essential functions have appeared in different forms over the years, but they consistently comprise the "top five" on lists about what effective leaders do. They are:</div>
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2. Articulating goals and identifying strategies</div>
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3. Creating an adaptive culture open to change</div>
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4. Monitoring progress</div>
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5. Providing necessary interventions.</div>
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All leaders need to provide those essential functions--whether in a congregation, school, non-profit organization, or business. However, there’s no one best way to provide them. WHAT a leader needs to provide is clear; HOW a particular leader chooses to go about it is a product of both context and personality.</div>
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The challenge of the complex nature of the job of leaders, with the multi-faceted dimensions and demands of an organization, calls for an astonishing wide-ranging skills set: from interpersonal relational skills to high-level analytical and intuitive-interpretive skills. Organizational leaders, in whatever role, need to cultivate and apply a wide repertoire of cognitive styles in order to carry out the job, sometimes, in the course of a single day! They need often to switch from abstract, symbolic perspectives to a concrete, realistic perspective from one moment to the next. They may start the day with internal vision-casting in a Zen-like state while driving to the office, only to be engulfed in managerial problem-solving within twenty minutes of sitting at the desk, then, end the day dealing with interpersonal conflicts in the midst of emotional reactivity.</div>
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Effective educational leaders do well to remember that in the midst of the urgency and the press of the daily triage, there are only five functions that will ultimately determine their effectiveness. Five things make the difference, for they are the essential functions that the system needs of its leader. It is not much of an overstatement to say that, at the end of the day, all else is distraction. In fact, what dysfunctional systems are very good at is distracting its leader from focusing on and providing the essential functions!<br />
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<li>To what extent are you providing the five essential educational functions of a dean?</li>
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<li>What things distract you from investing time, thought, and effort on the five essential functions?</li>
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<li>Are you stronger in providing one function over others? Which functions do you need to work on increasing your competence?</li>
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<li>Dysfunctional systems are adept at sabotaging a leader’s focus on the five functions. Are you able to identify ways your system and context inhibits your effectiveness in one or more of the five essential functions?</li>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-71013292172381775192014-03-17T08:20:00.000-07:002014-03-17T08:20:36.364-07:00Truisms worth remembering during times of acute anxiety<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">All systems experience episodes of acute anxiety but systems manifest it differently. Relatively stable, resilient and high-functioning systems seem able to respond to episodes of acute anxiety. In contrast chronically anxious systems which lack resilience will tend to be reactive in the face of acute anxiety. That is, they have little tolerance for challenges, lack capacity for self-regulation or for imaginative responses to handle times of acute anxiety.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Chronically anxious systems share the following characteristics:</span></div>
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(1) They make someone in the system responsible for someone else's functioning</div>
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(2) They are structured to inhibit the effectiveness of its leaders</div>
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(3) They develop reactive, rigid, and predictable patterns for dealing with anxiety</div>
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(4) They tend to spawn anxiety triangles. </div>
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While it is more helpful to assess the emotional process at work at the systemic level it can be helpful to observe how symptomology is being played out in the individuals in the system. When facing reactivity at the systemic level congregational leaders will need to respond to how it affects the individuals in the system. Needless to say, those individuals in the system who have a low capacity for self-differentiation and for managing their own anxiety will tend to be the most symptomatic (i.e., the ones who "act out").</div>
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<b>Symptomology in Anxious Systems</b></div>
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Here are some truisms worth remembering when dealing with reactive individuals in a system going through acute anxiety:</div>
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<li>Some people just need to be mad. They want their pain.</li>
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<li>It’s a waste of time to try to dialogue with an angry person.</li>
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<li>Some people just need to be “right,” regardless of the cost.</li>
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<li>A chronically anxious system in the grips of acute anxiety has a tremendous capacity for self-sabotage. There will be no lack of volunteers willing to lead the way.</li>
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<li>Anxiety spawns triangles—-even over distances.</li>
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<li>Anxious people lose the capacity to practice grace and will assume the worst of others.</li>
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<li>Persons who are "stuck" will believe what they want to believe. No amount of earnestness or data will convince them otherwise.</li>
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<li>It only takes one willful anxious person to kick up the reactivity in an anxious system if the healthier ones in the system do not respond.</li>
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<li>A leadership vacuum leaves a system with little resource for self-regulation or vision.</li>
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<li>Anxiety spreads like a virus in a system that lacks immunity provided by leadership.</li>
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<li>During times of acute anxiety emotionality trumps rationality, even in a system full of “smart” people.</li>
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<li>Immature people will take any opportunity to work out their unresolved issues if given a forum.</li>
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<li>Trust is a gossamer thread; once severed it’s almost impossible to regain.</li>
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<li>Systems that are in reactivity tend to lack a capacity to hear the message or follow the leaders it needs.</li>
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<li>People are hooked on the myth of information—the notion that if one has all the information it will make a difference to what needs to be done; or that more data will bring insight.</li>
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<li>While information reduces anxiety, but for anxious people, so will misinformation.</li>
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<li>Chronically anxious systems facilitate regression if unchecked.</li>
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<li>No matter how hard you think you’ve tried to communicate process, most people will not hear most of it.</li>
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<li>When people give in to paranoia, guilt by association carries more weight than observable facts.</li>
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<li>When people lack data, they’ll fill in the blanks.</li>
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<li>Perception is people’s reality. And most people will see things only from their frame of reference and from their position in the system.</li>
