"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown." Proverbs 4:7-9
This passage highlights the importance of seeking wisdom and understanding, which involves continuous learning and innovation. It suggests that one can experience honor and success in leadership by valuing and pursuing wisdom. Learning and innovating are key to gaining wisdom and understanding, as they allow leaders to adapt to changing circumstances and find creative solutions to challenges.
This is the eighth and last blog applying learnings from Dr. Peter Senge's book, The Fifth Discipline, to the church.
What does it mean to be a leader? Today, we think of leadership in a very hierarchical sense. Leaders hold senior ranks in an organization; they are part of top management. However, for a learning organization, this definition is too limiting. It suggests that only those at the top can bring about change. Others – people at the bottom of the organization – are only there to implement the wishes of their leaders.
Many organizations now describe themselves as "non-hierarchical." Perhaps we can instead reimagine leadership in a more positive but less coercive sense.
For example, leaders can think of themselves as designers. Designers create learning spaces – or, as the author puts it, a learning infrastructure. What could this infrastructure look like? Leaders could design innovative conference formats, feedback-sharing opportunities, or virtual meeting spaces.
A leader can also become a teacher—not the boring type—the sort who doles out information and assigns grades—but a teacher who inspires learning. Most of us have had at least one such teacher. They often change lives simply by sharing their love of knowledge and understanding.
Leaders can be like that, too. And the key is to show passion for personal mastery. Leaders who are great at teaching also need to be curious about the world. And they should be courageous enough to experiment and humble enough to admit their mistakes.
A steward is one of a learning organization's most influential leadership roles. Stewards protect and preserve significant things. For a leader, ensuring growth never overshadows the church's larger ideals or staff well-being. Stewardship supports innovation because it makes change less scary. Employees who know that somebody is protecting the essential things will be more willing to experiment and take risks.
So, how does Peter Senge sum up his ideas about leadership in a learning organization? He says managers (pastors) should embrace all three roles – they must combine the skills of designers, teachers, and stewards. This will empower and support learning throughout a company (church).
A leader can discover the structures holding them back and generate innovative solutions by creating "learning organizations" that celebrate curiosity, experimentation, and dialogue.
Consider some actionable advice:
Gathering around a conference table may be the current default model for meetings. But such meetings can be dull! To spark enthusiasm and exciting conversations, try mixing up the format. How about setting up your conference room like a cafe with many small tables? You could invite people to brainstorm solutions in several one-on-one conversations. Once they've circulated around the room, they can feed their ideas back to the group.
By now, I hope you've been inspired by how systems thinking can help us understand how church organizations function.
Perhaps the past eight blogs based on Peter Senge's work applied to churches have inspired you to read more in-depth on these issues. Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline.
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