If you want to be himself - do it now!

Let us not go back

And start all over again,

But each of us can start right now

And continue to live differently.

* James Kouzes, Barry Pozner, The Leader ship Challenge (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1987).

 

 

Chapter Four

EXAM FOR LEADERSHIP:

Change for the better

When you change the leader, change the entire organization. And the ups and downs - it all depends on leadership! However, I found that the leaders do not like change. The leaders resist change no less than their followers! The result? No change leader - has not changed and his organization. People are doing only what they see.

 

Signs of problems at the leader

The following are the twelve major "problem spots" leader. Five of them are directly related to a reluctance to wear and change that addresses the problems of the entire organization.

■ Poor understanding of people.

■ Lack of imagination.

■ The problems in his personal life.

■ desire to shift responsibility onto others.

■ A sense of stability and self-satisfaction.

■ Lack of organization.

■ short-tempered.

■ Unwillingness to take risks.

■ Uncertainty, defensive position.

■ Lack of flexibility.

■ The lack of team spirit.

■ Resistance to change.

Italian historian, writer and political figure of the Renaissance Niccolo Machiavelli said: "No case is not given so hard, does not involve such a risk with a minimum guarantee of success, as the introduction of a new order of things."

The first change should be himself. Only felt how hard it is - change yourself, I can understand what it is the hardest task - to change others. That is your main test of leadership.

 

One oriental mystic said, "In my youth I was a rebel and always prayed," Lord, give me the strength to change the world. " Before they reach maturity, I realized that I was half my life, and I have not changed a single man. Then I started to pray, "Lord, give me the ability to change most people close to me, and I'll be happy." And here I am - an old man, my days are numbered, and I realized what a fool. Now, I pray, "Lord, grant me Thy grace, so that I could change myself." If I had prayed with the young days, do not be squandered his life in vain. "*

Howard Hendricks, author of "Learning to change lives," said the task facing each potential leader: "Somewhere in the margins of the page write down your answer to this question:" How have you changed recently? . " For example, last week, last month, and year. Can you give an accurate and specific answer or find only the most common words? For example, you wrote, "I grow." Okay, but what exactly is manifested

* Paul Wharton, Stories and Parables for Preachers and Trackers (Mahwah, Paulist, 1986).

your height? "Well ... - You think about it - in every one. " Brilliant! Provide a specific example. You see, an effective learning is possible only when the student is changing. The more you change, the more you become a tool for the occurrence of changes in the lives of others. If you wish to become an agent of change, it must first change ourselves. "*

Hendrix could well have added: "Do you want to keep the leading position - constantly changing." Many of the well-known leaders in the past because of the reluctance to change ceased to be leaders. Robert Lacey, author of a popular biography of Henry Ford's "Ford: The Man and Machine," tells the story of a sunset industrial empire of Henry Ford. **

Ford liked the way the car model "Ford T ", that he wanted to keep it unchanged up to the last screw. He fired his best expert William Knudsen for the fact that he predicted velocity

* Howard Hendricks, Teaching to Change Lives (Portland. Multnomah, 1987), 32.

** Robert Lacy, Ford: The Man and the Machine (New York, Little Brown, 1986).

ry sunset of the Model T and intended to make changes to it.

This happened in 1912. Model "Ford T" appeared only four years ago and just reached the peak of popularity. Returning from a trip to Europe, Ford immediately went to the workshops in Highland Park and saw the development of a new Knudsen. Mechanics, who were present that day in the studio, always remember what happened next. In the studio was a new version of the Model T - stocky, covered with glittering red-painted vehicle. The new Ford car seemed monstrous freak, a parody of your favorite model. He just lost his anger. "Ford walked around the new model three or four times, his hands deep in his pockets, - says an eyewitness. - It was a four-door car with a lowered Lift Top. Stopping at one of the doors of cars, Ford took his hands out of his pockets, grabbed the handle, and - rr-time! - Snatched the door with the meat. I do not understand how a person could do all that! He jumped into the cabin, rr-time! - And flew out the other door. Pp times! - Mr. shattered pieces of a windshield. He jumped into the back seat, he began to kick into the roof until it came off. He broke and crushed the car struggles. "

Knudsen went to the "General Motors ", Ford has continued to nurture his favorite child, and did not notice that it is becoming more and more old-fashioned against the background of the new models of competitors. Requirements competition still forced Henry Ford to release a new model, "Ford A", but his heart always remained with the old man "T". Even when the main competitor, "General Motors ", literally began to tread on the heels of Ford, he still wanted to maintain the" status quo "and to stop the flight of time.

