Gritty leadership: How to stick it out, when you’re stuck (part 1)

Bob Whitesel Dec. 15, 2022

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Recently Angela Duckworth, in her thought-provoking TED talk and accompanying book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, has reminded business leaders of the role of "grit" in long-term leadership success.

Such perseverance seems to be reflected in church research as well. Professor and researcher Charles Arn cites research that, "Approximately three-fourths of their growing churches were being led by pastors who had been in their churches more than four years, while two-thirds of their declining churches were being led by pastors who had been in their churches less than four years. Their conclusion (with which I, Charles Arn, agree): Long-term pastorates do not guarantee that a church will grow. But short-term pastorates essentially guarantee that a church will not grow."

But what if you're stuck and ready to give up? What if you're tired, fed up with what you're doing and ready to throw in the towel? I would say that the majority of my consultations over the 30+ years have been with pastors in this quandary. I've learned there are five things you can do to stick it out when you're feeling stuck. Here are the first two.

1. Try something similar, but new.

This means vary your tactics or your strategy, but don't veer too far off your previous course. This allows you to work with some of the people and procedures you've been utilizing. But by adjusting the direction a bit, you create some newness. Newness creates excitement and creates new buy-in. You'll also find new people will join your project, because even a little newness offers new volunteer opportunities.

One church had an annual "yard sale" in their parking lot. The members of the church had mostly moved out of the area and came from a higher socioeconomic level than people in the community. Therefore, they offered many good items for sale and the people in the community appreciated the opportunity. But over the years the yard sale declined in popularity and the pastor become discouraged. She knew it was the major outreach to the community and in the past the community appreciated it. But it was an increasing headache because the same group of church volunteers ran it every year. The pastor and I interviewed community members and they gave us a new perspective on the yard sale. "Instead of having a fixed-price sale, why don't you have a pay-what-you-want price?" one neighbor asked. She continued, "We aren't as wealthy of a community as we once were." Another resident suggested, "You could have a backpack giveaway with school supplies for children at the yard sale too." The church leaders took what they were already doing with a parking lot sale, changed it a little and added a new aspect of free backpacks which created a new energy for the event. This reenergized the church.

2. Accomplish something, even if it is small.

John Kotter, famed Harvard professor of management, noticed in the thousands of student papers he read, that change that was usually successful was when small changes were celebrated before big changes were implemented. This is because when people see small things accomplished it gives them a sense of enthusiasm and validation about longer-term changes.

If you're stuck, find something small you can accomplish and celebrate that accomplishment. This takes the focus away from where you're stuck and emphasizes progress toward a goal, even if it is small progress.

One client had relegated the Hispanic congregation to a small cafe upstairs in an outlying building on the church campus. The Hispanic church leaders asked if they could move into the gymnasium adjacent to the sanctuary. However, the youth program was holding a youth service in the gymnasium at that time. A small change was to ask the youth leaders to relinquish the gym on fifth Sundays. The youth leadership agreed and switched sites with the Hispanic church.

Surprisingly, both youth and Hispanic congregations began to grow in their new environments. Soon the every-fifth Sunday change was permanent. The Hispanic church had a bigger venue in which to grow. And, the youth program had a more intimate cafe venue in which they likewise grew.

In part 2 of this article we will discuss why if you are stuck you may need to "change up your support system" or "look further ahead."

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

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