Many advertisements for investment advisors will have the disclaimer that past performance is not a guarantee of future results. This statement is also true for leaders. It is reasonable to assume that the great ideas you had in your previous assignment should work just as well in your new role. It may be reasonable, but unfortunately, it is not always accurate or true.
Coming into a new role has the benefit of providing you with the opportunity to view a situation with a “fresh set of eyes”. You might assume that your new perspective will allow you to approach a long-standing problem with an objective view that was not previously considered. Please make that assumption at your own risk!
It has often been jokingly said that the only thing a new pastor should change in his first year is his underwear. Obviously, that is an overly conservative approach but there is some merit to that humorous advice. When you arrive, you need to find out “how things work” in this particular environment. Taking some time to observe and educate yourself is invaluable as you seek to build credibility. If you move too fast, you are bound to hear, “that’s just not how things are done here”, or the equally disheartening, “we’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.”
Spending some time to observe with an intent to understand, allows your staff and parishioners to see that you are truly interested in them and want to help. Failure to do this will create the lasting impression that you are an “outsider”. They may even incorrectly perceive that you don’t really care about them and that you are implementing change just for the sake of something new. If people see you putting in the effort to fully understand, they will be appreciative and less likely to question your intent.
We naturally approach new situations from the only lens readily available to us – our own! It is definitely difficult to be the” new guy” especially if you are replacing a long-standing, beloved pastor. As challenging as it may be, try to stop and view the situation from their perspective. Everything was going great and now things have been changed.
It is equally, if not more, frightening for them. While you may have a plan for the future that you fully understand and can see that bright future, they are staring at an unknown. That could be good or bad. Most people tend to have a built-in negativity bias in these situations so you can expect them to be overly cautious.
You need to take the time to understand how the “simple” change you are proposing can, in their minds, dramatically impact them. They may falsely perceive your change is specifically directed at their role or at them personally. If you fully understand that perspective, you can explain the proposed change in terms they appreciate. In spite of your best efforts it is possible that some people are incapable of change. We will discuss how to manage that in our next post.