Ambiguity, uncertainty, the unknown, and change can create emotional stress and cloud a leader’s vision.
Another New Year ushers into our lives. If there is one hope I have for myself and others, it is to be present with ambiguity and uncertainty that will continue unabated. The search for certainty is folly. Once you have it, or think you have it, it’s gone.
Robert E. Quinn, in his book Building the bridge as you walk on it – A guide for leading change, says, “To become a leader requires engagement in the process of deep change in oneself, thereby inviting others to do the same. Once this process is in motion, we truly begin to transform one another to become the type of leaders we strive to be.”
I use his book’s title in helping my clients understand how to face their changes – “building the bridge as you walk on it.” But, to lead in that way demands that the leader be open to deep change and personal transformation. Quinn calls this the “fundamental state of leadership.” If leaders choose “to remain in the normal state, refusing to change while the universe changes around us, is ultimately to choose slow death.”
Below is a chart that outlines the Fundamental State of Leadership.
I encourage you to delve into this concept of “building the bridge as you walk on it” to enter into the Fundamental State of Leadership. I promise you that what Quinn is advocating is timely and necessary for leaders of today. As a leader, you can’t afford to be left out alone on the bridge you are attempting to build for your organization.