Recently, I read the English book A Peacock in the Land of Penguins, which describes the difficulties of entering an established organization. The story shows the conflict between the peacocks and the penguins and illustrates how difficult it can be for a person with different ideas, abilities, and ways of working to adapt to an existing organization. Eventually, the peacock leaves.
However, I found something especially interesting in the appendix of the book. The appendix presents thirteen different options, or “strategies,” for dealing with an organization. I think these strategies are interesting because they suggest that when we enter or remain in an organization, we can respond in different ways according to our personalities, talents, and circumstances.
Of course, every strategy has both advantages and disadvantages.
Thirteen Strategies
BLUE BIRD STRATEGY: Always remain cheerful in difficult situations. This person brings a positive attitude wherever he or she goes.
MOCKINGBIRD STRATEGY: Imitate what people around you are doing. This person assimilates easily into an organization and adapts well to its culture.
SPARROW STRATEGY: Remain relatively neutral while quietly developing your own identity and influence behind the scenes. Because this person does not seek attention, others may not notice the work immediately. However, this can be an effective strategy for long-term ministry.
HUMMINGBIRD STRATEGY: Move quickly and work efficiently. This person produces immediate results and responds rapidly when something needs to be done.
CANARY STRATEGY: Be colorful, attractive, and engaging. This person often becomes the center of attention and brings energy and entertainment to the organization.
SWAN STRATEGY: Earn respect through dignity and competent work. This person carries himself or herself with confidence and earns trust through consistent performance.
VULTURE STRATEGY: Emphasize your differences and take on tasks that others do not want to do. Sometimes a person becomes valuable precisely because he or she is willing to handle difficult or unpopular responsibilities.
OWL STRATEGY: Become a professional in a particular field. This person develops specialized knowledge and becomes a valuable resource to the organization.
HAWK STRATEGY: Develop strong skills and strategies for a new ministry or new area of work. This person sees opportunities and knows how to turn them into effective action.
DOVE STRATEGY: Become a peacemaker, mediator, and problem solver. Every organization will eventually experience conflict, so someone who can bring people together is extremely valuable.
EAGLE STRATEGY: Take a leadership role in bringing necessary change. This person is willing to sacrifice personal comfort for the greater good of the organization.
PEACOCK STRATEGY: Produce excellent results through exceptional talent. However, when someone is noticeably different or exceptionally gifted, the people around him or her may sometimes feel uncomfortable.
OSTRICH STRATEGY: Hide from problems or difficult realities. This may work temporarily, but it is usually not a healthy long-term strategy.
These thirteen strategies show us something important: people are different, and their differences can contribute to an organization in different ways.
The Challenge of New People
There is another side to this question: How should existing members respond when new people enter the organization?
In A Peacock in the Land of Penguins, the older penguins were uncomfortable with the new peacock. His appearance was different, his ideas were different, and even his philosophy of life seemed different.
This is a common problem.
Every organization needs new people. Whether it is a church, an institute, a university, or another ministry, people usually come together at the beginning with a common vision. But as time passes, new members inevitably join.
We should not see new people as a threat. We should see them as an opportunity.
New people bring new experiences. They bring different ways of thinking, different skills, different questions, and sometimes different solutions to old problems.
Some of the thirteen strategies described in the book are unfamiliar to me. But I believe that an organization such as Melvin University needs people with many different kinds of gifts and personalities. We need different kinds of employees, professors, administrators, and leaders.
I believe this diversity is necessary for development.
One danger for any organization is that the ideas and strategies of existing members can become ordinary after several years. What was innovative five years ago may become routine today. After five or six years, we may continue doing something simply because, “This is the way we have always done it.”
It is difficult for people who have been doing the same thing for many years to develop completely new strategies.
That is why new people are necessary.
New people do not always bring better ideas. They may also make mistakes. They may challenge our traditions. They may make existing members uncomfortable. But that discomfort is not necessarily bad.
Sometimes discomfort is the beginning of growth.
New Wine and New Wineskins
Jesus said:
“Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins.”
—Matthew 9:17
The principle is clear: new things often require the capacity to receive them.
When new people come into an organization, we should not immediately try to make them exactly like the existing members. Instead, we should ask:
What gift has this person brought?
What can this person contribute that we do not currently have?
How can we help this person’s gift become useful to the whole organization?
Leadership is not simply about controlling people. Leadership is about recognizing people’s gifts and creating an environment where those gifts can be used effectively.
An organization becomes stronger when it can welcome different people without losing its essential identity.
This does not mean that we accept everything without discernment. Every organization needs a clear mission, values, and standards. But within those boundaries, there should be room for creativity, difference, and new ideas.
Diversity Is a Strength
I believe this is especially important for Melvin University.
We need people who are different from us.
We need the cheerful Blue Bird, the adaptable Mockingbird, the quiet Sparrow, the efficient Hummingbird, the professional Owl, the strategic Hawk, the peacemaking Dove, and the courageous Eagle.
We also need people who may challenge us like the Peacock.
If everyone thinks alike, works alike, and sees things alike, the organization may become comfortable—but it may also become stagnant.
Diversity brings tension, but diversity can also bring renewal.
Therefore, when a new person enters our organization, our first question should not be, “How can we make this person like us?”
Perhaps the better question is:
“What can this person bring that we do not have?”
A healthy organization does not simply preserve what it already has. It also creates room for what it may become.
We need new people, new ideas, new gifts, and sometimes new strategies.
New people can bring new wine. Our responsibility as leaders is to develop the new wineskins capable of receiving it.
That is one of the important requirements for the continued growth and development of any church, ministry, school, or organization.