A Coaching strategy for sustainable leadership succession among small group units in Korean Union Conference

Abstract

Leadership propels any church or institution to achieve its mission and goals. The sustainability of this leadership in terms of succession can determine how continuous this effectiveness is over time, irrespective of any leadership type. Small group units in different Adventist Churches in Korean Union Conference (KUC) face challenges in terms of finding a suitable strategy to help them (churches) sustain their leadership succession, specifically among small groups. The study, therefore, developed a coaching strategy for sustainable leadership succession among small group units in KUC using a qualitative research approach, a well-structured in-depth interview method. From the start, 9 participants were involved in the project. However, 2 of them left, so I interviewed 7 participants: 1 pastor, 2 coaches, and 4 small group leaders. These 7 included 1 male and 6 female participants from different churches in KUC. The findings of this study indicate that most of the small groups in the churches within KUC do not have a proper strategy for sustainable leadership succession on the aspect of coaching. Some small groups used the FAST (Faithful, Available, Spiritual, and Teachable) training, JDTS (Jesus Disciples Training School) program, and GROW (Goal, Reality, Options, and Will) coaching strategies. Nevertheless, some still requested to receive more training to be equipped to adopt a systematic approach to help improve the leadership in their churches and in their small groups. A total of 8 themes divided into 19 categories emerged based on the 3 research objectives developed for this study. These themes include community, coaching small group leadership, training as an instrument, small group leaders’ achievements, connection, strategic planning for small group leaders, characteristics of succession planning, a plan for a coaching system, and a plan for small group leaders. The study combined all these to make a strategic recommendation in the light of sustainable succession through coaching in small groups as an urgent need for the spiritual growth of church members in KUC.