One of the most critical skills current leaders need, arguably now more than ever, is problem-solving.
The challenges facing congregations, non-profits, and religious institutions continue to become more technologically complex, socially entangled, costly, and multi-faceted.
It is evident that most religious leaders are not just dealing with spiritual, programmatic, administrative, and technological problems; they are dealing with wicked problems.
The experience can feel like trying to unravel an endless tangled cord.
What are Wicked Problems?
A wicked problem is a form of social or cultural problem that is difficult to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements for its solution. When these problems are unrecognized, the attempt is to solve them through policies, strategies, wishful thinking, or “best practices” of the past. However, simply ignoring them as too complex to tackle or merely kicking the proverbial can down the road will only make those problems come back worse.
Horst Rittel, one of the first to research wicked problems, references ten characteristics that describe this sort of complicated challenge:
Wicked problems have no definitive formulation. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a leader to define the problem. This is a significant challenge, given the tendency for people to want to know the one answer and the simplest solution to a complex problem. Complex issues are never about just one thing, and they are never quick fixes.
Wicked problems have no stopping rule or criteria to determine when they are solved. Unlike challenges with clearly defined outcomes and measures of completion, wicked problems are persistent and tend to be moving targets. The answer to “When will we ever solve this problem?” is “Never.”
Solutions to wicked problems are not true or false; they can only be good or bad. When leaders tackle wicked problems, the best approach is to choose the best strategy at the time. Arguing about what “should” or “should not” be is pointless.
There is no complete list of applicable actions to solve a wicked problem. Wicked problems require imaginative, fleet, flexible, and innovative leaders.
There is always more than one explanation for a wicked problem, with the appropriateness of the explanation depending on the individual perspective of the perceiver. Hence, leaders will constantly deal with the impasse of multiple interpretations. The deacons will see it one way, the staff another, new members in their way, donors and established members differently altogether. Where one sits in the system determines one’s perspective. It should come as no surprise that no one will see the problem the same way the leader does. No singular perspective suffices, which makes dialogue and agreement difficult.
Every wicked problem is a symptom of another problem. Like a knotted bunch of cords, pulling on one end of the problem merely creates tension and tightens the knot on the other end. Leaders need to be “systems thinkers,” understanding the interconnected complexity of the enterprise.
No solution to a wicked problem has a definitive, objective test. When proposing strategies for addressing complex issues, leaders often face the call to give evidence or proof that the action will be successful. That’s not possible with wicked problems. They require the courage to take risks and the ability to adapt.
Every wicked problem is unique. Religious institutions’ problems are endemic to their type (a congregation, seminary, non-profit, etc.) because they are systems of a type. However, it remains true that leaders must solve their problems in their context.
Finally, to paraphrase Rittel, leaders attempting to solve a wicked problem must be fully responsible for their actions. That’s the burden of leadership. Few, if any, in the organization will take responsibility for tackling wicked problems. That comes with the job of being the leader.
While not all problems a leader faces are “wicked,” those that are will be the most demanding.
Even tricky problems can have a solution, and most leaders can get adept at tackling them.
However, the wicked problems leaders face in the contemporary religious landscape will be the most challenging due to the indeterminate scope and scale required to address them.
Wicked problems cannot be fixed. They’ll be the bane of every religious leader today.
Questions
What are the wicked problems you face in your ministry context?
Who are you consulting with on addressing the wicked problems?
Are you aware of your biases, which may hinder you from seeing alternative and imaginative approaches?
Are you alert to unintended consequences as you apply strategies to wicked problems?
In what ways are you defining and interpreting the wicked problems to the various constituents in your ministry?
Israel Galindo is Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary.