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The job of a leader in a system caught up in acute anxiety is twofold: first, self-regulation, and second, being attentive to the emotional process in the system and providing the function it needs of its leader. Depending on the circumstance, the function of the leader can be anything from providing a corrective to acting out behavior; re-framing the issues from a principled, values, and missional perspective; empowering the calmer, more mature, more centered persons in the system; or merely providing the presence of the leader in the system (staying visible and emotionally connected). </div>
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The good new is that acute anxiety, and the reactivity it engenders is episodic. Its shelf life is as long as the length of the crisis. Leaders can be encourage, also, by the fact that every system has some elements of health and maturity even in the midst of acute anxiety and crises. When the leader is able to focus on those, she or he can be surprised at the capacity for some in the system to step up to leadership or be a resource to the system. </div>
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<b>Israel Galindo</b> is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He serves as faculty coach for the <a href="http://www.leadershipinministry.org/"> Leadership in Ministry Workshops,</a> a clergy leadership development program from a systems perspective. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-13484863173619357442014-02-25T10:16:00.000-08:002014-02-25T10:16:21.506-08:00Fixing the Right Thing<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Once, a colleague at work stopped by my office to review a communication glitch he was having with a staff person I supervised. The nature of the staff person’s work interfaced with my colleague’s office, but they’d had a history of finding it difficult to work together.</span></div>
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I listened to my colleague for about five minutes as he talked about the staff person, Susan (not her real name), and the problem. I noted that the focus of the content of his talk was Susan (her personality, behavior, etc.), and only peripherally did he identify what the problem was. I discerned that, once again, these two persons were stuck and I was being invited into an anxiety triangle.</div>
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Fortunately, my colleague is an emotionally mature person and we have a good working relationship. A student of systems theory, my colleague is a relatively level-headed, non-anxious person. But like many of us, some persons seem to push a reactivity button within him. When Susan pushed my colleague’s reactivity button, the resulting anxiety caused him to triangle someone into the matter, and I was in the position to be the natural candidate. Given our open working relationship I was confident in challenging him on how to approach the situation.</div>
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When he finally finished sharing a list of complaints about the staff person in question I asked him, “Can I ask you a systems question?”</div>
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“Yes,” he said, now on alert.</div>
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“Are you trying to fix Susan or are you trying to fix the problem?” I asked.</div>
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My colleague immediately recognized the emotional process at play. He realized that his reactivity was causing him to overfocus on Susan, and that he was triangling me into the situation by hinting that, as her supervisor, I needed to “fix” Susan. With that insight, we were able to shift the conversation from Susan to identifying what the problem was that needed to be fixed, in this case, clarifying a procedural matter between two offices.</div>
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Reactivity often manifests itself in anxious behaviors: an overfocus on personalities, a misdirection of an issue, projection, triangling someone into the unresolved issues between two persons, scapegoating, etc. Because I was able to regulate my own anxiety in the midst of the meeting, I was able to ask myself “What’s really going on here? What’s the issue?” I was able to help my colleague re-frame the problem. He was also able to get in touch with his own reactivity and realized how it was manifesting itself in triangling me into the matter by asking me to take responsibility for another person’s behavior and asking me to “fix” that person.</div>
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If I had been unfocused that day, things may have gone differently. I may have gotten caught up in the anxiety and reactivity, accepted the invitation to enter the triangle, made Susan the IP (Identified Patient), and my colleague and I could have launched into a futile project of trying to “fix Susan.” Furthermore, the real problem needing attention would have gone unresolved, which would serve only to increase the frustration and anxiety.</div>
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When faced with reactivity it is helpful to monitor one’s anxiety and cerebrate rather than ventilate by asking oneself questions of discernment:</div>
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<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">What is going on here, really?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Can I identify the triangle?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Do I need to accept the invitation into a triangle?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Am I responsible for alleviating another person’s frustration, discomfort, or anxiety?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Am I being asked to take responsibility for someone else’s behavior?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Do we want to try to fix a person or fix a problem?</span></li>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-49069438725321284032014-02-20T10:24:00.000-08:002014-02-20T10:24:35.101-08:00Six responses of well-differentiated leaders<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
Functioning at a high level of differentiation is the golden fleece for most congregational leaders who are students of BFST. Especially in times of acute systemic anxiety and symptomatic reactivity, effective leaders will work on focusing on the repertoire that will help them navigate the storm. In no particular order, here’s a six-action repertoire differentiated leaders tend to follow:</div>
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<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Monitoring their own internal emotional process.</b> Differentiated leaders are self-aware of the experience of their feelings, of how anxiety is being processed physically and emotionally, and awareness of the role family of origin dynamics are coming into play in the situation.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Observing their functioning.</b> Differentiated leaders are centered, clear, and responsive (emotionally present). They know the cues for when reactivity patterns start kicking in. For example, overfunctioning or underfunctioning at work and at home, obsessing over issues, fantasizing, or distancing. </span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Regulating their anxiety.</b> If reactivity patterns begin to manifest (e.g., psychosomatic symptomology), differentiated leaders work on regulating the experience of anxiety and moderate reactivity patterns.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Avoiding reactivity.</b> No matter how much they want to, differentiated leaders don’t call that acting out deacon a jerk or tender their resignation letter when frustrated.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Getting clarity about their guiding principles and values.</b> Differentiated leaders recall and rehearse their values, goals, principles, and vision (“Remind me again, why did I take this job?”).</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>Seeking out resources.</b> Differentiated leaders are not afraid of asking for help. They avail themselves of their coach or therapist, a spiritual friend, or support group. They don't seek advice about what to do or how to think, but use these resources to navigate through the emotional process in the midst of crises, acute anxiety, or reactivity. </span></li>
