“Most often what gets organizations into trouble,” writes Richard Farson in his book Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership (Simon & Schuster, 1996), “are faulty leadership styles, poor internal relationships, and managerial blind spots. The delusional hope of a troubled organization is that it will be saved without having to make changes in these highly personal areas.”
There is a lot of truth in Farson’s observation. I have seen it myself and it is a challenging situation to deal with. What most leaders forget or have never learned is that true change involves self-examination. And for the most part, many people in leadership positions do not actually want to do this internal work. They want organizational change to happen without ever changing their behavior or their mindset. If only it were this simple.
As Stephen Covey noted so many years ago, “you can not talk your way out of a problem that you are behaving your way into.” In simple terms, our actions in combination with the aforementioned delusional hope can result in talking about change but never really making any changes.
If one is serious about actually making real organizational change, then the first step is to find someone to help you engage in the in-depth work of self-examination. This individual can be both a window and a mirror, referencing the past work of Jim Collins. They are a mirror by which we can evaluate our behaviors and our mindset. They also can be a window because we need to understand how our faulty leadership styles, poor relationships and managerial blindspots are impacting others at work, at home and within our community.
This month, seek out these individuals and set aside time to share. It is challenging, but nevertheless very important work to do if we are truly seeking a better year.
No comments:
Post a Comment