First Tidbits From LRC

Last week's two-day retreat with the Leadership Reno County (LRC) class was as stretching and interesting as I hoped it would be, and, at times, as awkward as I was afraid it would be.  I'm not sure how much I'm really supposed to share outside the group about what happens inside the group.  I do know that confidentiality is in order in relation to others in the group--not their identity though.  Otherwise they would not have backed each of us up to a plain door in the meeting room and come in close for a cell phone picture--with the explanation that this is for the paper.  Sigh. I'd rather fly under the radar on this venture.

Also, the organization I'm officially associated with for LRC purposes is Pilgrim Christian School--which is slightly awkward since I no longer am hired there.  Nevertheless, no other official entity made sense as fill-in information for some of the blanks on the application.  I do still serve on the curriculum committee as a volunteer, so it was not entirely a fabricated connection.  I did make clear that my main interest was really most closely tied to making life better for my neighbors in the rural area of Reno County where I live.  Being too tightly tethered to the education sector of community life would actually feel limiting to me rather than advantageous.

Essentially, the focus of this group is to develop an approach to problem solving that is skillful, inclusive, courageous, humble, and honest.  These are my words.  I can't tell you how reassuring it was to see these Biblical topics featured in the class content.  If the focus had been on "getting others to do what you want them to do,"  featuring tricky and manipulative (and disrespectful) schemes, this class would have held no appeal to me. I have no fondness for this perception of what leadership means.

What I really want to do here is just to be transparent about what I've been up to, with the freedom to share what I'm learning.  Knowing that all who read this have entered this blog space at their own initiative is reassuring to my vulnerable self, and I believe that readers do not usually come here to find something to use as ammunition against me.  Nevertheless, I'm cognizant of the fact that for an Amish Mennonite female to be enrolled in a leadership class and writing about it is not risk-free. 

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For me, probably the most helpful insight to come out of interacting with the material and the facilitators and other class members was clarity about two different approaches to problem solving: 1) technical and 2) adaptive. Individual cases often call for both approaches to come into play, but being able to sort out which approach is best for which piece of a challenge is useful.  This understanding was helpful to me both in making sense of some of my past frustrations and in finding a possible path forward in the challenges that I still face. 

It's probably revealing that, although the LRC class began less than a week ago, I have already made reference to this distinction twice in communicating with others--both of them in relation to Sunday School.  Once was during class when we were talking about people in the church who "slip through the cracks" and the other was when I was working with others to find a good solution to a logistics problem that had come up.  In both of these situations, I found it helpful to recognize early on that the challenges called for adaptive approaches rather than technical ones. 

Having talked about this matter recently and the fact that I am writing about it here is probably also related to how I best internalize information--by "teaching" it to others. 

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Technical challenges call for technical solutions.  Such challenges usually involve situations where everyone involved knows what is needed and a clear structure is in place for doing what is necessary.  Positional authority (which can be bestowed or acquired in various ways--by vote, appointment, manipulation, or strong-armed coercion, for example) is often incorporated into structures for dealing with technical challenges (i. e. solving the problems).  As I see it, this is as it should be, although some routes to positional authority certainly seem more commendable than others. 

The big problems occur when adaptive problems are addressed solely with technical approaches.  To quote a concept (from memory) that I heard in class:  Technical solutions may be involved in helpfully addressing adaptive challenges, but they are always insufficient.  In plain language, here's the rub:  When people with positional authority apply only technical solutions to adaptive problems, the results are not pretty.  Besides throwing sand in the gears (which limits smooth, orderly, forward motion), this way of "doing business" is predictive of fractured relationships, loss of commitment to a common purpose, and loss of peace.  In other words, the cost of this way of operating is very high. 

Let's use maintenance of a church building to illustrate how technical challenges can be helpfully addressed by technical solutions.  As an example, I'll use some details from what Grace (the wife of Lorne, our head trustee) told me on the day of the sewing last week--without a guarantee that all of them are completely factual.  As I recall, someone had noticed a problem in the plumbing system (a leak in one of bathrooms?) and had called Harold, who lives nearby and is often involved in matters related to the operation of the building.  Harold swiftly passed on the information he'd been given to Lorne, since he knew that Lorne was in the head trustee position, and dealing with matters like plumbing problems falls under Lorne's job description. 

