Ask people to make a list
of exemplary leaders, people they consider leadership role models. Having done
this exercise many times, I can tell you that people will recall individuals
who served during times of turbulence, conflict, innovation, and change. They
think of people who triumphed against overwhelming odds, who took initiative
when there was inertia, who confronted the established order, who rose to the
challenge of adversity, who mobilized people and institutions in the face of
strong resistance. They think of people who generated momentum in society and
then guided that energy toward a more fulfilling future.
This does
not have to be a list of famous leaders. It can be a highly personal one. It
doesn’t matter. The results are the same. The study of leadership is the study
of how men and women guide us through adversity, uncertainty, hardship,
disruption, transformation, transition, recovery, new beginnings, and other
significant challenges. It’s also the study of how men and women, in times of
constancy and complacency, actively seek to disturb the status quo and awaken
to new possibilities. Personal, business, and social hardships have a way of
making us come face to face with who we really are and what we’re capable of
becoming. Only challenge produces the opportunity for greatness. And given the
daunting challenges we face today, the potential for greatness is monumental.
Change is what leadership is all about. There’s just leadership, and then
there’s something else. That’s the gist of what Wheatley, Quinn, Bridges and
Bridges, and Heifetz and Laurie tell us. Stuff happens in organizations and in
our lives. Sometimes we choose it; sometimes it chooses us. It’s unavoidable.
People who become leaders don’t always seek the challenges they face. Challenges
also seek leaders. Opportunities to introduce change open the door to doing
one’s best. Challenge is the motivating environment for excellence. Challenging
opportunities often bring forth skills and abilities that people don’t know
they have. Given opportunity and support, ordinary men and women can get
extraordinary things done in organizations. It’s not so important whether you find
the challenges or they find you. What is important are the choices you
make when stuff happens. The question is this: When opportunity knocks, are you
prepared to answer the door?
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