Diagnosing Organizational Diseases

Last week I came down with a nasty flu bug.

The kind where you pitch your tent close to the bathroom. Where you shiver uncontrollably in-between times of heat delirium. Sore throat, itchy eyes, all-night coughing, and overall fogginess through the day. The works.

It’s obvious when you’re sick. You know it and the people around you know it.

But oddly, that’s not always the case with organizations, whether it’s a church, a nonprofit, or whatever. I am endlessly fascinated by how little self-awareness organizations can have. Leaders can often miss the forest for the trees because we become myopic in the crisis-of-the-week, and often we’re treating symptoms without discerning the root cause.

Years ago, our research showed that all healthy churches and organizations were fluent in four key elements: Integrity (systems, processes, infrastructure), Passion (commitment to mission), Servanthood (outward-focus), and Imagination (change capacity). I’ve written about those before—here and here—so I won’t beat the proverbial dead horse (uh, whatever that means…).

But let’s cash a reality check: you’ll always have problems.

Every organization has problems that are natural to whatever stage it’s in. That’s normal; if you’re not having problems, you’re dead. The issue is when a problem becomes chronic, that is, the same problem over and over. When you keep having a headache every day, it’s time to get a CT scan. Tylenol won’t do.

For instance:

• Is your organization always playing catch-up? Does it seem like it’s always drafting volunteers at the last minute for events or regular services?

• Is there a general malaise over the church? Does it seem there is no buzz or excitement about, well, anything?

• Are the finances in the red most months? If there’s a constant cash burn, something is obviously amiss.

• When was the last time you had any significant impact on the surrounding community? Has there ever been a time where the community said, “You folks have been a really great neighbor”?

• When was the last time your church tried something that was completely new? Maybe even—dare we say it—radical?

•  As you prepare for the weekend message, is there periodically a sense of looking forward to giving it, a feeling of “I have something that needs to be said”?

• When was the last time you challenged the church with something big, something audacious…that could only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit inspiring people to “go for it”?

These questions—depending on your answers—may be symptomatic of deeper issues that need to be tackled. It may be that the organization has a low-grade fever…or there is a gnawing cancer that must be radiated and treated.

Just like personalities, organizations can be slow to address a problem, or in denial of it, or simply unaware because it’s too busy maintaining the status quo.

Don’t wait to be put on life support. Ask for help today.

You’re too important to the Missio Dei.

Dave Workman | The Elemental Group

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