When pastors step into a new lead position, I’ll sometimes hear them say, “I’m not going to change anything my first year.” They’ve heard the horror stories of pastors who stepped into a senior role, changed something—usually lots of somethings—and then everything crashed. In a matter of months, they were out of job or the church was in complete disarray.
I get it. Leading change isn’t easy, and nobody wants to step into a lead pastor role (or senior organizational role) only to pack their boxes a few months later because of a change initiative that went awry.
But, as hard as change can be, “Don’t change anything your first year” is bad advice. Why? Because when a new leader arrives, people generally expect something to change. In fact, many people are curious (even excited) about the possibility for new change, especially if the church was struggling.
Leaders need to use this expectancy to create positive change. I’m not suggesting that everybody is ready to change. Nor am I suggesting that change will be easy and unopposed. But if nothing changes, then you’re no different than the last leader. So, how should you approach change when you’re new? Consider these tips.
1. Change Some Things, Just Not Everything
“Don’t change anything your first year is bad advice.” Better advice is, don’t change everything your first year. If you come in and change everything, one of two things will usually happen: people change churches, or they change you. Simply put, they leave, or they make you leave. The solution isn’t to change nothing…it’s to change the right things without changing everything. Again, if you change nothing, then you’re no different than the last leader.
2. Make Relationship Building Your First Priority
Relationship building puts people before change while simultaneously preparing people for the change. When you build relationships, people feel known and noticed. At the same time, as they get to know you, they become increasingly open to change. Why? Because they come to trust you, and they slowly begin to gravitate toward your values. As the relationship strengthens, people are prepared to hear and receive your vision and the change it will bring.
3. Conduct a Listening Tour
Several years ago, I met the new athletic director from one of our local school districts. As I asked him how things were going, he said, “Right now I’m doing a listening tour.” He explained how he was taking the first few weeks (and months) on the job to spend a lot of time listening to leaders, fellow staff, parents, and students.
As I thought about his response, I immediately recognized two benefits to his approach. First, he was building relationships. And second, he was becoming aware of the changes that needed to be made. Some of the best (and easiest) changes you will ever make are the ones everybody wants you to make (and needs you to make).
The only way to discover those changes is to spend time listening to people. That doesn’t mean you should be everyone’s puppet, but if the change makes perfect sense, it may be the best place to start. Every successful change gives you greater influence to make more and bigger changes.
4. Make Small Changes that Fix Obvious Problems
One of fastest ways to build influence with people is to fix problems that are obvious and obnoxious. In other words, find the problems that are annoying people and do something to make things better.
It might be a simple as repairing a broken water fountain, replacing burned out lightbulbs, improving communication, creating a calendar planning system, bringing someone in to EQ your sound system, improving your internet speed, recruiting additional volunteers to help an overworked team, making a cumbersome system more efficient, or increasing the budget of an under resourced department. The most positive changes will be the ones that address problems and frustrations that are the most widespread.
5. Show Appreciation and Recognize People
In church world, it’s easy for volunteers to feel unseen and unappreciated. What would happen if you acknowledged their hard work and dedication, recognized them in front of their peers, stopped by on a Sunday morning to say thank you, or surprised them with coffee and donuts before they served? Simple expressions of gratitude can go a long way to build connection and camaraderie. It also builds trust and a general feeling that my leader is for me.
6. Don’t Announce Every Change
Some leaders create more headache than they need to because they publicly announce every single change. By no means am I suggesting that you hide information from people, but at the same time, some changes only effect a small group of people. Meet with that small group, discuss the change, and create buy-in. Have the conversation with the people impacted by the change without turning it into a churchwide announcement.
7. Discover the Origin of Larger Problems
It’s easy to criticize and complain about the way an organization does things, but what new leaders often forget is that how things are done was once somebody’s great idea. And if that person is still in the organization, you could be facing big resistance if you attack or change their idea.
When you want to change something, begin by doing a little bit of research. Find out how the idea started, who started it, and why it was started. If the person is still around, build a relationship with them and discover the backstory behind the issue. If you get their buy-in on a new idea, you’ll have a much better chance of creating widespread buy-in.
8. Explain the Problem Before You Present the Solution
When you are making changes that are more substantive, be sure to start with the problem you hope to solve. Too often new leaders begin with their solution without ever defining the problem it will solve. As a result, people scratch their head saying, “I didn’t know we had a problem,” and then expressing resistance for the new idea. Present the problem, then the solution, and then offer a way for people to be a part of the solution.
Again, “Don’t change anything your first year” is bad advice. You need to make changes…just don’t change everything. The steps above will help you make the right changes in the right way.