I think Lorne must have called next on Joe, who was involved when the plumbing was originally installed for the new kitchen.  That was also when our church for the first time had a reverse osmosis (RO) system installed.  Joe went to work to address the problem, but had to turn off the RO system and could not restore its function by sewing day.  He (or someone, at least) filled several big thermos jugs with water from the RO so the sewing ladies would have this good water to drink.  I presume that he came back later to finish the repairs and restore the plumbing system to full function.  I also assume that Joe worked without pay and certainly without positional authority.  No additional church votes, elections, or appointments were needed throughout this process.  Because things got fixed by Sunday, I assume this process worked smoothly with no fractured relationships, no loss of commitment to a common purpose, and no loss of peace.   Everyone involved knew what was needed and who was in charge of seeing to getting it done, and most of the church people never even knew the problem had occurred.   Lorne's exercise of leadership through positional authority was exactly the right approach for this technical problem. 

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I'll refer to Plainview Church as an example of using an adaptive approach.  Construction is underway on a new church building.  I don't know many details of how the decision was made to do this, but I do know from Grant and Clare, who attend there, that a great deal of discussion preceded the decision, and that in the end, this seemed like the best path forward.  Ellis is the one in charge of the building process at Plainview.  Without his permission, I'm going to dissect his suitability for the role he has--strictly my personal viewpoint, of course--by overlaying my thinking with the adaptive leadership approach template.

His past experience as a public school principal is undoubtedly useful.  I've never heard anyone speak of him in critical terms for how he carried out this role.  He is 67 I believe.  I know that because he was my classmate in school and everyone knew who was older and who was younger than oneself.  He was older than I.  I am extrapolating partly from having known Ellis best before we both graduated from high school, and I can no longer recall how I formed some of these impressions, but I know him personally to be a man of principle and competence, with humility, personal discipline, initiative, and moderation in evidence.  He has a great sense of humor and he used to have a contrary streak.  These characteristics undoubtedly played into his being given positional authority in a church building project (with the exception of the contrariness perhaps), no matter whether it was acquired by appointment or vote--or volunteering, for that matter. 

I think it's useful also to think about what Ellis is not, especially in relation to his adult roles.  He is not a builder.  He is not a businessman.  He is not a first-born (he is fourth in a family of five boys).  He does not have a forceful manner.  He does not flaunt whatever wealth he has. 

More on what Ellis is.  He is a farmer and landowner.  He has coached grade school sports teams.  Recently he chaired a committee that planned the first ever reunion of those who attended Elreka at any time since its beginning in 1958.  I know for a fact that he was able to bring about agreement on at least one issue that another committee member initially objected to.  He grew up in this community and married Joye, who also grew up here.  Their parental families both were both supportive members at Plainview church, but they were dissimilar in some ways. 

I think I'm right that Ellis' father was "in the lot" five times when Plainview ordained a minister (this means simply that church members nominated him--and at least one other person--five times to serve on their ministerial team, but each time someone else actually was chosen by the drawing of lots). His father also served for many years as a school board member, some of them through some tumultuous processes.  I think Ellis' father's record is relevant because it reveals the family atmosphere in which he grew up--one where his father had a public record revealing trust by his peers.  Ellis was privileged to observe how such a person behaves.

My main takeaway from all this obsession over who Ellis is or is not is that personal integrity and the ability to work well with others are absolutely primary qualifications for addressing adaptive challenges like directing a million dollar building project using donated funds.  Yet, my observation suggests that building and business experience are often mistakenly thought to be primary qualifiers for positional authority holders in a big building project.  If a building project were only a technical challenge, then granting positional authority to people who are skilled in applying technical solutions would make sense.  But a building project is so much more.  It is, in fact, in all but its final stages,  mostly an adaptive challenge that calls for adaptive approaches.

I'm still learning about adaptive approaches, and don't have a concise way of describing what is involved.  Stakeholders is one useful term that I recall.  It's another way of referring to the people who are involved in a project or are affected by it.  Stakeholders will either benefit or suffer from outcomes.  They will see in the outcomes things that reflect or betray their values.  They will feel included in the decision-making process or excluded.  They will feel affirmed or degraded.  If stakeholders have serious misgivings, they will either remain silent (or fall silent) or they will speak up and risk being ostracized for it.  Stakeholders often struggle with knowing when/how to provide input, and it can be discouraging to hear both "it's too early to decide that" and then later "it's too late to change that." 

Working across factions is another useful term related to adaptive work.  It means that no one gets to isolate themselves inside an echo chamber.  People with a variety of viewpoints will be admitted into the chamber and treated with respect while they are there.  Outcomes will be better on many fronts when this happens. 

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Doing a blog post about LRC may be foolhardy because of how early we still are in the class cycle.  What this means is that I may well look back and see that what I've written here reflects a too-limited perspective.  For those kinds of inadequacies--and others, I ask for forbearance. 

Having some newly-acquired vocabulary is a real turn-on for me.  Something deep inside me responds with delight when previously dimly-sensed feelings and undefined dynamics finally stumble onto words that match them, and they can be dragged into the light of day--and examination of them can be purposeful and productive.