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Champions Fax Archive
by Dr. Harold Westing Volume 3, Number 21, October 19, 1998 When an interventionist works with a congregation or a leadership team, it is critical that he or she not only studies carefully what is going to be said to the audience but how it is going to be said. How the interventionist is going to communicate the message will determine the role he or she is going to play. You cannot ask a fish to analyze water; they are too much a part of it. In the same way, you cannot ask a congregation to truly see themselves because they are too much a part of their environment. An interventionist is one who sees and comprehends the situation thoroughly from an objective point of view and can analyze the situation thoroughly to make appropriate recommendations to deal with the congregation. In his book, Management of Organizational Behavior, Ken Blanchard would call this situational leadership. His recommendation is that you first determine the readiness level of the people before you step into a leadership role. The readiness level is determined by the leader's comprehension of the recipient's ability and willingness to hear the messages and to interact with the issues that need to be dealt with. Determine readiness. An interventionist needs to determine if the group is too immobile, hurt, or drained to move. If so, he or she will have to take a significantly different role as an interventionist. Can the congregation hear the hard messages that need to be spoken? Do they have the strength to face the issues and become engaged in the implementation process that will follow the recommendations? Are there key leaders within the congregation that possess the leadership skills necessary to implement the recommendations? Once the readiness level is determined, then a decision be made about which role the interventionist will play. Since most of us have one dominant style of leadership, we may also have one style of intervening. If that is the case, then perhaps as much as 50% of the time we will be playing the wrong role. The interventionist could literally immobilize the person, congregation or group he or she is trying to help. In fact, the congregation may be wounded rather than encouraged and brought to wholeness. Dr. Harold Westing is the Director of the Center for Leadership Development in Englewood, Colorado and can be reached by phone at 303.770.8214. There is limited space available for the Gathering of Champions event in Dallas, Texas, January 10-12, 1999. The deadline date for the discounted conference fee of $175 is November 1, 1998. After November 1, 1998, the conference fee is $225. To register, call 888.LEADNET.
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