Some days I hate working out. I feel tired, maybe it is too hot, maybe I am just feeling lazy. Whatever the reason, I have to choose to overcome the obstacles I face, if I want to be healthy. I have been working out for decades and have the good habits of working out continually. So, imagine how hard it is to get in shape after years of couch-potato living. Maybe you need a jumpstart, so you decide to spend money on a top-notch personal trainer to get back in shape. The trainer can demonstrate perfect form, design killer workouts, and cheer you on - but reality hits home when you realize that they can't do the push-ups for you. 

All the hard work it takes to gradually get in shape? It's all on you. If you're out of shape, no amount of expert advice substitutes for your own commitment to change and diligence in working out. The same goes for Catholic leaders: We can't just "fix" our communities with top-down expertise. In fact, we can't fix anyone else either. We can't believe for anyone else. We can't get baptized for anyone else. We can't serve for anyone else. This is why "I can't do the push-ups for you!" means something deeper. 

Only you can say "yes" to Jesus for you. You only control yourself. So, as much as we might want conversion for others, if we don't seek it out consistently for ourselves, we can't expect others to do the same. Is is very true that often we are the ones needing transformation ourselves - conversion - to lead effectively. Just as you can't give what you don't have, you can't convert others is you aren't converted yourself. Becoming a great leader rarely happens quickly or easily. We know that institutional change is even harder.

Ronald Heifetz is a Lecturer in Leadership at Harvard and has written about what it takes to lead change. He writes about the difference between technical change leadership vs. adaptive change leadership.

1. Technical challenges are straightforward - The church van breaks down and needs to go to a mechanic, we have to work on balancing the parish budget, you must hire a new Director of Music, etc.

2. Adaptive challenges? They are harder to figure out and do, because they demand deeper shifts in values, habits, and relationships, pushing each of us to adapt amid discomfort. 

The trap? Treating the adaptive challenges as technical problems. In parishes, technical solutions keep things status quo: maybe it means starting a new small group initiative or tweaking the website. With these issues, you can easily do them yourselves or hire experts for quick wins. There is a problem and it has a solution. These are the things that most Catholic leaders believe they are hired to do, but they don't really require great leadership.

You have a low youth turnout? Swap schedules or programs. Start something new. Partner with a youth apostolate. You figure it out and do something different.

These work for surface stuff. But for a disengaged flock or lack of evangelization, they're like Band-Aids on a broken bone—temporary relief, no healing. We are called to be something more, to be a transformed missionary Church, and merely adding the easy fix won't cut it without personal conversion. Culture stays the same if all we have in our toolbelt is technical change leadership.

ADAPTIVE CHANGE

Adaptive change leadership isn't just about having the right answers—it's about asking the tough questions that stirs prayer and then ultimately leads us to internal transformation. In faith we call this "metanoia" - the change that turns hearts to Jesus. It mobilizes the community, embracing the struggles for the purpose of ultimate growth. 

Here are some examples of real parish challenges and ways of approaching them:

• How do we re-engage the fallen-away Catholic? What about those that never come to Mass? 

  • Technical change response - We start an evangelization committee, launch a new program that evangelizes for us, and market those things to the parish.

  • Adaptive change response - We start to interview and listen to people who have recently returned to Mass and what drew them back (or those that still don't go), challenge our assumptions about why people leave, ditch outdated programs that don’t work for modern people, & start to discern what might work for the individuals we are trying to reach. We let the Holy Spirit guide us and we honestly start to ask what we are willing to do / change / give in order to help save the lost. Then we act by evangelizing others before we try and launch anything within the parish.

• We seem to be two parishes in one (some speak English and some speak Spanish) so how do we foster unity?: 

  • Technical change response - Provide Bilingual Resources: bulletins, hymnals, and signage in both languages. We equip staff and volunteers with basic language skills via short courses. Hire bilingual coordinators for mixed events to facilitate on-the-spot interpretation. Then we host occasional bilingual events with headsets for simultaneous translation or visual aids.
    

  • Adaptive change response - Bring leaders of both groups together to talk with one another, pray together for the Holy Spirit to break through the divide, learn to discern God’s voice together, & then do whatever God leads you to do. We might try to experiment, discern feedback in diverse groups: What deepened communion? Embrace tension as the Spirit's refining fire. We don't fear the changes that might need to happen, the barriers that need to be broken, the difficult conversations we need to have, or even the ways in which we need to repent. Why? Because it is worth the cost.

• We have too few volunteers for the number of people in our parish. How do we get more?

  • Technical change response - The staff or key leaders make a call for more volunteers through announcements and media. We start to try and match gifts of the volunteers to needs of the parish. We share stories of people that have stepped up and found community and growth in the process of volunteering.
    

  • Adaptive change response - Uncover hidden barriers like busyness, fear of commitment, or feeling unqualified—often tied to spiritual dryness. Build relationships and challenge assumptions with deep questions, such as “What if serving isn't a duty, but a path to deeper joy in Christ?” Help lead others to deeper conversion through deep relationships that take time and commitment, which leads to more community-based friendships. Make a radical call to not only follow Jesus but to be co-responsible for the work it takes in spreading the Gospel to others. We then charitably call others into a life of servant leadership.

Why make this shift? Because you're not just running an institution—you're serving individuals who have a heavenly destiny. Adaptive leaders choose conversion over convenience. But, here is the kicker…you can’t expect someone else to get healthy if you aren’t willing to do the same.

So, where do you need conversion? 

Where are you stuck in a technical rut in your leadership? 

Where do you need to grow? 

What can you do to become a more adaptive vs technical change leader? 

At Catholic Missionary Disciples, we focus on helping you become a better leader by being a better missionary disciple first. We can’t do the push-ups for you, but we can inspire, equip, and help hold you accountable. We can help you become an adaptive change leader. Find out more here.