6. In the Wilderness: Change is Hard, Even if it's the Promised Land
In order for congregations to thrive, they must be responsive to a changing world and resilient in the face of such change. Here are some tools and sensibilities for leaders to help their congregations be adaptable to change.
Download the Syllabus (PDF) to keep track of your progress!
Emotional Responses to Change
One key insight for leaders is to understanding how responses to change are not just intellectual, but emotional. This presentation provides a mental model using a rollercoaster to help you lead through change.
Resistance to Change
Organizations, like all systems seek a well-ordered status. If a congregation is thrown out of balance by the prospect of change, it will seek to restore order. If there is too much anxiety, conflict can flare up. But leaders can help create a culture that learns to welcome resistance.
Technical vs. Adaptive Challenges
As leaders, sometimes we encounter problems that happen where the solution is not a technical fix. This story will help you to identify such "adaptive" challenges!
Adaptive Challenges
What do you do when a challenge is so new or puzzling that your experienced leaders are stumped and there are no “best practices” to turn to? Instead, help your congregation work together to find a solution. This resource (part of the UU Leadership Institute course "Adaptive Leadership 401") gives you the basic framework for thinking adaptively.
About the Author
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The regional Congregational Life staff are congregations' local connection to the UUA. All of the program Congregational Life staff have expertise in most aspects of congregational life and each also has a few program areas of expertise. See the UUA Congregational Life Staff...
For more information contact conglife@uua.org.
