Changing the scene

With my wife and (hopefully) me changing jobs shortly, my mind was stirred to change. More importantly, how to go about change in a new workplace/church.

From what i have come up with, there are seven ways...

1 - Slash and burn #1 - John Maxwell says that when you enter a failing company, you should fire as many people as possible. The idea is, if they could do the job well, they would have already. Also those left behind would be stained by the previous leadership.

2 - Slash and burn #2 - Not as harsh as number one, but starts from scratch using the resources and people that already exist. When i shifted the after school, single year, discipling groups at Balgowlah to a combined Friday night youth group i used this method. We shut everything down over the holidays and relaunched with the same leaders (who were never the problem anyway).

3 - Incremental change - With a final destination in mind, the leader makes changes over a period of time. In youth ministry, this would work over a term or two. My most obvious example is back when i was at Big W. Over a month or so they would do a refit of the entire store in segments.

4 - Tweaking - Used when the incumbent leader is ok with what exists, he/she tweaks what already exists, adding their individual fingerprint to what already works. For me, this was my first few years at Balgowlah. I moved the furniture around for a while, but the structure remained the same.

5 - Change the culture - This one takes a little longer. Over time you transform the thinking, expectations and demands of the group as you explain and groom your vision.

6 - Change the focus - Change those who attend. The example of this is when pubs go "up market" and turf all the riff-raff that used to attend. Exhibit A: Brookie Pub.

7 - Leave - Drinking from the fountain of John Maxwell again... The "Law of the Lid" says that a ministry or organisation will only rise as far as the leader can take it. His/her ability and vision will put a lid on how far they can go. I got to this point on a few occasions... even to the point where i said to the Chapmans that i was going to resign the next morning. They talked me out of it...