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It may help to write down “The Repertoire” and keep it in your wallet or tape it to your desk at the church office as a reminder for when acute anxiety bubbles up in the system. Acute anxiety will tend to focus on the person in the position of leadership (that’s you), so it will feel personal. The common reaction is to feel under attack or betrayed. When that happens, our most important resource goes out the window: our capacity to think through the problem and realistically assess what is going on in the system. When your brains shuts down in the midst of anxiety, pull out the list to reengage that frontal lobe. </div>
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<b>Three Responses to Differentiation</b></div>
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Assuming we’ve followed “The Repertoire” successfully and have managed to differentiate from out of our position of leadership in the system, we need to also take into consideration its aftermath. Experienced differentiated leaders know enough not to expect anyone to say “Thank you!” But there are three other predictable responses to a leader’s act of self-differentiation in the midst of an anxious system:</div>
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<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Those who have the capacity will be able to self-regulate and also begin to self-differentiate. That deacon you wanted to call a jerk may now be saying, “Wow, I don’t know what happened to me. I got caught up in something and went crazy for a moment there.” These people are now resources for you and the system.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">A second group of persons will tend to fuse with you. A self-differentiated leader is “attractive,” even to those who lack a capacity for self-definition. Fusion can be seductive. It feels great to have a room full of people nod at your every word and eagerly agree with your every opinion. However, this group of people are not a resource to the system—the next loudest voice can just as easily redirect their passions.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The third group of persons will be the ones who will withdraw or cut off from you. Clarity about one’s stance will feel like a line drawn on the sand to some folks. Self-definition demands a response and responsibility on the part of others. For those who lack resilience in thinking, or who are too insecure or too rigid in their beliefs, cutting off may be their only repertoire for dealing with challenge.</span></li>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-26755055350625737532014-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:002014-02-17T09:12:33.768-08:00Don't do these 10 things when dealing with reactivity<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">All leaders will deal with reactivity at one point or another. It can be caused by a proposed change from the leader, it may be the result of direct and necessary action taken by the leader, or, it can come out of the blue. Leaders of necessity will have to deal with reactivity, but here are ten things NOT to do when reactivity makes its appearance:</span></div>
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<li><b>Confront it head on.</b> Taking on reactivity head on rarely is an effective tactic. For one thing we will find ourselves addressing the reactivity rather than its cause. A frontal assault on reactivity is merely reactivity to reactivity. </li>
<li><b>Maintain an unreasonable faith in reasonableness.</b> Persons caught in the grips reactivity are immune to data, or reasonableness. They are operating out of perceived threat, so their instincts have taken over the rational part of their brain. Allow time for the feeling of threat to pass before attempting a meeting of minds. There will be those who refuse to be reasonable for a number of reasons. The rules are different when dealing with those who refuse to reason. </li>
<li><b>Question or ascribe motive to poor behavior.</b> Because reactivity is a product of by-passing cognition it's not helpful to question people's motives. They are, literally, not in their right mind. Realize that people in acting out their reactivity are not at their best and are not acting out of principled thinking. Most likely, persons caught in the grip of reactivity don't know why they are acting the way they are.</li>
<li><b>Take it personally.</b> Ninety-eight percent of the time, the reactivity that comes your way is not about you, even when it feels like it. Occupying the leader position means you're the point person for reactivity, it comes with the job. Some reactivity will be projection of other people's issues, perceptions, or unresolved conflicts. Some will come your way just because it's convenient to dump it on your desk. Some will come to your just because people are feeling powerless and need someone to "do something" about it. </li>
<li><b>Make it personal.</b> Being on the receiving end of reactivity comes with the job. Often you'll be surprised at who vents frustration on you. Others will engage in a pattern of reactivity with you as the focus. Either way, focusing on the emotional process (people's functioning in the system) rather than focusing on the person, or personality, will help you get to the cause behind the reactivity. Personal attacks not withstanding, leaders do well not to take systemic problems worse by making it personal. </li>
<li><b>Neglect to assess your part of it.</b> There are fives sides to every story, and three you'll never find out about. There will be occasions when the reactivity (and accusations) leveled at you will, to some degree, actually be "about you." Our tendency will be to deny culpability, deflect blame, made excuses, avoid the discomfort of the situation, or simply convince ourselves we are not part of the problem. Mature and effective leaders have capacity to self-assess honestly their roles in systemic problems, and they are able to sincerely apologize and work at doing better. </li>
<li><b>Forget to breath.</b> When faced with reactivity we experience threat, and the biological response to it (fight or flight). Give your brain the oxygen it needs to think and reason--it's your most important resource in the midst of reactivity. So, breathe! </li>
<li><b>Neglect to step back.</b> Whether physically or emotionally, taking a step back from reactivity provides perspective. Taking a step back physically from a person engaged in reactivity helps remove a sense of psychological threat. Thinking to oneself, "Will this matter six months from now," can provide emotional distance and offer perspective to the existentially painful moment. </li>
<li><b>Let your feelings rule over your principles.</b> Informed values and principles are the two resources that provide correctives in the midst of reactivity. What values guide your relationship with persons--in whatever circumstance? What is your guiding principle when dealing with reactivity? </li>
<li><b>Forget your place.</b> You are the leader in the system, and you can't forget that. One of the burdens of leadership is that those in leadership do not have the luxury of giving in to the baser emotions. Getting angry, feeling outraged, nurturing feelings of victim-hood, holding a grudge, and lashing out may be emotionally cathartic, but once a leader gives in to them he or she ceases to be the leader in the system. When others in the system are loosing control of their emotions, that's the time a system needs its leader to be the most centered, non-reactive, and principled person in the system. </li>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-189847362956861702014-02-11T06:56:00.001-08:002014-02-11T07:52:18.056-08:00The Fascinating Power of HomeostasisOne phenomena of the power of homeostasis is that whenever a leader attempts to bring about change he or she will most certainly encounter sabotage. While we can find some comfort in the notion that reactivity is unimaginative, and therefore predictable, sabotage has a thousand faces. The fun thing about sabotage (if one can be non‐reactive about it), is that while we can expect it, we will always be surprised at the forms it takes.<br />
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Most of us will be surprised at the form the resistance takes.The preacher was annoyed because an elderly man kept falling asleep during his sermon every Sunday morning. So one day he said to the man’s grandson, “If you can keep your grandfather awake I’ll pay you a quarter every week.”<br />
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The ruse worked for two weeks. The old man was alert and listened to the sermon. But on the third Sunday the preacher found that the old man had fallen asleep again. After the service the preacher sent for the boy.<br />
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“I’m disappointed. Didn’t I promise you a quarter a week to keep your grandfather awake?” asked the preacher.<br />
