by: Rev. Dr. Anna Hall
It happens all the time. Your leadership team or council finds itself revisiting the same questions, month after month. You retrace the same territory without making progress. You can’t seem to move forward or go in reverse, and you certainly can’t launch dynamically into your future.
Why Boards Get Stuck: The 4 Common Roadblocks
Several factors can hinder a leadership team’s effectiveness. See if any of these sound familiar:
- Functional Freeze: You may have heard this popular term. It refers to going through the motions of planning but freezing when it comes to taking action. This is often a symptom of trauma, chronic stress, or simple overload and burnout.
- Conflict Aversion: Making meaningful decisions requires navigating different perspectives. When a group is conflict-avoidant, no one is willing to name the “elephant in the room.” This leads to an endless cycle of discussion without resolution. Once a conflict is named, it can be navigated.
- Scarcity Mindset: When time and money feel limited, your imagination shrinks. It becomes difficult to see new possibilities or solutions, which—ironically—ends up costing you more time and money due to inaction.
- Limiting Structures: Your governance itself might be the problem. If your structures are oversized or overly complex, decisions can take forever. Your meetings may also get bogged down in over-reporting, leaving no time for the deep discernment needed to move forward.
From Stuck to Strategic: A Path Forward
Getting unstuck isn’t easy, but it is absolutely possible. It requires a new perspective and the right tools to change the conversation. We have helped organizations break these very cycles using proven, facilitated methods designed to create momentum.
Our Tools for Getting Unstuck
- Facilitated Discernment Sessions: For that one issue that comes up month after month, we can facilitate a special work session. Using approaches like appreciative inquiry, circle processes, and conflict transformation, we break through the freeze and build a path for forward motion.
- Organizational Assessments: Sometimes, the “issue” isn’t the real issue. It’s a symptom of a deeper underlying pattern. Our assessments explore every aspect of your processes to find the true tensions and sticking points. Once identified, we help you address the root causes, not just the symptoms.
- Futures Labs: Feeling stuck can be a symptom of looking backward instead of forward. Our Futures Labs use strategic foresight to lead your team far into the future, asking: “What will that world need?” This process sparks new imagination and helps you build a relevant and dynamic vision for now.
- Leadership Team Coaching: Many teams just need a fresh approach. We can provide an experienced coach to your chair or your entire team. Your coach will guide you through the hard conversations and, just as importantly, teach you how to facilitate them well long after our work is done.
Are You Ready to Get Unstuck?
You don’t have to keep spinning your wheels. Convergence can provide the external expertise and guidance needed to get your board moving again.
Reach out to us to start the conversation.