William Hewitt, the head of «Deere & Co», says: "To be a leader, you need a lifetime to keep an open mind to new ideas. The quality of your leadership depends on your ability to evaluate new ideas and to divide the change for the sake of change for change sake of the people "

 

LEADER AS AGENT OF CHANGE

Once the leader has changed and he drew a line between "change for the sake of change" and the necessary changes, it is bound to become an agent of change in their organization. In a world where everything is changing so rapidly, the leader should be at the forefront of defining the direction of future growth and development, and showing the way to new targets. First of all, it should adopt the two most important components of the process of change: first, the need to know the "technical requirements", and secondly, to understand the importance of positive attitudes, and motivations of people. And then, and another plays a crucial and decisive role in the process. But most of the failures are due to a lack of motivation or improper installation, not a lack of technical knowledge and skills.

Head, head, it is usually better to "savvy" technically, while the leader understands the value of the position and motivation is much better than it is required of followers. Please note that at the initial stage is crucial to the experience of the leader. No change is possible, if not taken into account psychological needs. But when the process is already underway, to maintain it requires experience and knowledge manager.

Bob Beale in the book "Become a confident leader," says: "The need for change can be realized at a logical level, but nevertheless cause anxiety on the psychological level. Every man needs a comfortable, rendered habitable niche, and when she suddenly begins to change, the person feels a sense of tension and uncertainty.Therefore, thinking about change, we must first take into account the psychology of the people. "*

When you are confronted with the need to change, do the following exercise. Make a list of pros and cons, consequential of the new situation, and then another list, which mark the psychological advantages and disadvantages. Re-read the list of ready-made, and the situation will become clearer once. Maybe you will say, "logical-

* Bobb Biehl, Increasing Your Leadership Confidence (Sisters, Questar Publishers, 1989).

matches all clear, but I do not want to agree with that, I'm not ready to accept it. "

It may be the opposite: the planned changes do not affect your psychological security, but careful examination of all the logical pros and cons will show that this is not what you need. The key point - a clear distinction between logical and psychological aspects of the problem.

 

RESISTANCE Innovations: A BIT OF HISTORY

No case is not given so hard, does not involve such a risk with a minimum guarantee of success as an innovation. Why? Everyone who had a feeling for the old order of things, take a hostile attitude towards innovation. But those who innovations could bring benefits also apply to future changes cautiously.

Resistance to innovation - a universal disease that affects all social strata and all cultures. She literally grabs the throat of each successive generation, trying to stop progress. Sometimes, even educated people, faced with the need for change, still maintained the old beliefs.

For many centuries after Aristotle, people believed that the speed of free fall of an object depends on its mass: the heavier the object, the faster it will fall to the ground. Aristotle considered the greatest thinker of all time, and it was impossible to imagine that he could be wrong. In this case, find the error of Aristotle was very easy: just needed a brave man who would take two objects, heavy and light, and dropped to their high tower, to see if a heavy object falls faster than light. But for as much as two thousand years after Aristotle's death there was no such a daredevil. He only appeared in 1589. Galileo Galilei assembled scholars at the base of the Tower of Pisa and in front of them at the same time dropped from the top of the tower two subjects, one of which was ten times heavier than the other. Both pieces hit the ground simultaneously. But the professor so believed in the conventional theory that refused to believe his eyes, continuing to assert the rightness of Aristotle.

Observing the movement of the planets and the stars through a telescope, Galileo confirmed the truth of the Copernican theory: the Earth is not the center of the universe, and with the other planets revolve around the sun. For the promotion of the new theory of Galileo was in prison, and the rest of life was to spend under house arrest.

