Four Ways to Use the Past to Ignite Passion
To disrespect the past is to insult those who built the present. It’s difficult to insult people and get them on the team at the same time.
Wise leaders connect the future with the past in ways that ignite vision.
Four ways to use the past to ignite passion and vision:
- Honor the dream that gave birth to your organization. “Our organization exists because someone dreamed a dream. You and I are here because of them. How can we honor their dream?”
- Admire the vision that enabled people in the past to let go of an unsatisfying present. “Someone in the past said, ‘We can do better.’ Their dissatisfaction ignited vision. How can we translate dissatisfaction into forward momentum?”
- Recognize people from the past who gave themselves to the dream. Challenge your team to courageously grasp the baton and run forward. “How can we reflect the character of those who brought us to this point?”
- Celebrate the sacrifices that brought you to this moment. “Women and men gave their energy, talent, and resources to bring us to this moment. How can we carry their commitment forward?”
How to be selective:
Is it time to take risks? Tell stories of those who stepped into discomfort for the the cause. Is it time to sacrifice? Remember all the sacrifices that brought you to this opportunity.
Honor:
- Dreams of the past that need to be re-dreamed today.
- Qualities of people in the past that will ignite and sustain momentum today.
- Behaviors from the past that will move the ball down the field today.
The past is the story you tell about your history.
Keep the future in mind when telling stories about the past.
Project:
Publicly honor team members who can tell the story of how your organization began.
Warning:
Sometimes you need to break with the past. Celebration is a mistake in those cases.
How might leaders use the past to ignite passion and vision?
Who do you need to honor from your past? How can you emulate them?
This is a good post. It makes me ask the question – how many truly wise leaders do we have out there?
Thanks Rajiv. Great question. It also makes me ask, how might I be wise? I’ve shot myself in the foot because I demonized the past. I didn’t remember that I was trying to influence the people I was leading by insulting their hard work and sacrifice.
Great post — too often we (I) spend time in change management initiatives focusing on what will be better (to build buy in) – I see the opportunity here to celebrate the past and its leaders in a different and meaningful way – thanks for a new way of thinking coach
Excellent post. Many successful teams dedicate a small amount of time periodically to reflect back upon the journey – and acknowledge in various ways people and their contributions who either started the journey or participated along the way. It’s just as important to realize “how we get here” as “why we do the things we do” to continue improvement and proficiency. It’s often difficult for “young bucks” to give credit to “old studs” as they tend to take immediate ownership of today’s success without acknowledging the past. It requires good leadership to facilitate appropriate reflection and its purpose and then share the fact that today’s team members will be the past contributors tomorrow.
Dan, I agree with your introductory statement that it is difficult to insult your people, and win them over onto your team at the same time. The smart and caring staff members, who are highly skilled, experienced AND open to change will tolerate insulting behavior from a manager/leader only so long. By the way, insulting your people differs tremendously from criticizing and advising them with respect and honor.