Today, I was deeply saddened to read a comment from a student in a graduate-level course who offered that my request for a book review was the first time they had been asked to complete one since seventh grade. My sincere hope is that this statement did not mean that during their educational formation they were not asked to read a book, but perhaps were not asked to write a review of one. However, there is a part of me that realizes we do currently live in a society where a quick dip into information, such as an Internet search, is preferred over a deep dive into a lengthy tome. Unfortunately, the access provided to us in the palms of our hands is having a lasting impact, as many researchers have found, in creating a society that is now only paying Continuous Partial Attention to the world around them.

Concerned that the search for a quick fix in some areas of our lives is rippling out from individuals and spreading into organizational culture, I share Shelley Trebesch’s apprehension that the resulting outcome may be an increase in languishing rather than Flourishing Organizations. With the intention to dive deeply into Made to Flourish with the hopes of taking away valuable information that might lead us to develop the Habits of a Flourishing Life, I hope to offer a review of Trebesch’s insights into how she defines a Flourishing Organization and the actions she believes help to create a flourishing culture. I believe her perspective is one that can be applied to personal, professional, and spiritual situations; after all, who doesn’t desire for the organizations they are associated with to be flourishing in their mission?

From the very beginning pages, Tresbesch captured my attention as she opined that, “Christian organizations should be flourishing and thriving because that reflects their Creator’s image…the opening chapters of Genesis offer a sense of what flourishing means.” In addition, “If an organization is to flourish, it has to go beyond quick fixes. It has to see more deeply and listen more intently.” Echoing the research of many of the authors I have encountered on this pilgrimage, Trebesch, too, encourages the idea that Flourishing Organizations seem to have a habit of investing deeply into others through cultivating A Listening Life and the use of effective strategies like Appreciative Inquiry. “When we flourish, we experience emotional, psychological, and social well-being. We are full of life-peaceful, cheerful, satisfied, and productive…Flourishing people have strong relationships and connectedness…They are curious about differences and suspend judgment for optimized learning. Sound appealing? Sound like what God might intend life to be?”

I don’t know about you, but I hope to play a small part in organizations that flourish like God intended! And who better to seek instruction from than Jesus, who established an environment for flourishing. Trebesch shares the pattern she observes from the Gospels where Jesus invested in four activities to establish a kingdom-of-God centered culture: (1) authentic engagement, (2) invitation to participate, (3) empowerment, and (4) correcting life-squelching beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Personally, I see these activities of Jesus to be the same suggestions we find leaders of both religious and secular organizations recommending in order to generate success, regardless of the metrics used for the measurement. Creating a Flourishing Organization is linked directly to the intentional culture which is created. “Often we go about our work, day in day out, year in year out, without intentionally considering the environment we create.” As long as there is productivity and fulfilled obligations, the deep investment into the culture and people, can often fall by the wayside.

What Trebesch advises is to ask deep questions, to intentionally investigate your organization, to see if the culture is promoting or squelching flourishing. “What leaders teach, model, pay attention to, how they deal with crises, measure, reward, and sanction-all these establish organizational culture…What was this new culture of flourishing and how did Jesus, as the leader, establish it?” I think when leaders ask the following questions of themselves, they might receive valuable insight into what culture is being created under their care: “What did Jesus teach, model, pay attention to, measure, and reward to create a flourishing movement?” How can I choose to impact my own organization through this same servant-leadership approach?

A sincere desire I have is to see emerging adults flourish at life. In order to accomplish this dream, I must carefully consider the culture I create in the classroom, either in the First 48 or throughout the entire semester. Please take time to share in the comments below when you have experienced a Flourishing Organization and what stands out to you which allowed this to happen.

Reference:

Trebesch, S. G. (2015). Made to Flourish: Beyond Quick Fixes to a Thriving Organization. IVP Books.