I just returned from a trip to Israel. I have led several tours there in the past and this one was doubtless the very best ever. Why? Two of the main reasons have to do with people. First, we were paired up with a wonderful guide. When he met us at the airport on the very first day he said, "You are now my family for the next 12 days!" That set the tone. We were indeed family. In the past I have enjoyed other equally knowledgeable guides but this one had the advantage of being very much people oriented.
The second reason for the success of our tour was that the travelers all related to one another well. There was genuine caring. Concerns for extended family health issues, offers of cell phone use, assisting others when the steps became a challenge to some, were a few examples of caring that took place. At the end, reunions were planned and hopes of another tour somewhere else were expressed. The people liked each other and wanted to be together.
Permit me to introduce two words that may possibly be new to you. They relate to the matter of working with people. One is Modalism and the other is Sodalism. Modalism is about structure and the sustaining of an institution. Under modalism people are not very important. Whether admitted or not, preserving the institution is all that really matters in a modalistic system. Sadly, I am convinced that the government at most levels, industry, and churches and denominations, have become excessively modalistic. For example, do you really believe we will ever see a major paradigm shift in how taxes are collected? Not very likely! There are far too many structures and committees that would become obsolete. Politicians would be out of jobs and more importantly they would lose power and influence. Similarly in the church world, many people become disillusioned because they do not desire simply to keep the mechanisms and gears of the institution functioning. Modalism is a major reason for the disaffection and cynicism that pervades our society today.
Sodalism on the other hand, is mission focused. I would argue that focusing on mission essentially equals focusing on people.
I have spent much of my adult life in the administration of churches. I noticed that when a new church is begun, it is very much in a sodalistic frame of mind. The congregants meet often to discuss, eat, play, plan, work, and dream together. After about 5 or 7 years (students of this phenomenon have varying opinions) a sad change takes place. Slowly but surely meeting together becomes much more infrequent. When meetings take place it is more and more to” grease” and maintain the machinery of the church. Initially, most everyone in the church has the keys to the building. This works well. Over time however, more people join. No one seems to know who has or who does not have keys anymore. Security now becomes a problem. A manual is needed and a policy must be established concerning who is authorized to have keys to the church. Do you see the picture? Modalism is becoming entrenched.
Business is no different. Mom’s and Pop’s who pioneer a business are usually in a sodalistic mode. It is all about people and the mission of the business. Over time, and often when the second generation takes over, the initial vision and mission become blurred. It is a sad but perhaps inevitable shift. Or is it? An organization with which I work at present is spending time to revisit its original mission. They have not done this for a long time. I believe they may well come back to what set them apart at the very beginning. People will begin to matter more again.
Obviously order and structure are necessary. It is imperative to have constitutions, job descriptions, operational manuals, and so on. I am not arguing against structure. To do so would be to invite chaos. I am arguing that we must be wary and alert to keep structure in their proper place. They are means to a much greater end. Structure is by no means the end itself.
As you look at your business, your school, your church--- what mode do you believe you are in? Are you mission and people focused? Is there a sense of community present among your employees? How do you view your employees? Are you keenly conscious that they are people with families, hobbies, aging parents, growing infants, dreams of their own?
Want to talk about it? I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at rick@icarecoaching.com or use the contact portion of my website www.icarecoaching.com.
Rick Penner
Copyright, 2007
www.icarecoaching.com
