Is your company, church or charity at risk of going the way of Blockbuster Video - and not in a good way? And how would you know?

What do I mean? Well, what do all these companies have in common?

• Blockbuster Video
• Toys “R” Us
• Kodak
• BlackBerry

Answer: They’re all either bankrupt or a shadow of their former selves. Why?

The world around them was changing rapidly, but they either didn’t see it coming or chose to ignore it. They refused to change.

And that’s the challenge for every organisation, whether you’re leading a business, charity, church or team.

In his book Managing Transitions, author William Bridges talks about the lifecycle of an organisation.

• Step 1 - Dreaming the dream:
  Capturing a vision for a different reality.
   
• Step 2 - Getting started:
  Having a go at doing something.
   
• Step 3 - Getting organised:
  Putting systems, structures and planning in place.
   
• Step 4 - Making it:
  Where those systems, structures and planning are enabling the work and bringing fruitfulness. 
   
• Step 5 - Becoming an institution:
  Oops! There's been a switch. Suddenly, you're serving those systems and structures, rather than allowing them to serve you.
   
• Step 6 - Closing in:
  You become increasingly focused on what’s happening within the organisation rather than what’s happening in the world around you. This is head-in-the-sand time.
  
  Think Blockbuster. They had the opportunity to respond to the changing world of video streaming, but failed to recognise the significance of what was happening around them.
  
  Think BlackBerry. They had a hugely successful product, but underestimated the significance of the smartphone revolution that was happening right under their noses.
  
  All this inevitably lead too....
   
• Step 7 - Dying:
  The world has changed, and you refused to adapt. Death is inevitable.

Bridges’ challenge is that when we start veering towards Step 5 (Becoming an institution), we need to refresh and return to Step 1-3:

• Re-dream the dream - let’s remind ourselves why we’re doing this.
• Get re-started - let’s kickstart some new things.
• Get re-organised - let’s make the necessary systems and structural changes so we can ‘make it’ again.

Sometimes the wisest leadership isn’t about protecting everything we’ve built. It’s about having the courage to ask whether what got us here will actually get us where we need to go next.

I can remember presenting these reflections on the organisational lifecycle to the Board of Trustees at Crusaders back in 2003.

We were definitely in decline, with fewer than 400 groups across the country. What we were offering was no longer scratching the itch of youth ministry. The world around us was changing, and we needed to change with it.

Change or die?

It was a tough chat. And a few more tough chats followed in the months afterwards.

But the Trustees agreed. So we re-dreamed, re-started and re-organised.
And, by the grace of God, the fruit spoke for itself.
By the time I left in 2018, there were more than 1,600 groups across the country.

Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for Trustees who were willing to face the reality of where we were, rather than simply protect what we had built.

It reminds me that sometimes the bravest thing a leader can do is to acknowledge that what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.

And then have the courage to do something about it.

Perhaps you’re reading this thinking, “This is all very well, but I’m not the leader. I don’t have the authority to change the organisation.”

You might not have the authority, but you probably have influence.

• You can ask questions.
• You can challenge assumptions.
• You can spot what others might be missing.
• You can experiment with new ideas.
• You can encourage those who do have authority to think differently.

And sometimes, change starts with one person who is willing to say:
“Let's notice what’s happening around us?”

You don’t need a title to bring influence. You don’t need to be the person at the top to help an organisation see what might be possible.

• So, where do you think your organisation, team or ministry is currently positioned on the organisational lifecycle?
• Are you leading the organisation you have, or the organisation you need to become?
• And if you don’t have the authority to make the changes yourself, what influence could you bring to help those who do?

Don’t miss the moment.

And if you’re passionate about navigating change with confidence, why not consider joining me for the Reboot Your Leadership experience, alongside a cohort of leaders from charity, church and business?

This could be the refresh moment you need, perhaps more than you realise.

Together, we’ll explore what it looks like to lead from a healthy identity, shape a life-giving culture, get the right stuff done, navigate change with confidence, build outstanding teams, have difficult conversations and lead for the long haul.

Maybe it’s time for a reboot?

Find out more HERE