Being unsure of how to begin implementing change in your organization or church can be exhausting and frustrating. But here’s the thing, it can be more fun than you imagine. I’m going to walk you through the 5-step strategy for making the right sustainable changes the first time.

We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. Whether we like it or not, it’s the truth. People’s needs and wants are changing. Supply and demand are uncertain, even for things like toilet paper and cleaning products. I believe, and studies reveal, that this demands continuous organizational change so that we can continue to meet or exceed the expectations of those we serve.

The night before the 2014 Madison Ironman, I was sitting on the shore of Lake Monona contemplating signing up for the 2015 race. I was incredibly undecided, but maybe not for the reason you’re thinking.

I was leading my group coaching call when I heard the comment “This is going so slow, how do I get people to follow me? Will things ever change?” Can you relate?

As the cultural managers of their churches, there are three timeless and placeless attributes of leaders who successfully foster cultures in which people eagerly participate in the ideation, development, and implementation of new ideas. Part 3 of this 4-part series covered the first two: risk-taking and trust-building.

In the first part of this 4-part series, we looked at why millions of people worldwide are leaving our churches and Christianity as they know it, but also how Jesus eliminated all the barriers to the Gospel. In the second part, we looked at the role church leaders play in fostering innovative church cultures that provide significant positive change in people’s lives. And the three timeless and placeless attributes of leaders who successfully foster cultures in which people eagerly participate in the ideation, development, and implementation of new ideas!

In Part 1 of this 4-Part series, we looked at why millions of people worldwide are leaving our churches and Christianity as they know it. We also saw how Jesus eliminated all the barriers to the Gospel and that the same needs to be said of our churches today. So what role do church leaders play in fostering innovative church cultures that provide significant positive change in people’s lives?

As Christ-followers, we dream of being part of a Gospel movement that not only transforms people’s lives but the world around us. And yet, the world over, ministries are shrinking, and church attendance is declining. From the inside looking out, it appears that there are more time-consuming, inferior activities than ever creating overloaded schedules and leaving us increasingly frustrated with the demands of contemporary culture.

What does failure do to you? Does it stop you in your tracks, make you walk back 2 steps, or invite you to lean in and learn? When things don’t turn out the way we expect, and we ‘fail,’ if we turn this inward and believe that we are therefore a failure, we ultimately hold ourselves back from everything we were created to be and do in our generation. And we certainly will never embrace ‘failures’ as the necessary element of sustained success that they are.

Our dreams for our organizations, products, and services go long into the future. Whether or not we get there depends in large part on what we do with feedback. Being around for the long haul means we must, as my dad would say, continually meet or exceed our customers’ expectations. The last thing we want to do is over-promise and under-deliver. Nothing is more aggravating to customers than feeling like they were not told the whole truth (be it about costs, timelines, quality, etc.).