Embracing Change

“You can’t expect to become better at leadership, or anything else for that matter, without doing something different than you are currently doing.” – Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader

Let’s face it: most of us want the world and other people to change, while we prefer stay the same. It is basic human nature to resist change. After all, doing things a different way is hard work and some risk taking is required. Who really wants to go through all that effort with the possibility that you might fall flat on your face?

In his seminal work The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey describes the need to “sharpen the saw” which means to continuously improve and renew yourself.  So yes, change is hard, but it is absolutely necessary for a high quality life!  

The best leaders understand that they must be lifelong learners, that effective leadership is an ongoing self-development enterprise requiring continuous self-improvement through experience, reflection, self-study, networking/outreach, and feedback.

 For further thought:  Reflect on changes you could bring to your life or work.  Are there things that you have been doing that could be more effectively done differently?  Try to identify one or two that could make a positive difference. What specific steps might you take to facilitate those changes and overcome internal resistance?

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