Andy Stanley, of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, is next in my series on the 2010 Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. The topic was foreign to me, as I have always tended to resolve tensions and keep my personal space as a “zero drama zone”. I was quite proud of my problem solving and conflict resolution skills. Apparently, he had something important to learn.
Andy began by stating that in every organization there are problems that should not be resolved and tensions that should not be resolved. He piqued my curiosity, but I didn’t expect to be convinced of this. Andy’s point was that if you resolve these tensions, you will only be creating new and different tensions, thus creating a barrier to progress. In simpler terms, moving from one stress to the next keeps you focused on the stresses rather than the future. Progress depends on successful management of these tensions.
Obviously there are some issues that need to be resolved. The hard part is figuring out which problems or tensions need to be handled and which problems or tensions need to be resolved. Andy also had some key insights to discern that, and these are the questions he suggested we explore when we need to determine which category a problem or stress falls into.
Is this a problem or a tension that keeps resurfacing? Problems that exist in the background and keep popping up over and over again may be based on personal preference or style. People will always have different opinions on some topics, and finding creative ways to accommodate different styles can go a long way toward developing programs that will appeal to the majority of your target audience. These are tensions you want to maintain and manage, not resolve.
Are there mature defenders on both sides? When there are, it naturally follows that these are two valid schools of thought. There is not always a right way and a wrong way. Sometimes there are just two or more different strategies to achieve the same goal.
Are the two (or more) sides really interdependent? The concerns of those who market a product, service, or idea are very different from those of the people who produce or deliver that product, service, or idea. In this case, the tension is simply the result of each party’s inability to connect with the role played by the others. I’ve certainly experienced this, in organizations where sales, technical support, customer service, and management seem to always be at odds with each other, blaming the other departments for all the tension being felt in their own department.
Problem solving and conflict resolution is not always the best course of action. According to Andy, strong and ultimately successful leaders will harness tensions to the benefit of the organization while providing value to all parties. They will not make decisions based on their own personal bias and will not let strong personalities win the day. It is a constant leveraging of one and then the other, finding a rhythm rather than looking for a balance.
Of all the speakers at the summit, Andy Stanley was definitely the hardest to understand. I have reviewed my notes many times and continue to find a useful nugget of wisdom with each return. I have discovered once again that when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Through the teachings of Andy Stanley, I know that I am becoming a very wise leader.
Are you ready to dig deeper and hone your leadership skills? You should be. Great leadership is in great demand!
