Do you know anyone in business who is not involved with change? I certainly don’t in my work. There are no longer times to settle between intense periods of change. Everybody I work with is continuously pushing ahead with new initiatives, goals projects – both those self driven and those imposed by external circumstances. What makes the difference between those who continually drive success and those who don’t? Those who stay energetic and passionate, rather than becoming worn down and discouraged? A number of factors seem to prevail – those who are successful have good teams, strong visions, well executed plans and, beneath all that, a very strong belief, mind set and intense personal drive.
There seems to be no right or wrong way to manage in today’s organisations and there are many methodologies to help us. However, at some point in many change projects there comes a critical moment when someone makes a stand on a key issue. This brings about either a moment of substantial shift forward, or a slip back into rigid, old patterns of working, a reversion to ‘blame and complain’ and anxious behavior. What helps a team through the confusion and distress of a difficult situation to a new possibility? It is often to do with the stance of the leader: their approach to resolving conflict and working through issues models much more for the team than simply how to solve the immediate problem.
What really makes the difference here? Just a few critical things including the ability to recognise and mark the path to a strong, carefully considered vision of the future while simultaneously acknowledging and articulating the often brutal truth of current reality. Some leaders are better at one than the other. Many find it difficult to exclude personal agendas and old scores. But underneath all this a more critical dimension is at play: the ability to remain personally secure regardless of circumstances. ‘Sounds easy.’ I hear you say, ‘We all do it. It’s what being a good leader is about’. Except that at a material level we all have mortgages to pay. We feel we need the safety of the business we joined, where we have made friends and created a community, and are validated in our work. So, in the crucible of vital discussions, the moment when the seeds of significant change often occur, we habitually resort to well established mental patterns and behaviors that we know have worked before and will see us through.
Put yourself into a challenging situation. Perhaps you’ve worked hard on a presentation. The logic all
stands up, yet here you are being publicly challenged. What’s your first reaction? It should be to use all your rational thinking and well evolved EQ …. but often it isn’t. Under challenge we return to basic animal instinct, to ‘flight, fight, freeze’. You won’t see many people running down the office corridors to get away from the threat, but you will see them instead, withdrawing from discussions, or being unusually abrupt, arguing, scoring points, or in a ‘freeze’ situation being tongue tied or babbling incoherently.
The connections go back to our forebears. ‘Fight flight’ has a rich pedigree … don’t knock it next time you face real physical danger. It kicks in fast with a magnificent intuitive overdrive! Plus, on top of this, we are programmed with our family dynamic – our first team, our first ‘organisation culture’ – which can have a dramatic impact on how we react to challenge. Much of our mental and emotional hardwiring was laid down in childhood.
Now in comes a missile, aimed dead centre at your best thinking, hours of preparation and (to you) blindingly obvious logic. The enemy is probably already in ‘fight flight’ (incidentally, these are the two normal positions for senior managers). Your proposal has challenged their mind set, their control on the world. But what happens to you? Are you automatically flicked into ‘fight, flight, freeze’? Or can you ‘hold onto yourself’, not get lost in the emotional conflict, stand out there when the rest of the team (who promised their full support around the coffee machine earlier!) retreat into the distance leaving you alone in a distinctly chilly situation?
Crucial in your defences, underneath all the external dynamics lies the concept of self value and self validation. How able are you to generate your own self value – when everyone has withdrawn their support and approval, when there is no external validation. This I think is one of the core aspects of leadership – the willingness to be out there, perhaps alone (it can take time for others’ logic and emotional position to match yours), knowing you probably are completely right but open to being completely wrong. Many people do not want to go there. Who can blame them? But that is the ambiguity of change. Are you as a leader ready for that challenge?