The Pivot: Don’t Get Left Behind
Loriana Sekarski
Loriana Sekarski is the founder and president of BONSAI, a consulting company that transforms leaders (and businesses) into the best version of themselves. Outside of BONSAI, Loriana serves as an adjunct professor at Washington University's graduate student program. Additionally, she's fine-tuning her passion project, TakeFlight, a program that addresses domestic abuse within the Christian community.
How well is your organization pivoting? This is an essential skill for leaders, and it has become even more evident during COVID. Those organizations that have been able to pivot quickly to new strategies have remained viable. Those who pivoted late or not at all have struggled.
When we think about Jesus, He made pivoting an art form. His style with the different audiences matched their perspective and need. He provided the perfect approach that fit the people, the time, and the place where He was. The disciples also pivoted often in their ministries.
And isn’t salvation ultimately about our most important lifetime pivot?
A Tale of Three Churches
It has been interesting for us to closely observe three churches in different states that react differently to COVID. Two pivoted almost immediately to their new reality of having to meet the needs of their community via online ministry. Services, small groups, and other outreach remained intact but shifted to virtual connections. As a result, members remained engaged and connected. When their two states took very different approaches to re-opening, both churches again quickly pivoted as needed. One shifted back to in-person services without masks, and the other had to dive deeper into the virtual realm to remain relevant.
A third church took almost no action by closing its doors and seemingly hoping for the pandemic to be over quickly with a return to the status quo. That didn’t happen. They pivoted too late and didn’t make a big enough shift, which left programs fragmented and people unengaged.
Pivoting Requires a Willingness to Change
Reflecting on the best way to pivot leads right to Question 3 in Organic Outreach for Churches: Are the people in your church willing to sacrifice to the point that they will fully embrace change?
I think this is the most important question of the three because it is often the deal breaker. Pivoting by definition means you have to do something different, and that almost always requires sacrifice, even if that means sacrificing by getting out of your comfort zone. If your answer to the question was “no,” your pivot might be getting them to a “yes.”
Pivoting Requires Identifying, Planning, and Executing
Here are your next steps:
Step 1: Identifying the pivot
What shift do you or your organization need to make to remain relevant and focused on Organic Outreach during this season? It’s a good idea to examine this question in light of different timeframes. What needs to happen by year-end? By the middle of next year? For some, it might be starting Organic Outreach, and for others, it might be refreshing your programming in a way that makes it currently meaningful.
Pivoting by definition means you have to do something different, and that almost always requires sacrifice, even if that means sacrificing by getting out of your comfort zone.
Step 2: Planning your pivot
This is the strategic planning aspect. How will you accomplish this pivot? What resources do you need? Would joining an Organic Outreach cohort be helpful? Just like Nehemiah planned to rebuild the wall, you need to plan for the shift.
Step 3: Executing the pivot
Often the best planners are not the best at execution—I’ll raise my hand on that one. This is a completely different skill set requiring a gift of administration and a willingness to hold people accountable. Influencing skills are essential as well, and thus, this responsibility may be best divided among a couple of people with different abilities and gifts. Often people good at execution forget they need to get buy-in and engagement. Make sure you don’t leave out that piece.
Speed Matters More Than Size When Pivoting
In the tale of three churches, all have a membership of over 1000. The church that failed to pivot was actually in between the size of the other two churches. We have seen very large corporations pivot on a dime during COVID, and smaller ones fail to shift. We’ve also seen the opposite. Organizations of any size can pivot, but doing so successfully requires making some quick decisions.
Bold leadership, a fully engaged team, and clarity of mission are essential for speed. If any of these are missing, rectifying that situation may be a more critical next step for your organization than trying to jump straight to pivoting without the right foundation. When the next time to pivot comes, you will be ready.