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Whether it is Alexander Solzhenitsyn, N.S. Lyons, or Tod Bolsinger, the clarion call to the always burgeoning change leaders face is to PIVOT! PIVOT! \u00a0It is not that the presence of change is a new dynamic in this world. In Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change<\/em>, professor of leadership formation at Fuller Seminary, Tod Bolsinger, says \u201cthe key difference between today and leadership roles of the past is that the frequency and speed of change mean that leaders are almost constantly in a crucible moment\u2026today that crucible is the constancy of change.\u201d[1]<\/a> Todays reality for leaders is to garner what I call the \u201cpivot capacity\u201d, to be flexible in body, mind, and spirit to traverse the shifting grounds without losing one\u2019s well-differentiated identity while continuing to be connected to the community.<\/p>\n Bolsinger offers a blacksmithing metaphor for a process leaders can utilize to deepen their adaptability as leaders amid the crucible that is change.\u00a0 He outlines his process for tempered resilience in terms of what a blacksmith does to form a metal implement: Working<\/strong> (leaders are formed in leading), Heating<\/strong> (strength is forged in self-reflection), Holding<\/strong> (vulnerable leadership requires relation security), Hammering<\/strong> (Stress makes a leader), Hewing<\/strong> (resilience takes practice), and Tempering<\/strong> (resilience comes through a rhythm of leading and not leading). I liken his focus on how the stress that comes with change to Eva Poole\u2019s thought in Leadersmithing<\/em> that encourages leaders to intentionally put themselves into stressful situations in order to learn muscle memory for those extreme moments\u2019 leaders will inevitably find themselves; it builds strength and flexibility.<\/p>\n Bolsinger tethers his purpose of Tempered Resilience to help leaders be empowered to not have \u201ca failure of nerve\u201d[2]<\/a> and a \u201cfailure of heart\u201d[3]<\/a>.\u00a0 For a leader to navigate the crucible, one curates one\u2019s pivot capacity through intentional engagement with personal reflection, nurturing accountability in relationships, and leaning into purposeful balance of leading and sabbath making. For Bolsinger, to lead adaptive change in a community requires the leader to have a grounded identity (know that he\/she is first and foremost loved by God no matter what), and a teachable, listening, tenacious, and adaptable character.[4]<\/a> The leader must be vulnerable to shout to themselves \u201cPivot! Pivot!\u201d<\/p>\n Pondering my NPO and my role as a leader in a new context, I ask myself, what can I take away from Tempered Resilience<\/em>? Bolsinger states several times through his book that leadership isn\u2019t necessarily one person\u2019s job.\u00a0 He concurs with Friedman that a leader is anyone who is cognizant of ones own emotional process and remains self-differentiated and self-regulated all the while working to move the community forward even amid resistance. If I am going to take this charge seriously, I must create a space for others in the community to employee the same forging process.\u00a0 \u201cAdaptive change only occurs when the work is \u2018given back to the people\u2026adaptive change comes because the community, the group, the team, the institution, the organization, the congregation take responsibility for their transformation and begin to change\u2019\u201d.[5]<\/a> \u00a0But the struggle is real for individuals and community alike to engage in adaptive change.\u00a0 I think of the rich man who comes to Jesus in the Gospel of Mark and asks what he needs to do to inherit the kingdom.\u00a0 Jesus looks at him and loves him and then challenges him to adaptive change, \u201cOne thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.\u201d[6]<\/a> The awareness of loss was too much for the rich man.\u00a0 It is the case for many people of faith when facing the crucible.\u00a0 Bolsinger encourages leaders to frame change not as a loss of identity but as a growth\/deepening of who we are and who we believe God has called us to be.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n Another take away for me is the importance of sabbath in the process of nurturing resiliency. Bolsinger references the pattern of fitness training.\u00a0 An athlete gains strength and flexibility through the process \u201cstress-recover-improve\u201d[8]<\/a> For my personal reflection on this thought, I have recognized my 4 weeks away from leadership has been restorative and provided areas of growth in the challenges.\u00a0 In particular, the 3 weeks spent in South Africa has afforded me copious time to reflect honestly with myself and with ladies I have come to trust deeply.\u00a0 Bolsinger reminds me of the deep value of sabbath.\u00a0 But not just for myself. How do I nurture an integration of sabbath as a priority for the community I serve?\u00a0 What are ways we can live into a balance of leading and sabbath together? What are the effective ways to communicate the importance of \u201cwhy\u201d in the ongoing crucible?<\/p>\n \u201c[Resiliency] is formed over a long period before the crisis of testing so that it can continue the transformation during the moment of challenge\u201d[9]<\/a> Resiliency is most assuredly hard won. Remembering that adaptive change is not only about my change or the change of leaders of the church, but the need for organizational culture to adapt is important for pivot capacity.\u00a0 I am guessing my shouting \u201cPivot! Pivot!\u201d to the community will need nuancing.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Bolsinger, Tod. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change<\/em>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020. Page 56.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Bolsinger references Edwin Friedmans, A Failure of Nerve<\/em>, a number of times throughout the book. Bolsinger depends on Friedman\u2019s ideas around anxiety that is the impetus of resistance to change.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Bolsinger, Tod. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change<\/em>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020. Page 29.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid. Page 207.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a>Ibid. \u00a0Page 215.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a>Foundation, The Lockman. NASB<\/em> Large Print Compact Bible, Brown, Leathertex, 2020 Text. The Lockman Foundation, 2021. Gospel of Mark 10:17-27.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Bolsinger, Tod. Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change<\/em>. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2020. Page 177.<\/p>\n