Why Focus on Culture?
- Clarifies context for change
- Identifies potential potholes in the change process
- Illuminates leadership bias regarding the change process and preferences for responding to resistance
- Predicts type, timing and degree of resistance
- Acknowledges embedded beliefs, norms and customs that can disrupt or enhance change efforts
- Aligns strategy and vision
- Provides a common model and language for managing cultural differences
Congregations that fail to implement their strategic plans do not to take into account how their culture could create a barrier to new initiatives. Once the implementation phase reached a level of changing the "feel" of the congregation, the hidden beliefs and norms in their DNA rise up to bring the change efforts to a grinding halt. It is why churches with a long history of specific attendance levels struggle to break through their own invisible attendance ceiling.
The following is an adapted model of research on families conducted by Kantor and Lehr (later expanded into four types by LL Constatine). Alan and Deborah Slobodnik of Options for Change did further work with organizational culture and systems types. I met the Slobodnik's at the Kantor Family Institute back in the late 80's. They have creating an instrument they use extensively in the business world to discuss aligning organizational culture and strategy.
In many ways, culture is even a more important concept to understand in the world of congregational relationships. The business world is an organization of relationships where people and positive relationships are an ends to a mean (profit). Congregations are relational organisms where relationships both internal and external are both the means and the end in terms of mission and purpose.
The following is just a brief composite of the four different cultural types that are expanded in my workshop of "Congregational Cultural Compass." The workshop offers descriptors for culture that is both enabled and disabled. Leadership strategies for migrating culture to meet the contextual needs of the congregation in it's life cycle are also provided.
Culture Compass Concepts
- Congregations are not just one pure type
- All types have strengths & liabilities
- All cultures are a unique blend
- Most cultures have primary and secondary types
- Leadership style is shaped by their cultural type and preferences
- Structured/Closed – “Stable, Structured, Accountability, Procedures”
- Random – “Individualistic, Responsive, Creative, Risk Takers”
- Open - “Collaborative, Communication, Teamwork, Problem Solvers”
- Synchronous – “Aligned, Values, Harmony, Direction”
The Structured/Closed strength is provided through strong leadership & accountability. There is a clear sense of leadership, chain of command and a boundary around who is in and outside of the group. This type reacts to change by resisting, countering and overcoming.
Random Culture provides innovation, flexibility and creativity. This highly energized culture enjoys creative chaos and has very permeable boundaries between who is in and out. Highly adaptable and responsive to context and individual differences. “Randoms” react to change by escalating and encouraging it!
Open Culture provides teamwork, communication and negotiated outcomes. Collaboration, empowerment at all levels and inclusion are core values. There is a negotiated boundary between who is in and outside of the group. “Opens” also react to change and conflict by planning, facilitating and "talking things out."
Synchronous culture provides direction, alignment and is guided by a strong sense of purpose. In this culture the shared values organize behavior more than a sense of hierarchy. The values are so deeply embedded that roles are often implicit and just simply understood. “Synchronous” types react to change by ignoring and avoiding it.
In My Experience...
The four types do exist, but not in a quartered pie chart of a twenty five percent balance. I suspect there are very few types that are have a primary type of Random Culture. But some of the smaller family size churches have come pretty close. In Larry Burton's book "When God Enters The System" writers have postulated that some denominations can be defined by a primary cultural orientation. One writer stated that congregationalists were more of an "open culture." Certainly, if any one has read the United Methodist Book of Discipline a clear picture of a "structured/closed" culture emerges (how do you think they got the name Methodist to begin with). I will leave you to determine cultural difference by denomination and local congregations. But let is suffice to say that many in our American culture could be classified as "structured/closed" by bylaws and some as more "open" how they live out their day to day reality.
Culture and Clergy Coaching
In my clergy coaching I have worked with pastors who cultural type was opposite to the congregations they had been appointed. One pastor whose primary orientation was synchronous, likened their experience of direct confrontation, criticism and resistance to that of finger nails on a chalk board. They stated that in their culture feedback was indirect and subtle when tension emerged. Direct confrontation was not only bad manners, but was a sign of a high level conflict and family dysfunction. The members who were clearly more open system experienced their own communications as simply being direct and honest.
Another pastor came from a heritage that was clearly more structured/closed. By virtue of ordination, clergy were granted status of authority, power and considerable influence. In their current church, folk were more random/open system and used to relating to the pastor on a more informal - peer level basis. When challenged, one lay person stated that in terms of authority they were on the same level as the pastor. Imagine this pastor's perception when his/her ideas were treated as just that, another idea. The church's emphasis on spontaneity and "doing your own thing" left the pastor feeling marginalized and disempowered. His/her references to pastoral authority, church bylaws and scripture left lay folk puzzled, angry and confused.
Appreciating congregational culture by recognizing strengths before jumping to judgements is an important first step in creating a culture of trust that can lead to sustained change and transformation. Even in a disabled culture, finding ways to notice the enabled structures of their primary type paves the way for creating influence and change.
In the absence of a longer blog on culture, make your best guess regarding...
Assess Present Culture
- Assessing your organizational culture
- Identify your primary and secondary cultures
- Are they enabled or disabled?
- Do they fit your mission, strategy and goals?
- Where is the “rub” between current cultural preferences and the future fit?
Consider Current Culture and Change
- Is there enough structured culture to manage the chaos of change?
- Is there enough random culture to provide the necessary flexibility, energy and tolerance for the chaos of transformation work.
- Is there enough synchronous elements to provide direction and vision for that "new thing."
- Is there enough open communication to reduce anxiety that is produces by new directions and change.