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“Yes,” replied the grandson, “but Grandpa gives me a dollar a week not to disturb him.”<br />
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Homeostasis resists change in equilibrium, the "balance" in dynamics the system has developed over time. Every move toward change seems to be met with a countermove in the form of resistance,sabotage, entrenchment, confrontation, opposition, passive aggressive strategies, or sheer stubbornness. Experienced leaders never underestimate the power of homeostasis to reestablish systemic equilibrium.<br />
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The curious thing is that there appears to be no "logic" to the desire for maintaining equilibrium. Even if the change is acknowledged to be of potential benefit to the system, and to individuals in the system, change will still be resisted. The fascinating thing about homeostasis is that "getting better" does not trump maintaining equilibrium.<br />
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The good news is that some systems are more resilient than others, and therefore, more open to change for the better (developmental or evolutionary). Other systems are more "rigid," with homeostasis being a binding force. Systems that are organized around maintaining power, patterned around pathologies, and shaped by long multigenerational patterns may be among those most resistant to change. For these what seems to be required for change is reaching a tipping point where maintaining homeostasis becomes untenable. For example:<br />
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<li>Reaching a point when it becomes clear that it's a matter of "change or die." But, some organizations die before they arrive at the point where that insight is accepted and acted upon.</li>
<li>A change agent with enough clout to push pass the impasse</li>
<li>A shift in the system in the numbers and/or influence in the ratio between those open to change and those resistant to change</li>
<li>A shift in a re-commitment to corporate values so as to bring about embracing vision, progress, relevance, and growth </li>
<li>Sufficient pressure from outside forces or agencies to force change by overwhelming the resistance.</li>
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Leaders in any system do well never to underestimate the fascinating power of homeostasis. It's the the underlying force always at work in a system.<br />
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Adapted from <i>Perspectives on Congregational Leadership</i>, by Israel Galindo<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thothas-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0595388027&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-86312707759515880702014-01-29T06:49:00.000-08:002014-01-29T06:49:14.398-08:00When it's not about you, but it involves you<div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Insightful and self-aware leaders get to the point of understanding that some things that go on in the system are not about them. In time, and with work, they may even be able to not take reactivity from others personally, even when they come in the form of a personal attack. The dilemma for the leader, however, is the reality that while it may not be "about me," the mere fact that the leader is in the position of leadership in the system means that at some level, and to some extent, the issue will involve him or her. </span></div>
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Let's face it, when you are the leader and sit on that big chair, you automatically inherit and become part of numerous interlocking triangles in the system. Some are structural (leader-staff-trustees), and some may be systemic multigenerational triangles (founding pastor--deacons--issues around money, or, leader as IP--matriarchal family system--control/power issues). In other words, you take the job, and triangles come with it. At one point or another, you'll need to deal with these triangles. Whether they are "about you" or not, they will involve you just because of your position in the system.</div>
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For example, ministers are prone to getting triangled as a consequence of projection. Sometimes it is manifested through veiled or pointed comments about the sermon from members as they greet the minister at the door. These responses can range from a puzzling cold-shoulder in response to a friendly greeting to an abrupt scorching accusation that leaves one reeling from being blindsided. My understanding of transference (and please remember that I'm no therapist) is that it is the unconscious "projection" of unwarranted (sometimes inappropriate, but not necessarily so) feelings from one person to another. The source of those feelings, according to Freud, was unresolved childhood issues that were repressed (Freud, "The Dynamics of Transference,"). But, from an emotional process perspective, any unresolved family of origin issue will do.<br />
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Therefore, leaders caught up in this kind of not-about-me transference triangle may be dealing with issues related to: (1) family-of-origin issues related to the family projection process, (2) a poor response to anxiety by triangling in the leader or therapist with a member of the family of origin, (3) a lack of differentiation on the part of the reactive party, and therefore, (4) dealing with a person who has an inability to deal with Self and boundaries (not knowing where they end and another person begins; not knowing what feelings are theirs and what feelings do not belong to another, not knowing which side of the triangle to take responsibility for). This situation may be a good example of a person functioning on the lower end of the scale of differentiation: an inability to separate fact from feeling. Whereas, a more mature person can think: "These feelings I'm experiencing are about me and my relationship with my father. Fact: my therapist (or minister) is not my father."<br />
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What are leaders to do when caught in the midst of reactivity that is "not about me" but still involves them, even if merely because they are conveniently sitting in the leadership chair? One first step is to become intentionally self-aware of one's internal experience. For example:</div>
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<li> If you're caught by surprise and find yourself asking if what you are experiencing is misplaced reactivity, it probably is.<br />
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<li>If you're experiencing anxiety when dealing with a client-patient-member that is not congruent with the situation, it may be transference<br />
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<li> If the client-patient-member is engaged in criticism or seduction incongruent with the relationship, it may be transference<br />
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<li> If you find yourself experiencing familiar feelings related to your family of origin while talking with the client-patient-member, it may be counter-transference<br />
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<li> If the messages (content) of the client-patient-member has little to do with the facts, it may be he or she is engaging in transference.</li>
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Second, tap into thinking and feeling approaches that will help you function better, in non-reactive ways:<br />
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<li> Stay in your own skin (monitor your own feelings; work on separating fact from feeling)</li>
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<li> Work on taking responsibility for your own functioning (e.g., how YOU choose to respond) and not the other person's functioning, perception, or behavior.<br />
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<li>Work the situation like an anxiety triangle and position yourself accordingly</li>
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<li> Focus less on the experience of your feelings and take a curiosity-stance by asking yourself, "What is going on here in terms of emotional process?"<br />
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<li> Make a mental check on your genogram (family of origin) to see if you can discern a connection with the feelings of transference and/or counter-transference<br />
