For years Lutheran World Relief publications have featured a cartoon turtle proclaiming, "Slow and steady wins the race!" Both motto and time-proven philosophy, "slow and steady" has guided Lutheran World Relief (LWR) through five decades of shifting international relief and development objectives, approaches, and players. Indeed, LWR's responsive and efficient delivery of services has earned this private voluntary organization (PVO) a solid reputation: for example, Money magazine recently ranked LWR within the top ten most cost-effective relief and development groups.
However, with rapid global changes shaking the foundations of "business-as-usual" for most Northern development actors, LWR has embarked upon an intensive journey of learning and change. In the words of one manager, "Our motto lately has been more like, slow as a turtle — on ice!"
The following story seeks to capture the major transformation in mission, vision, leadership, and culture this PVO has undertaken over the last several years, a transformation accomplished by blending both tradition and innovation.
By the early 1990s, however, LWR's leaders recognized that although their PVO had built its livelihood on these traditions, some of its organizational practices might not guarantee vitality in a rapidly changing environment. Innovative responses were needed to address the ever-growing demand for people-to-people work, the shifting demographics in LWR's constituency, and the "graying" of the Church. And internally — almost as a mirror image of trends in international development — chain- of-command decision making and individualism among staff were becoming obsolescent and oppressive. People wanted more collaborative and egalitarian relationships.
Those who had spent considerable time in the field argued for an expanded role in networking, advocacy, partnership building, and development education. They also wanted more commitment to openness and participation, with the ideas of all staff openly solicited and valued. Although the intensity of dialogue grew over the week, little was resolved; thus many left the Institute feeling disillusioned. As one person put it: "It was the first time we realized that we were not the cohesive team we had thought and that we weren't in agreement about where we wanted to go as an organization."
While little was said about these issues after the Institute, things started to change radically over the next year. First, the executive director of 28 years — only the second in LWR's history — announced his retirement, which was soon followed by the board president's anticipated retirement. Then, in an unprecedented move in early 1994, a senior manager in her thirties was selected as the next CEO.
Kathryn Wolford excited both board and staff with her bold proposal that LWR become a "learning organization" that continually develops based upon staff and stakeholders' highest ideals. What is more, Wolford envisioned an organization that forges deepened and expanded partnerships and bolsters its development impact not just with goods and services but also with knowledge (such as through policy advocacy and development education).
Wolford began her tenure as CEO with an organization-wide Appreciative Inquiry into the core values and aspirations of staff and stakeholders (including partners, donors, board members, beneficiaries, vendors, etc.). To understand and enhance LWR's organizational strengths, or life-giving forces, a number of surveys, interviews and feedback sessions were conducted focused on such topics as nurturing vital constituency involvement; partnerships; stewardship of resources; a sharing and learning organization; and empowerment.
Many of the collected stories and illustrations of these core values in action went into a book about LWR's history written as part of the organization's 50th Anniversary celebration. These discoveries were then reviewed, interpreted, and validated through a series of staff and board retreats, resulting in LWR's first statement of shared vision: "The Fabric of the Future." As a bold affirmation and extension of LWR's values, it depicts a collective image toward which people are aspiring as an organization.
The last of these directives resulted from the discovery that countries most in need are those mired in civil strife, and that efforts to heal conflicts and promote justice are foremost for dealing with extended issues like hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation. Accordingly, LWR staff have accelerated their advocacy and public policy efforts locally and internationally and have developed a variety of educational initiatives around multi-lateral conflict resolution. This new strategic focus has encouraged LWR staff to aggressively pursue projects that fit the organization's values and to seek funds that specifically support these projects.
Another innovation is evident in how development officers and staff now appeal to these core values and ideals in all donor relationships. Rather than approaching the task of fundraising as simply asking supporters for money, staff begin by asking donors affirmative questions, such as: What do you care most about when giving money? How does the work of LWR allow you to realize your heartfelt values and concerns? How can it realize them even more? What kind of world do you want the next generation to develop? What is your vision of how LWR can best make an impact? Such questions lead to in-depth dialogue about the donor's values and aspirations, to strengthened partnership between the donor and the organization, to a deepened financial commitment, and ultimately, as LWR's development director put it, to "greater mutuality between those who give and those who get money."
Gender has also become a key area of attention at LWR. For 50 years LWR was led mainly by men; today, however, in addition to a female CEO, four board members and several directors and senior managers are women. And, recognizing that the future of communities depends on the status and health of women, LWR is giving new priority to gender-equity workshops the organization offers throughout Africa.
This heightened valuing of diversity plays out in the ways LWR approaches partnerships as well: "How we treat each other in the office is how we treat partners," related one staff member. For example, the first draft of LWR's gender-equity statement was co-authored with indigenous partners after extensive surveys and face-to-face dialogue. And in workshops with African partners, LWR staff seek to facilitate rather than direct dialogue. "Our goal is to understand each other by being transparent with our values," related one field worker. Even the organization's language of partnering is novel: the term "accompaniment" now describes LWR's relationship with its indigenous partners.
When asked about the biggest change at LWR over the last couple of years, most staff members point to the growing trust, respect, and collaboration among colleagues. Communication and information flows are more open and transparent than ever before. And people at all levels have a voice in decisions affecting them. "Its a more-collegial style of management," stated a junior staff member. "People are continually asking for my input and encouraging me to learn. People seem to feed off of each other's learning."
Many staff attribute the increased respect and sharing to Wolford's leadership style. "She continually involves staff from diverse perspectives in brainstorming and decision-making sessions. Ever since she was promoted, she has `walked the talk' of LWR being a learning organization."
In sum, as management thinkers continue to debate over whether environments force organizations to change or organizations shape their environments, recent happenings at LWR seem to make the case for both sides. As time and the rapid global changes of the last decade have required LWR to change, interestingly the organization has drawn upon its greatest strengths and traditions to proactively transform itself.
Looking both inward and outward, LWR staff have discovered and affirmed those factors that give life to the PVO and have sought to express those forces thoroughly and pervasively throughout their social and organizational arrangements _ resulting in more vital leadership, strategies, programs, staffing, culture, and relationships. As other global social change organizations face the need to change, LWR's story holds impressive lessons about the positive innovations that can be effected when leaders committed to a vision foster and unleash affirmative, organization-wide dialogue.
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