How to make things happen?
Check out the change curve. The flat blue line represent life/business as it should be. The red star represents a problem or an unacceptable situation. The greater the gap between the blue line and the red star, the more you feel urgency and pain.
Leaders who make things happen begin by identifying or creating gaps between the the way things are and the way things should be.
The core competency of great leaders is the ability to initiate and manage change.
Question
Have you identified or created gaps?
What have you done to initiate change?
Note: you can apply this to your personal, business, or family life.
Leadership Freak
Dan Rockwell
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One of the important things to remember is that you often encounter resistance the first time you try to initiate change. Sometimes it takes a couple of repetitions, and may even require you to let someone else think it was “their” idea (after you have tried five times) but sometimes the needed change is that important that you’ve gotta persevere. Cool graphic.
Paula,
Thanks for stopping in. Thanks for brining resistance to the discussion. Resistance is inevitable. I think it comes from both inside ourselves and outside ourselves.
Those who initiate and mange change always deal with resistance!
Regards,
Dan
Hello,
Greetings!
Bringing about change is not very easy. Change means taking measures to encourage an individual or a group to walk a different path. It is very difficult task to convince humans to come out of the comfort zones. This is where the RESISTANCE (inside and outside) comes into picture.
A leader must have enough courage to accept things how they are, ponder on how things should be, decide what to change. Courage is required initially to deal with the inside resistance. This will remove all the doubts a leader has about what he is going to do. Once this is done, the leader firmly believes in what he is changing and how it is beneficial. This will create the very necessary confidence. With confidence and courage, a leader is ready to take on the outside resistance. In the task of changing something, we are met with FAILURE. Accepting failure and keeping the confidence high to PERSEVERE also needs COURAGE.
I would like to end with the following quote:
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
~ Mary Anne Radmacher
Regards,
Abdul Raheem.
Abdul,
Thanks for leaving your first comment on Leadership Freak. I look forward to learning from you in future comments. Love the end of the quote you left, “I will try again tomorrow.”
All the best to you,
Dan
I agree with Abdul. Perseverance is the key, as is courage. But it’s not enough. Walking 7 times around a city may have helped bringing walls down in ancient times, nowadays it probably won’t work.
Setting high standards is often quoted as a good nethod. I’ve found out that it helps to let people set their own standards and goals. Often they tend to set them higher than you would ever have dared. And occasionally I find myself in the position that I lower them a bit or give more time because I know they may be unattainable.
Lesson learned; often people ask more from themselves than you think possible.
Hans,
Great to hear from you again and once again you’re adding to the conversation.
I like to think about delegating vision rather than tasks. After reading your comment I can see how useful it it to withhold specifics while explaining the ultimate goal.
Regards,
Dan