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<li> When appropriate (after the storm) reconnect with the reactive party and focus the conversation on your genogram (family of origin) and on talking about family emotional process (triangles, etc.). This may help de-focus or reduce transference because you'll help take the client-patient-member to where he or she needs to be looking in the first place. Remember that strictly speaking, transference is about unresolved family or origin issues. What better way to get at it, then, than to go to the genogram?<br />
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<li> Work hard at not accepting the other's feelings that are incongruent or inappropriate (One that I used to get all the time in pastoral counseling situations was people telling me, "You're hurting my feelings" or "You're making me feel bad." My response was always a deadpan, "I'm not responsible for your feelings." That usually got the conversation back on track).<br />
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Mature leaders understand that a lot of the emotional process dynamics in the system "is not about me." Nevertheless, one burden of being in the leader position is the reality that much of the anxieties and reactivity in the flow of systemic emotional process will involve you in one form or another, to some extent. Functioning well, in place, when it's not about you, yet involves you, will often be the element that provides capacity for self-correction in the system.<br />
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations">Hidden Lives</a> of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership">Perspectives</a> on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Family-Genogram-Workbook-Israel-Galindo/dp/097157653X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387558724&sr=8-1&keywords=a+family+genogram+workbook">Family Genogram Workbook</a></i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-54177740424971034052014-01-21T05:33:00.000-08:002014-01-21T05:33:36.678-08:0010 leadership Commandments for Clergy<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
There is no end to spin offs and parodies on The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). I thought I'd add to the mix by offering 10 Leadership Commandments for Clergy from a systems theory point of view. Here is my playful list. What would be yours? </div>
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<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt not make thyself dependent on the Church for your salvation, for she is not your God.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt cultivate your relationship with your family of origin, for it is your once and future hope.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt not sacrifice your family and its members for the sake of ministry, for they are your first ministry.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt not accommodate to weakness, neither in yourself or in others. For fear, timidity, insecurity, and neediness are a lack of faith.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt not create the congregation in your image, for that is willfulness and a form of idolatry.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt practice courage and persistence of vision in the face of opposition, for a system needs its leader.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt invest in other people's growth---your staff, your employees, your congregational members--for that is an aid to differentiation.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt master triangles, for they shall be with you till the end of time.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt practice responsible stewardship of your calling. Invest in your own growth and development: personal, spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, and professional, for a church can only be as healthy as its leader.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Thou shalt embrace imagination and adventure, for they will get you farther along on the journey. </span></li>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean, Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. Formerly he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Galindo serves on the Advisory Committee of the <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog" target="_blank">Wabash Center</a> for Teaching in Theology and Religion and is available as consultant through the Center in the areas of curriculum development and assessment, leadership, and teaching and learning in theological education. In the fall of 2014 the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-courses-and-events" target="_blank">Center for Lifelong Learning</a> will offer the Leadership in Ministry Workshops, a clergy leadership development program from a Bowen Systems Theory framework. Check the Center's listing for more details.</div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-10182784864322533122014-01-16T08:10:00.000-08:002014-01-16T08:11:31.568-08:0010 Leadership Quotes from Edwin Friedman<div style="font-family: Courier, 'Courier New', monospace; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Few have helped re-frame the understanding of leadership in organizations within this generation as has Edwin Friedman. Expanding Bowen Family Systems Theory from its clinical therapeutic context to the contexts of religious institutions and organizations, Friedman's writings have offered a new frame of reference for what it means to be a leader. A brilliant mind, sharp wit, and occasional curmudgeon, Friedman is often as insightful as he is subversive. Below are ten quotes on leadership from his writings worth pondering. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />1. “The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choicest words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />2. "Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />3. "The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />4. "In any type of institution whatsoever, when a self-directed, imaginative, energetic, or creative member is being consistently frustrated and sabotaged rather than encouraged and supported, what will turn out to be true one hundred percent of the time, regardless of whether the disrupters are supervisors, subordinates, or peers, is that the person at the very top of that institution is a peace-monger."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />5. Leaders need "... to focus first on their own integrity and on the nature of their own presence rather than through techniques for manipulating or motivating others."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />6. "Sabotage . . . comes with the territory of leading.... And a leader's capacity to recognize sabotage for what it is---that is, a systemic phenomenon connected to the shifting balances in the emotional processes of a relationship system and <i>not</i> to the institution's specific issues, makeup, or goals---is the key to the kingdom."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />7. "...leadership is essentially an <i>emotional</i> process rather than a <i>cognitive</i> phenomenon..."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />8. "...'no good deed goes unpunished'; chronic criticism is, if anything, often a sign that the leader is functioning better! Vision is not enough."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />9. "Living with crisis is a major part of leaders' lives. The crises come in two major varieties: (1) those that are not of their making but are imposed on them from outside or within the system; and (2) those that are actually triggered by the leaders through doing precisely what they should be doing."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />10. "..the risk-averse are rarely emboldened by data."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Sources: <i>A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix</i> (Seabury Books, 2007); <i>Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue</i> (The Guilford Press, 1985).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the Columbia Theological Seminary. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The Hidden Lives of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i>Perspectives on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A Family Genogram Workbook</i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo also contributes to the Wabash Center's blog for theological school deans.</span>Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-35290953775421432682013-12-31T11:02:00.001-08:002013-12-31T11:03:09.870-08:00Cultivating Insight<div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I'm taking my own advice on being a reflective practitioner (Dewey, Schon, Schein, etc.) by taking a moment to cultivate insights from this year. Being attentive to my own experience, and, being regularly engaged with leaders in coaching and consultations can yield rich insights for growth--but it's necessary to remind oneself that insight rarely comes without reflection. My primary orientation in working with clients, and, in self-assessment is Bowen Systems Theory. The theory's focus on emotional process, differentiation of self, and the organic dynamics of relationship systems continues to "ring true" in working with both individuals and complex, often highly anxious, emotional systems. </span></div>
