I do not subscribe to quick fixes. I prefer a permanent solution approach to situations that require course correcting. Hence my professional designation of service transformation consultant. Transformation in this case, is about changing the nature of a person or business. It’s about ensuring that the change is sustainable.
Leadership impact should pretty much be like transformation. Its imprint must leave a permanent mark for good. I’ve encountered many leaders who have gotten the formula right and others who have failed miserably. The leaders who have gotten their transformative impact right, have been the ones who have drawn on powerful life lessons to support their most consequential decisions. I’ve discovered that these individuals see life a little differently to many of their counterparts.
To these leaders, life is a wondrously winding pilgrimage to a final destination and along the way, they use the lessons that are learnt, to become fortified for each successive leg of the journey. Perspective matters to these leaders.
We judge a business by its leadership and we judge the leaders by their ability to lead change in an awe-inspiring way.
So, there are leaders and then there are individuals who lead. The difference, to me, lies in how lessons learnt through life, are turned into wisdom that is used to generate continuously productive life and work outcomes. In the world of work, the big question centres around how leaders use their lessons learnt and lifelong wisdom to enrich the lives of the people that they serve.
When leaders commit to being a beacon of light for others, the environments in which they operate, flourish. I am certain that, like me, you have come across businesses where harmony, calm and tranquillity characterize the climate. There is little calamity and commercial growth is a way of life.
These flourishing business communities do not just materialize, or occur by happenstance. They are the products of guided wisdom through lessons learnt. We judge a business by its leadership and we judge the leaders by their ability to lead change in an awe-inspiring way.
One such lesson, is that direction is more important than speed.
Awe-inspiring leaders make leadership look and feel effortless because of the authentic alignment and consonance between their beliefs, thoughts, spoken word and behaviour. When leading change, many of these awe-inspiring leaders lean in on lessons learnt over the years for guidance.
One such lesson, is that direction is more important than speed. Because change and impatience tend to go hand in hand, many individuals and businesses want the change to happen either overnight, or within a short time frame. A lot of disillusionment sets in when the expected outcomes don’t materialize fast enough. There is so much preoccupation with speed, that the actual progress that may have been achieved, becomes lost in the chagrin associated with the perception of the leaden pace.
Enlightened leaders remember that in these moments, they must resist the temptation to misread the measure of success. They celebrate the fact that progress has been made.
They have the unique and rare ability to suspend their beliefs and listen without judgment, to opinions that are different to theirs.
Another life lesson enables these leaders to not be crippled by style rigidity. They have the unique and rare ability to suspend their beliefs and listen without judgment, to opinions that are different to theirs. Not many individuals can accomplish this feat. Moreover, if the new opinion makes more sense, these leaders are not wedded to the need to be right, but to the need to get it right. They yield to the opinion that makes more sense, which may not be theirs. When change is led by this type of mindset, the change is not detained by the challenges associated with ego, insecurities or inner child anxieties.
Enlightened leaders understand that life leaves its mark on us and they evaluate their markings continually, to ensure that there’s no destructive imprinting. They are mindful of not being the bearers of such destructive imprints as well. The adage, “Do no harm,” is a guiding principle.
Daily, we encounter individuals who are oblivious to the harm that they cause others, because of careless words, insensitive behaviours and misconduct. They are akin to drivers who cause accidents, but who are unaware of their folly and continue driving, leaving calamity behind them.
All management is change management and the management of change should be imbedded in the never-ending pursuit of improved results.
Enlightened leaders pursue the practice of self-awareness diligently, just so that they cause no harm.
All management is change management and the management of change should be imbedded in the never-ending pursuit of improved results. Enlightened leaders realize that on a daily basis, there are infinite opportunities for lessons learnt to be converted into pristine practices.
The point to remember of course, is that the leader should be a part of the solution and not be an impediment, due to an inability to convert lessons learnt, into wisdom-guided practices.