Leading Adaptive Change

Adaptive leadership requires courage. When you ask an institution to change its ways—and more significantly, the mindsets that have supported those ways—that is risky. In congregations, adaptive change can be even more volatile as you are asking people to change what they rely on in an institution that has grounded their lives and been a point of stability in the “chances and changes of life.” In this course, we will explore how to lead adaptive change without losing your courage—or your soul. Each class session will build your capacity to lead through a self-identified adaptive change or challenge in your setting. We will draw on (and interrogate) a variety of resources throughout the courses, including selections from philosophy, theology, and leadership literature. Our class will be enriched by further sources such as podcasts, interviews, poetry, art, and music. 

About the instructor:
The Rev’d Nathan Kirkpatrick is an Episcopal priest and one of the principal consultants of Saison Consulting, LLC. He served as the managing director of Alban at Duke Divinity School 2014–2021 and as the managing director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity from 2007–2021. In these roles, Kirkpatrick worked with hundreds of congregations and congregational leaders—from those serving on Main Street in rural Oregon to those serving on Fifth Avenue in New York City. He also facilitated strategic visioning processes for dozens of organizations. Kirkpatrick teaches in the Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising offered through the Lilly Endowment-supported Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, and he teaches and trains congregational, denominational, and institutional leaders in the United States and globally on issues of change and change management, conflict and communication, innovation and sustainability, vocation and leadership.