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Here are random insights and thoughts that have come from taking stock. No major new insights here, but, as even St. Paul wrote, being reminded of what we know is of some benefit :</div>
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<li>Bowen Systems Theory continues to be a powerful resource for interpreting and understanding emotional process. Few other frames of references yield as helpful insights into the nature of relationships, their dynamics, and my own internal emotional processes. </li>
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<li>Understanding emotional process provides a helpful corrective to an overfocus on individual behaviors. Personalities and individual foibles aside, most behavior is best understood by a person's place in the system and the context of that system (it's "emotional field"). </li>
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<li>Despite the recent glut in books about the theory there are few new insights that I can discern. I’m waiting for the “next big thing” in the theory (or, "BFST 2.0" as I put it). Perhaps it is still too early in the life of the theory for theory-development. </li>
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<li>No matter how well you understanding the theory, when you’re in the midst of your own emotional fields and systems, you need a coach or consultant to help you see what’s going on. It's important to remember that goes for those of us in the helping professions too!</li>
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<li>No matter how well you understand the concepts of the theory, it always comes down to your own emotional functioning in the system.</li>
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<li>Family of origin dynamics are powerful lifelong forces and are more important than we tend to realize.</li>
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<li>Family of origin emotional functioning is with us for a lifetime. If you're stuck on a relationship or issue, go to your genogram. </li>
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<li>Most of us tend to be unaware of the disconnect between what we say we believe and how we actually function.</li>
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<li>If you want to understand what’s really going on try to identify the triangles in the system.</li>
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<li>If you really want to understand what’s going on examine multigenerational transmission's influence on the situation and the persons involved.</li>
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<li>We can only function out of our strengths and limitations. When we are under stress or experiencing acute anxiety the default functioning tends to be out of our limitations (so, develop your strengths and work on your reducing limitations)</li>
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<li>I continue to find it more helpful to focus on people’s functioning than to spend time wondering about, ascribing, or trying to interpret their motives.</li>
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<li>There is great benefit in re-visiting the “original manuscripts” of the theory. While their clinical therapy focus is somewhat removed from how most of us tend to apply the theory (to congregational systems and to “leadership”), the literature provides important correctives for clergy who tend toward the metaphorical in their thinking.</li>
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<li>Ultimately the real task of working on the theory is our own personal maturity, emotional health, and capacity to be in relationships in healthier ways.</li>
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What insights surface for you as you reflect on your own functioning and in your efforts at living out of principles, values, and your own operational frameworks? </div>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the Columbia Theological Seminary. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i>The Hidden Lives of Congregations</i> (Alban), <i>Perspectives on Congregational Ministry</i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A Family Genogram Workbook</i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's blog for theological school deans. </div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-8216546072022333442013-12-02T07:14:00.000-08:002013-12-02T07:14:32.789-08:00Leading in an Anxious System: What is a leader to do? <div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Persons who step up to leadership tend to be motivated, smart, and sincere in their desire for success, for themselves and for the organization. Some leaders are go-getters who want to fix a system (and the people in it). They want to create a successful organization and will take on the challenge of "changing the system." When they've had success in a previous context they will tend to enter a challenging dysfunctional system with the confidence that they will be able to duplicate the successes made in one context in another. The liability here, of course, is the tendency to focus leadership on the personality of the leader and failing to take into account the reality that (1) not all systems are created equal, and (2) leadership is as much a function of the system as it is of the individual designated "leader" in the system. </span></div>
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The corrective to the perils of a personality-focused leadership is the appreciation that leadership is always contextual, and, context matters a lot. Not all systems are alike, though systems tend to be "of a kind." A biological family system is not the same as a congregational relationship system, even if the church is made up of families. A for-profit business is not the same as a non-profit organization, even when both provide the same service. A theological school is not a church community, even though both share similar beliefs and practices. Effective leaders understand that the function of leadership is as much (if not more) a product of the system than of the personality of the leader in the system. Therefore, leaders must understand the context and type of system they are in. </div>
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Two recent conversations with highly motivated but frustrated leaders underscored the importance of understanding one's system. Both are smart, experienced, and confident leaders. Both have had successes at former contexts in similar systems (one a non-profit organization and one in an congregational context). But both are very frustrated at the slow pace of change they are making helping their organizations succeed. Both express a feeling of being stuck and facing problems they are not able to "fix" for the first time. One said, "It feels like pushing against Jello around here." The other said, "At this point I'd settle for us just being a healthier place." </div>
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These leaders were facing the particular challenge of trying to lead chronically anxious systems. These types of systems are structured with chronic anxiety as an integral part of their homeostasis and patterns of emotional process. They come about when their structure: (1) makes someone in the system responsible for someone else's functioning, (2) has triangles as a patterned way for emotional processes, and (3) is designed so as to inhibit the effectiveness of the leader. At best, these systems lack the internal resources to improves, and, at worst, they are highly resistant to change and tend to have a perverse devotion to their dysfunction. Any leader with Messianic leanings will become prone to burnout in such systems. </div>
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Does this mean these leaders should just give up on their systems? No, I still think the presence of a mature and effective leader remains one of the most significant factors in helping a system function better, if not realize success. But it can help to adjust one's assumptions, perspectives, and functioning as leader in an chronically anxious system stuck in its dysfunction. The challenge for leaders in this context is to adjust their leadership functioning without accommodating to the system. </div>
