"CO-CREATING" THE SPACE FOR CHANGE

Health Progress, May/Jun 2006 by Buck, Kevin, McPherson, Beth

Through Dialogue, Ministry Leaders Will Find Confidence to Move into the Future

It was a sunny afternoon in late January when this article's authors kicked off the Senior Mission Leadership Forum for 2006 in San Antonio, attended by a group of system mission leaders from across the United States and Canada. In making the opening presentation, Kevin Buck, a consultant, drew upon the trinitarian concept of "distinct but not separate" as a context for the work the group would be doing over the next few days.

The other author, Beth McPherson of St. Joseph Health System (SJHS), Orange, CA, laid the groundwork for the work to be done in the meeting. That work concerns dialogue-but dialogue employed not just as a technique from the mission leader's toolkit but, rather, as a skill that is foundational to any successful organizational-development intervention. We would demonstrate why dialogue should be seen as invaluable in all organizational conversations, ranging from strategic planning and budgeting to conflict management and coaching. In the end, we would introduce an integrative process that can help organizations "co-create" themselves.

The authors were graced in the forum by the wonderful enthusiasm and zeal of the participants and by the artwork of Sr. Anne Sekul, RSM, a talented cartoonist who captured some of the different themes we were discussing. Our goal in writing this article is to invite readers to join a deeper dialogue concerning the distinct but not separate elements that are most influential for mission leadership in Catholic health care.

COURAGE TO "LET Go"

How will the next generation of Catholic health care leaders go about extending the healing ministry of Jesus? What will motivate them? What must we who want to help them do to facilitate this transition? What will ministry leaders need to take with them into the future-and what will they need to leave behind-to guide Catholic health care? These are some of the questions that must be answered in an ongoing dialogue as ministry leaders co-create the space for change.

If Catholic health care leaders are to have the virtues and skills necessary to carry the mission forward, they will need the courage to let go of old ways of doing things and create a space for change. This is the cycle of Paschal mystery-life, death, and new life.

The cycle we've described is reminiscent of a scenario concerning a family-owned business. The father had started and "grown" the business and was now giving the reigns to his son as CEO. The problem was that the father, who was the chairman of the board, still had an office in the company headquarters. His continuing presence created all kinds of role confusion among employees: Whom should they honor as the leader? During a company retreat, it became clear to the father that he needed to "create the space" for the transition by retiring. His concern was that he knew so much from running the business for close to 20 years-he feared that all this wisdom would be lost to the company if he retired.

A consultant assured the father that his son would always have the option of turning to him for advice. If the father retired, he was told, the son would learn and operate the business through trial and error-just as the father had done in the first place. The father did retire. And his courage in creating the space for the transition gave his son space to finally lead with confidence and competence. The organizational reality is that people co-create the space where courage lives and thrives.

"EVEN GREATER WORKS"

Do Catholic health care leaders believe that their best is in our past? The past is an incredible legacy of courageous women and men. Yet current leaders must believe that the best of their ministry is still in front of them. Great courage and spirit are necessary in beginning any ministry. However, a different courage and spirit are required to continue that ministry in the belief that those who do so are empowered to achieve even greater things. Those who serve the Catholic health ministry need to believe and act as if this were true.

The scriptural verse that has lately seemed especially significant to the authors is John 14:12: " I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works." When we look at the life of Jesus, we see a pretty impressive body of work. It's difficult for even a believing Christian to believe that he or she could perform the same works, let alone even greater ones. But Catholic health care leaders need to believe that they can do the same and even better works in forwarding the healing ministry of Jesus. We who seek to help them must let them know that we believe with them through our presence and actions.

If we ask leaders to be courageous, then we need to give them even,' opportunity to do so. It has become quite clear to those of us who work in the leadership development field that we must honor not only the doing of leadership but also the being. "A new kind of leadership is called for," say the theorist Peter M. Senge and his colleagues.1 "If you want to be a leader, you have to be a real human being. You must recognize the true meaning of life before you can become a great leader. You must understand yourself first." In order to understand yourself, you must practice reflection. There is really no other way.