One of the most read and great books on leadership in the first decade of the 21st century is Good to Great. Its principles are timeless and worthy of any organization to consider. Jim Collins has written (co-written) several good leadership books. One is “Great by Choice” copyright 2011 Harper Collins.
In Great by Choice Collins and Morten T. Henson write about tension between consistency and change. Every organization must recognize the need for both. In the church, we sometimes find one without the other. Some churches are so into consistency they even have the mantra, “We’ve always done it this way.”
A scene in the movie “Hoosiers” represents this well. The scene takes place in a barber shop, after hours. Some of the men in the town are having an unofficial meeting welcoming the new high school basketball coach, played by Gene Hackman. One gentleman says, “Zone defense is what we’ve played in the past and it’s the only thing that’ll work this year.” To which several of the men in the room agree stating, “that’s right.”
Consistency without change kills organizations – including churches. Yet this remains the mantra for many churches – “This is the way we do things and it’s the only thing that’s gonna work this year.”
Finding the correct balance between consistency and change is a continual effort for any organization. One of the first keys is, Take your time in discovering and developing your consistent practices. This is where you develop your organizational framework for operations. This framework must be strong enough to withstand the pressures of cultural change and individual challenges, yet flexible enough to adapt to change only when absolutely necessary.
Built into the framework must be a structure that is solid and immoveable. In the church the operational framework of the church is found the entirety of scripture and pinpoint focused in The Great Commission.
Collins and Hansen state, “No human enterprise can succeed at the highest levels without consistency; if you bring no coherent unifying concept and disciplined methodology to your endeavors, you’ll be whipsawed by changes in your environment and cede your fate to forces outside your control. Equally true, however, no human enterprise can succeed at the highest levels without productive evolution.”[i]
Correct, sufficient consistency of all organizational practices must be built in with strong discipline to adhere under difficult situations. Another part of your consistency is to regularly and continually challenge your framework. Is it aligning with scripture without legalism or broad freedoms which could derail your organization at any point? If your organizational practice framework is designed sufficiently, challenge it regularly, change it rarely.
Find a copy of Great by Choice and read chapter six for a great example from our founding fathers on managing the tensions of consistency and change. And it still is working 237 years later! If you will take the time to examine and develop this type framework for your church/organization, you will become a much more effective, lasting organization fulfilling your God-given purpose.
[i] Great by Choice, pg 145, Harper Collins ©2011
George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.