 |
"ADAPTIVE" LEADERSHIP and RESISTANCE (page
93):
Asking people to leave behind something they have lived
for years or for generations practically invites them to get
rid of you. Sometimes leaders are taken out simply because they
do not appreciate the sacrifice they are asking from others.
To them, the change does not seem like much of a sacrifice,
so they have difficulty imagining that it seems that way to
others. Yet the status quo may not look so terrible to those
immersed in it, and may look pretty good when compared to a
future that is unknown. Exercising leadership involves helping
organizations and communities figure out what, and whom, they
are willing to let go.
LEADERSHIP AS THERMOSTAT (pages 107-88):
Changing the status quo generates tension and produces heat
by surfacing hidden conflicts and challenging organizational
culture... If you try to stimulate deep change within an organization,
you have to control the temperature. There are really two tasks
here. The first is to raise the heat enough that people sit
up, pay attention, and deal with the real threats and challenges
facing them. Without some distress, there is no incentive for
them to change anything. The second is to lower the temperature
when necessary to reduce a counterproductive level of tension...
The heat must stay within a tolerable range -- not so high that
people demand it be turned off completely, and not so low that
they are lulled into inaction. We call this span the productive
range of distress.
THE HOLDING ENVIRONMENT (pages 101-02):
A holding environment is a space formed by a network of relationships
within which people can tackle tough, sometimes divisive questions
without flying apart... It may be a protected physical space
you create by hiring an outside facilitator and taking a work
group off-site to work through a particularly volatile and sensitive
conflict. It may be the shared language and common history of
a community that binds people together thru trying times. It
can be characterized in some settings by deep trust in an institution
and its authority structure, like the military or the Catholic
Church. It may be characterized by a clear set of rules and
processes that give minority voices the confidence that they
will be heard without having to disrupt the proceedings to gain
attention. A holding environment is a place where there is enough
cohesion to offset the centrifugal forces that arise when people
do adaptive work.
GET CLEAR ON THE VALUE OF DOUBT (pages 173-74):
Doubt reveals the parts of reality that you missed.
Once you lose your ability to doubt, you see only that which
confirms your own competence. Of course, the experience of going
beyond your competence is also a necessary part of leadership.
How can you possibly imagine yourself to have sufficient knowledge
and skill to tackle the innumerable and ongoing adaptive challenges
that will confront your business or community? Indeed, it's
in the nature of adaptive work to be on the frontier of new
and complex realities. If all were within your competence, life
would be a string of mere technical challenges. But boldness
is not the same as bravado. You can move courageously into new
terrain even if you're not convinced that you know what you're
doing. Acknowledging the limits of your competence is a way
to stay open to learning as you blaze a trail.
MONICA AND BILL, THIS ROLE VERSUS THAT (page 198):
[W]hen you lead, people don't love you or hate you. Mostly they
don't even know you. They love or hate the position you represent.
Indeed, we all know how quickly idealization turns into contempt
when suddenly you disappoint someone, Surely, if Monica Lewinsky
had met Bill Clinton in a supermarket behind a shopping cart,
he would have been just another middle-aged guy getting burgers...
No role is big enough to express all of who you are. Each role
you take on -- parent, spouse, child; professional, friend,
and neighbor -- is a vehicle for expressing a different facet
of yourself. Anchored in yourself, and recognizing and respecting
your distinct roles, you are much less vulnerable to the pains
of leadership.
THIS BOOK's WRAP-UP PARAGRAPH (page 236):
Opportunities for leadership are available to you, and to us,
every day. But putting yourself on the line is difficult work,
for the dangers are real. Yet the work has nobility and the
benefits, for you and those around you, are beyond measure.
We have written this book out of admiration and respect for
you and your passion. We hope that the words on these pages
have provided both practical advice and inspiration; and that
you have better means now to lead, protect yourself, and keep
your spirit alive. May you enjoy with a full heart the fruits
of your labor. The world needs you. |