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In what ways might high-performing leaders adjust their perspective, expectations and functioning in a chronically anxious system? Here are some ways: </div>
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<li><b>Work at containing the toxins in the system to empower the strengths in the system.</b> Toxic elements include those who sabotage efforts, become entrenched, gossip, are willful, act irresponsibly or act as terrorists in the system. These persons impede progress and keep the system stuck by holding others emotionally hostage, being a distraction, or actively undermine the efforts of others in the system. In chronically anxious systems that lack capacity for dealing with these persons, it is the leader who must provide appropriate intervention. </li>
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<li><b>Invest in and release the high performers.</b> As leaders contain the toxins in the system they will be able to release and empower the high performers in the system. Dealing with the toxic members of the system takes a lot of energy, but leaders should make it appear that they are investing more time and attention to the healthy and most motivated persons in the system. Give them the support and resources they need and soon they'll learn to take their cues from you, the leader, rather than from the naysayers and chicken-littles in the system. </li>
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<li><b>Inculcate accountability.</b> Chronically anxious systems tend to have developed a pattern of not holding persons accountable. This enables underfunctioners and underperformers to "set the tone" for the work ethic in the system. Leaders in this kind of system must address these unprofessional and irresponsible behaviors. </li>
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<li><b>Be responsible for your office and your functioning.</b> Balance with the above, leaders in dysfunctional systems do better in focusing on taking responsibility for their own functioning and responsibilities while not making themselves responsible for other people's functioning. It sounds paradoxical, but it appears universally true that to the extent a leader can do this, the system functions better. </li>
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<li><b>Give up expectations of outcomes.</b> "A leader can only accomplish what the system allows," claimed Edwin Friedman. Chronically anxious systems with high levels of dysfunction tend to lack the internal capacity to attain goals, realize vision and live into the mission of the organization. A leader who inflicts lofty goals and specific outcomes on this system is setting up him or herself, and the system, for disappointment and frustration. It is likely these systems need to focus on being "better" before they are able to focus on doing and producing "more." However, while the leader will do well to lower his or her personal expectations, it is appropriate to demand more of the system--the best people in the system will step up. </li>
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<li><b>Gain clarity about your goals and your tenure in office.</b> What do YOU want to accomplish in your tenure as a leader is a better orientation than what you want the system to accomplish. Remember that it is willfulness that brings out the toxicity in a system. Focus on your goals as a leader over any goals for the system. </li>
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<li><b>Gain clarity about the function you serve in the system</b> (the one you desire and the ones the system assigns to you). Entrenched and systems with rigidity in their emotional process tend to assign roles and functions to individuals in the system. Double so for leaders in chronically anxious systems. The roles, with accompanying functions are varied: rescuer, fixer, scapegoat, etc. Whether you like it or not, a chronically anxious system will assign you the role it expects of its leader based on rigidly patterned relationship structures. Leaders in these systems do not have to accept those roles and expectations, but should not be surprised about how they will continue to haunt them as long as they remain in the position or leader. </li>
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<li><b>Build a narrative for success</b> (vision, identity, values). Every system needs and craves direction from its leader; they want that "vision thing." Chronically anxious and dysfunctional systems tend to build a narrative of victimization and defeat over time. Leaders can "re-wire" the self perception and outlook of a system by creating a new narrative for the system. This can be done in many ways, from re-interpreting past crises, nodal events, and critical instances, to providing a narrative for the future of the system. Effective leaders tend to not underestimate the function of the leader as resident storyteller and interpreter of the systems' narrative because they know it is one way to shape its identity.</li>
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Leadership is a product of a system, more so than a function of one individual's personality, skills, or competence. As such, leaders do well to understand the nature of the system they lead and the context in which it resides. In this way, leaders can move toward being more effective by providing the leadership function the system actually needs through adaptation rather than accommodation. </div>
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Israel Galindo is <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning" target="_blank">Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning</a> at the Columbia Theological Seminary. Formerly, he was Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. He is the author of the bestseller, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations" target="_blank">The Hidden Lives of Congregations</a></i> (Alban), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership" target="_blank">Perspectives on Congregational Leadership</a></i> (Educational Consultants), and <i>A Family Genogram Workbook</i> (Educational Consultants), with Elaine Boomer and Don Reagan. Galindo contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html" target="_blank">blog</a> for theological school deans. </div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-71705881634201319712013-11-18T11:46:00.003-08:002013-11-18T11:47:08.147-08:00Got skills? The essential skills for effectiveness and Success<div>
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I enjoy the Facebook group "Things they didn't teach us at seminary." Apparently, there's a LOT of things seminaries don't teach, and which, seminarians don't realize they need to learn. Certainly, that's as it must be. No formal educational program can teach everything one needs to know, in whatever field or profession. Still, it begs the question about what it is that "ought" to be taught. Or, what is most necessary to be learned? Where is the balance between theory and practice? Or, this question: What are the fundamental skills needed for effectiveness and success?</div>
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Trilling and Fadel, in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Skills-Learning-Times-ebook/dp/B002ONPGLE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384799599&sr=8-1&keywords=21st+Century+skills%3Alearning+for+life+in+our+times%2C+Trilling+and+Fadel" target="_blank">21st Century Skills, Learning for life in our times</a></i> (2009) cite a study that lists eight essential skills for the 21st century leader (1). They are: </div>
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Oral and written communication</div>
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Critical thinking and problem solving</div>
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Professionalism and work ethic</div>
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Teamwork and collaboration</div>
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Working with diverse teams and partners</div>
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Applying technology</div>
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Leadership and project management</div>
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Emotional Intelligence.</div>
