One of the biggest challenges we can face when seeking to lead change is in our own approach. We see a problem that another person has and we marvel at their inability to see their need to change. Are they blind or just stupid?. When logic fails we push and they push back - which simply confirms our assessment that they are the problem. The evidence is everywhere. I am right and they're wrong. Before we realise it - we are locked in a desperate wrestling match - with an obstinate enemy.
How do we break the cycle? Where do we get leverage with someone who won't see?
As you know I am a sucker for a good movie. How to Train Your Dragon explores the challenge of change in a world where Vikings and Dragons are locked in a desperate battle for survival. Hiccup - the hapless son of the Viking chief - captures a dragon and tries to train him. In the process - he makes a discovery ...
What if we are wrong? What if all the evidence we have gathered about our obstinate foe has been distorted by our own growing need to blame someone else? What if we have created a monster that doesn't exist? What if I have simply projected my own shortcomings onto the other and then blamed them accordingly? This takes the concept of 'seeing the world as I am' to a dangerous new level. If I see them as lazy and obstructive through this process - I now need them to be lazy and obstructive in order to be justified in my initial judgement. I need to be right and I need them to be wrong but - what if i'm wrong - about everything I think I know about them?
What if this dynamic underpins all relationships where I experience resistance to change and feel the need to push? If it does - then maybe the most important place for me to start is with the assumption that I am wrong about them. I simply don't know why they do what they do - and I need to learn more.
Another great movie on the subject of Leading Change is Clint Eastwood's Invictus. It focuses on Mandela and his use of the 1995 Rugby World Cup to pull his country together. This clip illustrates one of his starting points for leading change...
Allowing someone the benefit of a fresh start takes courage and determination. I face a challenge at the moment with another who I wish to influence. Are my judgements of him more important to me than solving the perceived problem? I guess it is time for me to 'put my money where my mouth is':-)
Food for thought ...
Impressive blog! -Arron
Posted by: rc helicopter reviews | 21 December 2011 at 11:00 PM