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Leadership Is About Change, Not Status Quo
The expression “the only constant is change” has never been more relevant than in the past 18 months. Neither has the expression “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. How is it possible that the two can be true at the same time? Perhaps it is the nature of change and how it forces us to readdress what we think we know for sure; how it’s always difficult to predict what’s on the other side of change; how change is necessary for survival; and how change constantly seems to unearth problems that we thought were past and dealt with, or which make you want to exclaim “not again!”.
Leadership is all about change, not status quo.
It’s the responsibility of leadership to maintain the big picture — to know what all the moving puzzle pieces are that make up change and where you’re trying to go. Leadership in any position has more of a bird’s eye view than anyone else on the team, and it’s easy to forget that others may not see that whole picture. Big Picture thinking is a leadership skill — not one that everyone possesses. Consequently, the main responsibilities of leadership through change are communication, transparency, and protecting the trust within your team.
Change can come in many forms. It can come from outside as the environment around us changes and the requirements of our successful operation within that environment need to be adjusted. It can come from inside our…