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Reflecting on my own professional experience, that list seems spot on (and I'm hard pressed to add anything to the list aside from "appreciation for the aesthetic," a quality that can be embedded in several of those skills). My assessment is based not only on reflection on those skills that have made me effective to one degree or another, but also, reflecting on what tends to get leaders "stuck" and ineffective. Upon further reflection I must confess that only two items on the list were learned during my formal educational experience. Even then, I did not achieve a level of passable competence until the post-formal educational experience in "the real world." </div>
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The nature of these skills are multidimensional, multifaceted, integrative, and are acquired and honed over time. In other words, there are maturational and experiential dimensions to these skills which result in capacity, know-how, and competence. For example, it's doubtful one can achieve a high degree of professionalism and work ethic without a corresponding high level of emotional intelligence. With a lack of critical thinking skills, one's ability to do effective project management is limited. And we can write volumes on the outcome that is the integration of leadership, emotional intelligence, teamwork, and working with others. Emotional intelligence rarely comes without some maturation, and, good writers and public speakers emerge after countless hours at the craft--with the just the right balance of successes and failures to yield expertise. One good news is that no one needs to be an expert in any one, or even several, but effective leaders have some level of competence in the cluster. </div>
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The notion that we don't learn everything in school, whether university or seminary, is merely a confession that learning is a lifelong necessity. One of our greatest liabilities is that along the way, despite years of being "students," we never learn how to learn. So, if I were to add one more critical skill needed for effectiveness and success, it would be: being a lifelong learner who has learned how to learn. </div>
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(1) Citing, Conference Board, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, & Society for Human Resource Management, 2006.</div>
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<a href="http://www.israelgalindo.com/" target="_blank">Israel Galindo</a> is Associate Dean, Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning" target="_blank">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. </div>
Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6078934951607425396.post-63652230354005047672013-11-06T08:38:00.000-08:002013-11-06T08:38:41.291-08:00 Leading Amidst Reactivity<div>
<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2;">Leadership may be a romantic notion for the naive and inexperienced, but in reality, it's a tough business. Few do it well, fewer still excel at it. In large part, I think this is because, as Edwin Friedman posited, leadership is more a function of emotional process than expertise or competence. Simply put, leadership is about dealing with people, not things. And when you deal with people, you have to deal with emotional process.</span><br />
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Perhaps no other quality is more determinative of an effective leader than the capacity to deal with reactivity in emotional process. Reactivity is a product of anxiety. Leaders who work in chronically anxious systems will be most challenged by this fact, and, I suspect most leaders function in chronically anxious systems. As such, the capacity to lead in the midst of reactivity is one of the keys to effective leadership. Author John Galbraith stated, "All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership."<br />
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The prerequisite for dealing with reactivity in an anxious system, however, is the capacity of the leader to manage her or his own reactivity in the context of an anxious system. In essence, it is the ability to differentiate oneself as leader amidst the swirl of emotional process, especially in times of reactivity.<br />
<b>Reactivity vs. Sabotage</b><br />
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Leaders can help manage their own anxiety by discerning the difference between reactivity and sabotage. Reactivity is a merely an unthinking, automatic, anxious response to perceived or actual threat. Any time a leader proposes change in a system, you can expect it to be perceived as "threat" at some level, and, it will be accompanied by some level of reactivity. So, the first step in self-regulation for the leader is to just expect it--it's the norm.<br />
Often all that is needed from the leader is to recognize reactivity: "Ah, there it is." What form reactivity takes, and who in the system manifests reactivity through automatic repertoires may be a product of the context and culture of a particular system. Because reactivity is an unthinking automatic response, it's not creative. Reactivity gets "patterned" in systems, to the point one can predict, to some extent, the ways (and sometimes who) a particular system is likely to "react" to threat, perceived or actual. Insofar as one is able to do so, a leader can develop his or her repertoire to respond to reactivity. Since reactivity is unimaginative, it almost does not matter WHAT the leader does, and matters more that the leader responds in non-reactive ways to the reactivity in the system (do not add fuel to the fire).<br />
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<b>Helpful Responses to Reactivity:</b><br />
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<li>Develop discernment of emotional process. Accept that reactivity is a normal response to threat.</li>
<li>Practice perspective-taking. Keep the end in view and accept reactivity as the first step in the process of change.</li>
<li>Cultivate self-awareness. Focus as much on your inner emotional process as on the emotional process of the system. Regulate your own anxiety and increase your capacity to make appropriate responses.</li>
<li>Develop a repertoire of responses. Your repertoire can span the options of ignoring it to providing a rationale response, but one necessary response is staying connected.</li>
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<b>Sabotage,</b> in contrast to reactivity, is another thing altogether. It goes beyond being an unthinking response to perceived threat. Sabotage is a willful act which has intent to subvert or undermine. It must be addressed because willfulness introduces toxicity in the system, detracts from the issue at hand, and derails process.</div>
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<li>Cultivate persistence of vision. To help the system get to where it's going, you'll need to navigate through all that's in between here and there. Focus on the there.</li>
<li>Follow your guiding principles, live up to your standards. "Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself," said Henry Ward Beecher.</li>
<li>Raise your tolerance level for pain. Remember that when reactivity is directed at the leader, it's not about you, it's about the leader.</li>
<li>Remember your leadership function in the system.</li>
<li>Be flexible, and if necessary, prepare to be resilient.</li>
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Leaders need to learn to function in the midst of reactivity. In fact, their capacity to do that well may be the most valuable gift they provide to the systems they lead. Douglas McArthur said, "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent."</div>
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Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at the <a href="http://www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning" target="_blank">Columbia Theological Seminary</a>. He is the author of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-Congregational-Leadership-effective-leadership-ebook/dp/B00D4Z4NX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383754894&sr=1-1&keywords=perspectives+on+congregational+leadership" target="_blank">Perspectives on Congregational Leadership,</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Lives-Congregations-Discerning/dp/1566993075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383754843&sr=8-1&keywords=hidden+lives+of+congregations" target="_blank">The Hidden Lives of Congregations</a>.</i> He contributes to the Wabash Center's <a href="http://wabashcenter.typepad.com/wabash_center_deans_blog/2013/11/index.html" target="_blank">blog for theological school deans</a>.</div>
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Israel Galindohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07008777852746992545noreply@blogger.com3