Few leadership challenges are tougher than leading people into change. No wonder. The thought of change creates uncertainty about the future. And uncertainty about the future creates fear about the change. In order to protect themselves from what they fear, people polarize around a position—for or against the change. The temptation at such times is […]

Bringing about change is tough because people tend to polarize around a position and feel they have to be right all the time. Rather than fighting it out, suggest everyone delay making a judgment until more questions have been asked and answered. I find it fascinating that there were times when Jesus drew a line […]

If you’re leading a person or organization into change, never forget that some people want things done today as they have been in the past. Nobody illustrates this better than the ancient Pharisees who believed righteous people only hung around with each other. Because of this Jesus stirred up controversy when he spent time with […]

I recently got into a conversation with a pastor about how to best facilitate change in a church. He wanted to know how to stop a tradition that has been practiced since the church’s inception. I felt like he had just asked me how to get through a mine field. And so I stuck an […]

In the past change was a slow process, like the gradual eroding of the shoreline. When a cycle of change was completed, things settled down to “normal.” The world is different now, as author and educator Jeanenne LaMarsh has observed: “Change is a constant; multiple changes happen simultaneously with no ‘normal’ in sight.”