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CHANGE IS THE WORK OF LEADERS



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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