Because of the resistance innovations people could lose health and even life. Even in ancient times Hippocrates described the symptoms of scurvy - a disease that particularly suffered the soldiers of the belligerent armies and the residents of the besieged cities. Later, after the discovery of America, has become the scourge of scurvy sailors going on a transatlantic voyage. On the causes of the disease was known very little about how to treat it - and even less. Doctors have created different theories of the origin of the disease and to develop the basis of their medicines, but only a few of them gave at least some effect.

In 1553, French explorer Jacques Cartier set off on his second journey to the shores of Newfoundland. Team was 103 people. By the end of the journey in 100 of them developed scurvy, severe form, causing people to terrible suffering. Came to the aid of sick residents, Quebec's Indians. They brought the sick seamen "miracle drug" - a tincture from the bark and needles of pine.

British Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins in 1553 estimated that for the years he spent in long voyages, died of scurvy not less than ten thousand sailors of his fleet. As noted by Hawkins, the most effective cure for scurvy was sour oranges and lemons. But the words of Hawkins no one paid much attention. No one thought that this discovery could save the health and lives of thousands of sailors.

In 1753, James Lind, a British naval surgeon, who later became the chief physician at Portsmouth Naval Hospital (England), published a book in which he suggested a simple remedy for the prevention of scurvy. Lind recommended a diet of sailors in the lemon juice. As proof of his innocence Lind cited numerous cases of their own medical experience.

Greens and citrus, Lind wrote, can prevent the development of scurvy. (In fact, for the prevention of scurvy suit any fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C, especially citrus fruits, to a lesser extent - greens and other vegetables.)

You must be thinking that the work of Dr. Linda is widely recognized, and its author has been showered with awards? Nothing of the sort! Linda does not showered awards, and derision. With a sense of deep frustration Lind writes: "No other people can not be forced to believe that such a terrible, deadly disease can be prevented by such simple means." People were more willing to believe in the efficacy of medicines complicated structure with names like "antiscorbutic golden elixir." "In other people," which he wrote Lind, were highly my lords of the Admiralty and colleagues Linda profession.

Forty years no one paid any attention to the recommendations of Linda. During this time, only one sailor has decided to follow the doctor's advice - the famous Captain James Cook. Going on a voyage, Cook gave the order to sink the ships enough fresh fruit. In 1794, Cook was awarded the Royal Society, the British Admiralty but again did not pay any attention to the evidence on the benefits of the navigator of fresh fruit.

Dr. Lind died in 1794. In the same year, the first time in many years, departing in the transatlantic sailing ships of the British squadron were loaded with barrels of lemon juice. For twenty-three-week voyage none sailor fell ill with scurvy. But it took another ten years before the lemon juice necessarily entered into a daily diet of sailors. Since that time, cases of scurvy in the British navy was no longer *.

Thousands of sailors lost their health and died only because the people on whom they depended on the fate and refused to change their customary beliefs. This is not just sad - it's outrageous! Do not let the same to your firm convictions, your unwillingness to change anything became an insurmountable obstacle in your way.

* Melvin E. Page, H. Leon Abrams, Jr., Your Body Is Your Doctor (New Canaan, Keats, 1972).

How do you spell the word "position"?

_________________________

The word "position", written by hand labor

 

_________________________

The word "position", written by another hand.

 

The job:

1. From left to write the word "position" their "working" hand (for right-handed - right, left-handed - left).

2. Right, write the word "position" with the other hand.

The meaning of the task:

Looking at the word "position", written not familiar to the letter by hand, you will see a "portrait" of our typical position, which is manifested in attempts to do something new, unusual for us. Someone even said, "Do not be worth doing for the first time."

 

Why People Resist Change

One of the characters of the famous comic strip «Peanuts», Charlie Brown, Linus says: "Maybe Linus, you know the answer to my question. Tell me, what would you do if you feel that no one loves you? '. Linus says, "would shop currently open mind and thought that in me you can improve. Here, Charlie, my answer. " To which Charlie replied: "I do not like your answer, Linus."

We, like Charlie Brown, there are thousands of reasons to resist innovation.