#Tribes – Day 20 – Sheepwalking
I am taking part in a group blogging project about Seth Godin’s Book Tribes over at Church Crunch. We each are taking a section of Seth’s book and jotting down our thoughts…leading the discussion for the day. My day has finally come!
Long before Seth Godin assembled the book Tribes, long before he actually wrote the entry on his blog about Sheepwalking, there was The Far Side cartoonist, Gary Larson. From time to time, I find myself in a situation that brings one of his cartoons to mind. It was the same this time. I remembered this one cartoon when the one heretic sheep is standing amongst the flock. “Wait! Wait! Listen to me!… We don’t HAVE to be just sheep!”
Seth defines sheepwalking as:
The outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them brain-dead jobs and enough fear to keep them in line….in our age of increased reliance on new ideas, rapid change, and innovation, sheepwalking is actually on the rise….when we go to hire that labor, we search for people who have already been trained to be sheeplike.
So, I believe the goal of this little blogging project is to discuss how we can apply some of the leadership principles of Tribes to our personal circles, ministries, and the local Church.
While I try not to sheepwalk, there are always those cases when my time, talent, and treasure is unable to be fully engaged in the event or project and this in turn results in me sheepwalking during that event. I’m gonna do just enough to get us through. Maybe I’ll take notes so that next time we can do something more dynamic or with greater impact. Maybe next time we’ll take some risks and push the creativity to a different level.
If you’re like me, next time ends up looking a lot like this time.
Then… there are those times where I can tell that entire groups of our organization is sheepwalking. In attempts to fill the gaps with volunteers, we decide that the only requisite factor is whether or not you can fog a mirror. We get sheep, because we basically tell them, “We just need sheep.” I wonder what would happen if we were to set the bar a little higher and give them freedom to do amazing things. The fact of the matter is, there are people who have gifts that I just don’t have.
I’m reminded of an example recently where one of our senior members realized that one of the “fancy” chairs in the lobby had a rip in the fabric. Me… I don’t truly know what to do with that. Him… well it turns out that he used to be a seamstress (is that the masculine term for it) at General Motors. He took it upon himself to fix that rip. He chose not to be a sheepwalker as he took the gifts and passions that he had and used it as a love offering to God and the Church.
So how do you manage to fight the sheepwalking tendencies that affect us all?
this is great stuff.
i've had a number of these jobs before… so i know what this is like.
i wasn't sure at the time what the answer was or should have been… but, i left those places.
perhaps that's one answer.
Which is why we should build up those around us who are going through rough times and situations. They may realize that they are in a job that will not allow them the opportunity to take risks and it will discourage them. We need to be there to encourage them that they do have value and talents that need to be used for great things.
Andy, Great stuff to think about.
I'm volunteer family advocate in the mental health world. Now, there's a world that's tries to herd cats around like sheep. It finally took passing a new funding law to force mental health professionals to get out of the sheepfold.
People with a serious mental illness, by virtue of the fact their brains operate differently, cannot follow the "normal" path. Prior to the new funding law in California, professionals tried to mold these folks into sheep: Become stable on medication, get business clothes, cut hair & cover up tats, go on an interview for a job that's boring, work hard to advance from floor sweeper to floor mopper.
I've listened as social workers have marveled at allowing their clients choose their own way, rather than trying to make sheep out of them. Allowing their clients to take a route that fits them, go on the interview before stabilization and business clothes, applying for the CEO position, and showing off the most recent tat to prospective employer, was awe-inspiring. Allowing the cats to be cats, rather than trying to herd them as sheep, has allowed each one to take hold of their own future, take authority over their lives, and take on the task of recovery in their own way.
Do we do the same thing in our churches and other Christian organizations? As we move through life, do we try to make others into the sheep of 20 years ago? Am I just being a shepherd – meaning am I trying to force cats to become sheep? I need to think about these questions myself.
There's so much to ponder in today's section and Andy's post.
OT: Even though I'm on staff with an organization that is stuck in "that's how we've always done it," like Seth I love what I do. I'm a writer/speaker. Few people get to have jobs that not only allows them to use their gifts on the job, but allows time to pursue those gifts away from the job. I may rant and rave about dragging some of the "leaders" into the 21st century, but I couldn't do what I do elsewhere. I'm blessed.
Thanks Susan, you have a very interesting take for sure on this topic. I can only imagine your world and the barriers you have to institute change. Thanks for what you do.
Good post Andy. Thanks,
I think we can err by thinking that the need is the call or by figuring that someone else will do something. In either case, we lose focus and impact. Fortunately, for believers, we do have an Advocate who can help us with the decision, and cleaning up the mess when we get it wrong. It's good when we get it right though.
And boy to we tend to make messes. Thank you Lord, for cleaning up.
I think if you ask anyone if they want to be a sleepwalker in their job, they'll say no. Just about everyone wants to do their job effectively and wants to have input in how the do their job so they can do it most effectively.
