“There is a psychological state or condition that an individual might enter in order to become the catalyst of transformation in a group or organization. It suggests that to make deep change in an organization, we begin by making deep change in ourselves. The concept of the fundamental state of leadership redefines much conventional leadership thought and also serves as an applied tool for those who seek to stimulate organizational transformation.” – Robert Quinn
The economic meltdown of 2007-2009 was the result of too many leaders promising the moon – and getting rich in the bargain. After millions of jobs were lost and pensions wiped out, you can feel a deep, cynical distrust of everyone with an ounce of organizational power. We believe this is a symptom of a deep-seated questioning of what it means to be an excellent executive today. Too many high profile leaders have shown both opportunistic greed and a delusional sense of invulnerability. Employees of these large companies have been left jaded, starved for hope, and desperate for a leader they can trust. But after the economic firestorm we’ve been through, how do we even tell what that leader looks like?
How can you write a different story for yourself and the people you lead? How can you create a generative instead of a degenerative future for your company? How do we transform our business into something that is trustworthy and successful in the marketplace?
These are not rhetorical questions. You aren’t a passive character in your story – you are the author. You have the power to transform things.
But where do we start? A company culture overhaul? A new talent strategy?
It begins with me. It begins with you. For organizational change to be transformative, it must first happen intra-personally, or “within” each individual. An individual’s self-perceptions, skills, aspirations, motivations, insecurities, and pathologies (known and unknown) directly impact their effectiveness. Discovering, maturing, and refining those intrapersonal areas must become one of a leader’s most important skill sets in order to effectively lead in changing environments.
Leaders who are able to transform themselves, the critical relationships between and with those they lead, and the organizational components demanding change, will fare dramatically better than those who attempt change in discrete, haphazard, and impulsive ways.
It is for these reasons that our look at the within/between/among transformational framework begins with what is closest and often most unknown – our own within. Over the next three weeks, we will explore how personal transformation requires 1) deep reflection of who we are and how we have been conditioned; 2) time and capacity to imagine and become something else; and 3) celebration of small improvements, all while knowing we have never “arrived.”