Developing a Safe Leadership Relationship Among Aliança Presbyterian Church Leaders in Brasilia, Brazil

Abstract

Aliança Church has struggled with relationships at the leadership level for at least ten years. Even though there were no major disagreements, there was much room for growth among the church ministry leaders. This project aimed to create a supportive and safe environment for our leaders, and their involvement was crucial in pursuing this goal. We used participatory action research principles combined with Appreciative Inquiry and its 4-D Cycle (diagnosis, plan, act, and reflect) to tackle this situation. The diagnostic stage included gathering data from current leadership through interviews to comprehend their perceptions and expectations regarding relationships within the leadership teams. Participants were asked to identify the qualities in our church leaders that could contribute to a better leadership environment and more meaningful relationships. They were asked to consider how to create a leadership environment where they would feel at ease sharing their thoughts, whether making decisions about the church, seeking counsel, or unburdening themselves. It is important to notice that the aim was to achieve freedom, not an obligation to share with other leaders. The participants convened for one meeting to transform their ideas into action through the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology. The main result was intentional investment in relationships to increase the safety of APC’s leadership environment. As a result, some initiatives derived from the AI Statements developed by the participants have occurred since the research involved the entire church leadership.