Similarly, I think if you ask any leader if they want sleepwalkers on their team, they'll also say no. Just about every leader wants every person doing their job effectively and giving input into how the team can be more effective.
The issue is not a desire for non-sheepwalkers. The issue is whether we are willing to do what it takes to create a culture of non-sheepwalking.
Are you willing to repeatedly take the risk of telling your boss//team leader/pastor you think there are better ways of doing things? Are you willing to do it, even if it means hearing "no" more than "yes?"
If you are a leader, are you willing to genuinely listen and consider the input of your team members? Can you work with people who challenge your ideas without feeling threatened? Are you willing to set-up systems for feedback and bring those who serve under you into the decision-making process?
I’m not sure that I’ve been in an environment that has a true system set-up for feedback. That open door policy may not be the best option. That may be the next hill that I take.
Step 1) set up system for feedback. That's gotta be my next todo
I'm not sure that I've been in an environment that has a true system set-up for feedback. That open door policy may not be the best option. That may be the next hill that I take.
Hi, My name is Phillip and I have been a Sheepwalker for 37 years.
I want to change.
I want to be a part of seeing that change in other people's lives, even church
thanks for the challenge.
I'm a sheepwalker too, phillip. Glad to have you aboard
My wife disagrees with me – say that I am not a complete SheepWalker; not at Church – the video 'ministry' that I have positioned and driving social media at church that seems to be new to every second person.
I think sometimes our problem is not sheepwalking so much as recognizing where it is that we have the skill and ability to NOT sheepwalk. There are some areas in business/ministry/life where are simply not competent. That's a fact of life. People can get trapped in that mindset enough to where they don't even bother trying to find out where it is that they CAN step out because they DO have the skills and abilities to lead. I think both in ourselves and in the people we lead we need to help people find where they have the know-how to lead in that area.
I think there are two keys to this. One is that we need to create a culture of non-competition. By this I mean that we need to help people understand that someone doing their job well does not negatively impact us (work should not be a zero sum game.) Two, those in leadership really need to have discernment (or trusted people with good discernment) to place people in the right tasks based on their skills and gifts.
That trapped feeling is horrible.
Love your thoughts, Andy! (and love Gary Larson cartoons, too).
This sheepwalking is all around me in the church suburbia world… as a mom of three, if I'm not careful I will fall into: get the house, chase after the stuff that impresses folks, go to church, raise decent kids, pick a church based on programs rather than a heart for the lost, etc.
I have been guilty of this too. I am so glad for voices which wake us up. I know God wants more from us than just going along with the herd.
Word.
This is one of the areas I struggle with in this book. It is inspiring to hear someone say, "just a little bit more will make a difference".
When I was in grad school I lived at a long term drug and alcohol rehab program (an old monastery). I did a few things here and there with their student program and occationally worked as their night watch person for my room and board. I had been volunteering there through out my college years and in the five years that I had been associated with them they had gone through three executive directors and four major financial crises.
One morning the President of the Board called everyone into a meeting and fired half the staff and told the rest that they would have to take up the slack. Then he proceeded to tell us a story about when he was in basic training and was the platoon leader. He had to run a 10 mile race then because he was the platoon leader he had to run it again. He was told if he didn't win the second time then he would lose his rank. And he was able to draw from some inner strength and pull it out. Now I really doubt the story. And at the time I questioned how many times he would have been able to run that race and win (because this wasn't the first time that the staff had been downsized). And he got indignant.
My point is that there is a limit to what we can do. Most of us have a computer background and understand that the difference between 99% up time and 99.999% up time is often twice the resources or more.
So I agree that it is great that the guy fixed the fancy chair. I think we need to surround ourselves with people that take initiative and do what needs to be done.
But what is really important sometimes is telling the guy to go home, not letting him fix the chair.
Thanks for the comment adam. Great analogy about uptime. I will have to ponder that one a bit.
"Ah, we like sheep!" I'm sorry I just couldn't resist it! Now that I have officially branded myself "dork", I think that being sheepish comes naturally to all of us. I mean think about how most things in our life are subconsciously made to help us move along in sheep/cattle like manner. Grocery stores, drive thru, driver license offices (yikes), church (oops.. i said it!), google (although i live and die by it; PS what happened to real research and credible citations?)
Sheep move en masse. It's easier… We like easy… The way of Jesus is not en masse. Not easy. Many times lonely. Sometimes we (feel like) are left alone with our insecurities and they whip us into sheep shape.
Ending sheepwalking seems like such a large task. But what if we decided to just try one thing different today? Please God, reveal to me THIS day where I can not sheepwalk. A large musical movement is still constructed of individual notes. Maybe if push back against sheeplike moments one at a time, we will find ourselves building momentum in the right direction.
ooo good analogy with respect to the musical movement. Adding that to my Long Term Memory now.