It was a long dinner meeting with just the CEO and myself. The conversation had covered a lot of current, operational and strategic issues. There had been a good depth of sharing and listening.
Once the dessert have been served, he said to me: “If I was a much younger man, most of this would not be a problem. When I was younger, I dove in head first and just got into it. I always thought of the senior leaders as being slow to make decisions and slow to engage with the issues and problems. Yet, now that I’m older, I take less risks. In reality, I don’t want to coast until my retirement, but, on the other hand, I don’t want to fumble my way through the chaos. I know I need to take more risks again. I know we need to take more risks again. The challenge for me is to merge the spirit of my youth with the wisdom of my experience. That’s not an easy thing. I’m afraid on so many levels about the risks I need to take. And what I am most afraid of is becoming a dinosaur. I’m afraid we are the dinosaurs that in my younger days I used to complain about. Does any of this make sense?”
I nodded in affirmation.
“Then, where do I begin?”
I paused for a bit, and then replied, “Taking risks can be transformational, and it can be dangerous. In the beginning, we need to be the living example of what we want our team to become.”
What followed was an in-depth discussion about risk taking. First, we need to raise our own standard of performance, and never lower our standards to meet others’ expectations. Second, we need to learn why people are doing the things they are doing, and remember that everyone is doing something for their own reasons, not our reasons. Third, we need to help other people be successful. And fourth, we need to keep our promises to ourself and to our family. When the spirit of youth merges with the wisdom of experience, the potential for a transformation is always possible.
I was thinking about this after speaking about leadership and change when a participant came up to me and said, “only through faith can we cope with change and chaos.” I smiled, and agreed with her. This surprised her, and delighted her at the exact same moment
From my experience and observations, we must take risks and have faith. Years ago, I lost a job because I refused to paint the “rosy picture of perfection” about the subject of leadership and change. I explained that change often comes with suffering and pain. Transformation is not focused on maintaining status quo.
However, when the act of leading change is done thoughtfully and carefully, and when the spirit of youth merges with the wisdom of experience, then what seems a hindrance will become a way, what seems an obstacle will become a door, and what seems a misfit of ideas will become a cornerstone. For to have faith means to have patience with “the labor pains of change,” and to recognize that the unexpected challenges are not disturbing interruptions, but the actual process and steps by which a transformation can take place.
Now, during the transformation process, the key question we need to ask ourselves is “What is the promise hidden in this event?” For to have faith means to face the pain of change, but to not let it define the future. This means we need to believe in tomorrow, and to not loose hope. Finally, to have faith also means to welcome the creation of a new level of internal clarity and subsequently a new level of action
The late Stephen Covey in his book, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (Free Press, 2004), reminds us that during this process we must “stay grounded, “know [our] priorities, and [to] speak truthfully [and] listen respectively.” Sounds like good and wise counsel to me when we are entering in and moving through a transformation.
During certain stages of life, we can feel like we are a dinosaur, born for a different time and place. Other times, we can be a transformational phoenix, rising from the ashes of a dysfunctional form of living and working. The key in the beginning, middle, and the end is to be the living example of what we want others to become. For when our faith and our clarity are united, then the transformation takes place first on the inside, and then generates healthy action on the outside. And it all begins when we sit down with a trusted friend, mentor, or ally and share our inner journey and our inner process.
© Geery Howe 2025
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