This week I am busy welcoming guests to our university city, and therefore I am pleased to publish an observation by my friend Patrick B. Sullivan, DPA, M.Div.

 

I have been a student of organizational behavior for over 40 years. Within my background in public administration, I have observed many different organizations. I have found that most organizations are dysfunctional. The Cambridge Dictionary defines dysfunctional as “Not behaving or working normally.”

In the context of organizations, the meaning is somewhat the same. According to Angela Montgomery, co-author with Domenico Lepore and Giovanni Siepe of Quality, Involvement, Flow: The Systemic Organization (CRC Press, New York. 2016):

“The word dysfunctional contains the prefix dys- from the Greek meaning ‘bad,’ ‘abnormal,’ difficult,’ or ‘impaired.’  We can say that an organization is dysfunctional when it works in a way that is not consistent with the goal it is supposed to pursue. Why would that happen? Because there is a lack of clarity and understanding of the goal. This could easily produce dysfunctional behavior, meaning behavior that is not consistent with that goal. Very often what could be perceived as dysfunctional toward a stated goal can be extremely functional for a non-verbalized one.”

We need to consider what the goal is for organizations. Typically, goals in organizations are stated in terms of some kind of product or service. That makes sense, of course. However, there is another goal that is overloked. We organize to take advantage of collective efforts. This is not just a matter of the sum of the parts, i.e., the people. One should assume by using the term “organization” itself that we intend for there to be even more. 

What I have found is that far too much energy is consumed in organizations on wasteful interactions that interfere with carrying out the mission. The Roman Catholic Church exhibits all of these.

I identify seven practices or features that make any organization dysfunctional:

 

 

1.  Lack of relationship-building – The first thing I learned at the Franciscan School of Theology is that it is all about relationships. The irony is that the church discourages relationship-building rather than promoting it. At another seminary, this was very apparent. The leadership emphasized obedience and reprimanded me when I engaged in conversation with my colleagues. Diocesan priests now generally live alone. When I suggested that the priests from the five local parishes should live together, the response was a firm refusal. Don’t get me started with mandatory celibacy. The irony here is that such isolation only contributed to the sex abuse scandal. If a person does not build healthy relationships, one is more likely to either get drawn into unhealthy ones, depression, or substance abuse.

2. Arrogance – The primary source of arrogance, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) is the resistance to accepting the limits of one’s own knowledge. Nelson Cowen, a psychologist from the University of Missouri, suggests that there are three types of arrogance: individual, comparative, and antagonistic. He identifies six progressive components: distorted information and limitations in abilities, overestimation of one’s information and abilities, resistance to new inforlation about one’s limits, failure to consider the perspectives of others, belief or assumption of superiority, and denigration of others. I have observed every one of these in the church. An excellent example of this was an instance in a seminary for second career vocations. One of my classmates, who was an M.D. and had a Master of Public Health degree, pointed out that the food served to the seminarians was entirely inappropriate for older men. I brought this to the attention of the vice rector. He utterly rejected the idea and said the food was fine. What would prompt a person whose only credentials were in theology to argue against the medical doctor? I think you know the answer.

3. Lack of Trust – Closely tied to relationship building is the development of trust. The lack of trust leads to turf protection and duplication of effort. Brené Brown, research professor at the University of Houston, identifies seven attributes of trust: boundaries, reliability, accountability, the vault, integrity, non judgmentn, and generosity. I have observed many instances of gossip, judgment, and lack of accountability. The sex abuse scandal has certainly exposed much of this. I cannot count the number of times I have dealt with those either ordained or lay who have violated trust or failed to own their mistakes. What is particularly troublesome is Brown’s definition of integrity: “It’s choosing courage over comfort; choosing what’s right over what’s fun, fast, or easy; and practicing your values, not just professing your values.”  I believe the values should come down to the great commandments of loving God and neighbor.

4. Lack of transparency — A healthy organization is one that is open about its challenges and failures. Transparency is a critical leadership attribute that helps to build trust. Studies have shown that transparency is particularly helpful for organizational commitment. The idea is to inform the key stakeholders regarding the critical issues of the organization. The church has not exactly been clear about all their finances. We found that out with the bankruptcy hearings tied to the other thing we did not hear about. I remember clearly a bishop telling me that the whole sex abuse crisis was just “anti-Catholicism.”  A few years later, he had to admit that they had mishandled the whole thing as part of the settlement.

5. Excessive emphasis on control – I honestly do not think I need to say much at all about this one. During my ten-year journey trying to become a priest the emphasis was almost always about obedience. I can understand wanting to have consistent teaching of theology. However, the obedience was less about that and more about controlling resources and the congregation. In my experience, there is truly little teaching of theology for adults in parishes. It is clear the fear is that adult Catholics will think for themselves.

6. Untrained managers – Even though seminary training is extensive (eight years if you count undergraduate studies) there are no courses in leadership or management. The one course I identified was on parish administration but had little to do with leadership and more to do with control. This has become a greater problem in recent years because there are so many more parishes with only one priest.  There is minimal opportunity to serve as an assistant or associate pastor to learn some of the “soft skills” (a term I loathe because people skills are the hardest ones of all to learn.)  Instead, a newly ordained priest can be sent directly to be the pastor.

7. Poor conflict skills – Most of my consulting work has involved dealing with conflict. The truth of the matter is that very few people know how to engage in conflict in a healthy manner. The church is no exception. In several parishes I have been involved with, there is invariably an argument over liturgy or music. Instead of working toward collaboration to find win-win solutions, the usual process involves recruiting allies and building to a heated argument. There is some truth in the joke “what is the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.”  When I interviewed people involved it became clear that the conflict was largely conducted surreptitiously. Healthy conflict involves each side being able to convey their perspective directly and honestly and the two parties working toward a solution. Conflict is inevitable but it does not need to lead to hard feelings and disruption of the organization.

I am not saying there are no decent people in the church or any organization, for that matter. I am pointing out that the interrelationships are dysfunctional. It does come back to honest relationship building. We just choose not to do it. We have rationalized our way out of doing the hard work of building relationships. I use that work intentionally. This is a continuation of adopting what we call rational thought as the only way to solve problems or work together. The problem is that our emotions and conation also play a role in how we work together. Without them or when we disregard them our ability to cooperate and learn from one another becomes terribly hampered. In the church itself, we are failing to follow,the last commandment Jesus gave us: “love one another.”