This was the conclusion of a long worded statement of a newscaster on a popular television station in response to a story trending in the media of the misdeeds of a well know preacher, who has been christened \u201cThe mighty prophet of God\u201d by his followers. The newscaster was angry at the \u201cman of God\u201d and his ways of taking advantage of his flock to \u201cenrich himself\u201d and therefore took it upon himself to generalize and condemned all evangelical preachers as the same and should be tamed by imposing strict government regulation on all religious organizations, especially the church. In his words, these \u201cevangelical vampires\u201d should be tamed and the government should move with speed to protect it\u2019s gullible citizens from being \u201cextorted\u201d by these errant preachers. He gave examples of how over 6,000 churches were closed in Rwanda when the the current president ordered regulatory measures on churches. He makes reference to the past where the Rwandan president decided to regulate churches and goes automatically to the realm of the probable to recommend the same remedy for a \u201csimilar\u201d situation in our country. In my mind, I see a much more complex situation that requires new thinking to come up with a better solution which is one of the reasons I chose my dissertation topic of financial literacy. I\u2019m persuaded that the problem is more complex and not just about rogue preachers and calls for new thinking to come up with a lasting solution.<\/p>\n
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As I listened to this young journalist, I could identify with his anger but I could not also help but be judgmental of him for his universal condemnation of all the evangelical preachers and use of such derogative and abusive language to call them vampires. He has definitely drawn equal ire and anger from the preachers and other concerned Christians, who feel that he overstepped his mandate and that his suggestions of direct government regulation, borders on infringement of the religious rights that are enshrined in the constitution.\u00a0 The churches would prefer a self regulation mechanism within the existing church leadership structures where the a private regulatory body would be managed by religious leaders without government interference<\/p>\n
I however realized as I read the book simple Habits for Complex Times[1]<\/sup><\/a> that we are all prone to default to \u201cone key mistake we make, to fill in the Connection between cause and effect with very little data\u201d[2]<\/sup><\/a> and make hasty decisions or judge other people. As Berger highlights the default mindset[3]<\/sup><\/a> that most leaders have is \u201cPeople are the problem\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a> and the \u201csupervisor has the super-vision\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a> mindsets where the leader is quick to point out the problem but also gives the answer to the problem with part of the data. Berger awakens us to the reality of the day that we no longer live in times that are predictable where the cause and effect linear model makes it easy as leader to make decisions and communicate a clear and predictable vision of the future. Things are a little more complex and a little more overwhelming than one would like, as a leader you\u2019ve to balance the needs of more people and there\u2019s volatility of perspective than it used to be before, change is happening faster than we can cope with.[6]<\/sup><\/a> She points to the fact there is a universal rise of volatility, ambiguity, complexity, uncertainty (VUCA) and its everywhere and coping with these changes requires new ways of making sense of the world and taking action to make a difference.[7]<\/sup><\/a> This book is an eye opener for me and I can relate to my current context as the CEO of our ministry organization. We\u2019re currently facing challenges in our child sponsorship IT system and I realized how as a management team we\u2019re looking for a solution in the realm of the probable rather than being open to the possible. I\u2019m glad that now I can lead my team in being open to looking for more solutions Beyond the simple probable model by: determining what\u2019s predictable and what\u2019s not, and lean in to leading in unpredictable settings; create a feedback-rich organization in which we can constantly learn together the areas that need change; objectively choosing of a direction and building of necessary guardrails; objectively examining of the present, and look for attractors; creation of a safe-to-fail Experiment and learning environment; Communicating clearly in uncertain times; and intentionally develop a growth mindset across the organization.[8]<\/sup><\/a> This approach will thus create and a conducive environment for successful change and growth across the organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Jennifer Garvey Berger & Keith Johnson.\u00a0 Simple Habits For Complex Times: Powerful Practices For Leaders. <\/em>Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 2015.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid., pg 36.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid., pg 63<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Barry Jentz & Joan Wofford. Talk Sense: Communicating To Lead and Learn, <\/em>Acton, MA, Research for Better Teaching. 2007<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Robert Kegan & Lisa Lacey. How The Way We Talk, Can Change The Way We Work: Seven Languages For Transformation. <\/em>San Francisco, CA, Jossy-Bass. 2001.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Jennifer Garvey Berger & Keith Johnson.\u00a0 Simple Habits For Complex Times: Powerful Practices For Leaders. <\/em>Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 2015.. pg 1<\/p>\n