Leaders have to build those kind of habits and practices in their leadership to help their institutions navigate hinge moments. Most organizations are feeling that because it's a negative transition. And I have found that that oftentimes is like the signal for many members of the organization to leave. But we need glue people who have a sense of calling to the institution through a difficult transition, not as an opportunity for them to also jump. Our basic approach our basic hermeneutic when we are in our work is that we're there until God unsettles us.
In life, we have moments in which opportunities present the possibility of dramatic change. Dr. Michael Lindsay, president of Gordon College, calls these instances “hinge moments,” since a hinge can either shut or close a door leading to very different pathways in our lives.
This episode of the Good Faith podcast is actually one of these “hinge moments” for co-hosts David French and Curtis Chang, as David transitions to his new job at the New York Times. What will happen to the podcast? (Spoiler alert: it will go on!)
In this powerful episode, Dr. Lindsay joins his old friends David and Curtis to talk about his book, “Hinge Moments: Making the Most of Life's Transitions” and gives practical advice which applies to the podcasters and to all experiencing change that alters the course of our lives.
SHOW NOTES:
Hinge Moments: Making the Most of Life's Transitions by Dr. Michael Lindsay: In this book, Lindsay shares faith-based stories of success and failure from his 10-year study of 550 PLATINUM leaders. He has charted seven phases of transition, providing both practical and spiritual insights for making the most of each stage. In uncertain and tumultuous times, there is no better advantage than wisdom gained early.
Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer: This story by the VeggieTales creator is about dreaming big and working hard, of spectacular success and breathtaking failure, of shouted questions, and, at long last, whispered answers. Sometimes God can use the death of a dream to point us toward true success.