So
we now have a new Pope and Vatican-watchers are falling over themselves to
anticipate the likely hallmarks of his papacy.
A
key emerging theme is dialogue - specifically dialogue which bypasses the
formal hierarchy of the Church. Pope Francis is expected to go beyond the
Cardinals and talk to the next layer down, the Bishops – apparently an
unprecedented move.
Has
someone been giving His Holiness lessons in change management?
Those
of us who spend our lives working with organisations of similar size and
complexity to the Vatican (albeit with perhaps less noble motives) know only
too well the stifling effect of management bottlenecks, controlling the flow of
information both up and down.
Cutting
across functional silos – either horizontal or vertical – to enable dialogue
with those closer to the field or coalface is essential if the challenges of
change are to be properly gauged and ultimately re-framed for the multitude who
stand to be affected by it or required to support it.
If
Francis is to be the reforming Pope that so many hope for, there’s no better
way to cut through the Bull.
No comments:
Post a Comment