(I pulled this post and the next subsequent posts off Eric Swanson’s blog who took it from Marc van der Woude’s blog http://marcsmessages.typepad.com)
Stimulating Movements
The rekindling of vision is an art more than a science but the following principles will help.
Realism necessary.
Renewing organisations is hard work and history and time tend to be against you. The renewal process requires the presence of creative people who are easily crushed by rigid structures and who tend not to have the patience for the long haul. You may need to protect some of these creative people by developing areas of experimentation where the normal rules of the organisation do not apply.
Spiritual passion.
The key issue at the beginning phase of renewal is not large numbers but passion and creativity. A small team with high levels of energy is worth much more than high levels of resource.
Look to the margins.
It is very rare for organisations to be renewed from the centre. If you happen to be at the centre, then look to the margins of your organisation for signs of life and nurture them. Give those on the margins permission, encouragement and legitimacy such that eventually the centre can be redefined in terms of the life that exists on the edge.
Live the dream.
It is vital to create the kind of teams that manifest in their working relationships something of the dream that they advocate. By living out what you seek to become you establish healthy DNA for the future.
Spiritual strength.
The desire to do something different requires that leaders understand what they are up against. Organisations can have a life of their own, a personality that is bigger than the sum total of the individuals involved. Bringing change to organisations requires the spiritual strength to address that developed organisational personality.
Leadership is the key.
The recruitment and training of more leaders than you can ever use yourself is the key to the growth of movements. The lack of leadership development operates as the glass ceiling on the growth of every organisation. Developing innovative leadership training systems must be a high priority.
Kingdom focus.
The line between the Kingdom of God and personal empire is all too fine a line on occasion. Keep a strong Kingdom focus if you want to attract and keep those who have the capacity to generate movement.
Cheating history.
To turn an organisation around so that it becomes again a movement is to cheat history. Be audacious enough to declare that this is what you are daring to do.
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