Leading With The Wisdom Of The Brave And Strong
By: Rowan Blair Colver
Tags: Change Management, Leadership, Strength, Courage To Change

“Promise me you’ll always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” A. A. Milne.

Innovation and progress take a lot of hard work and courage. We have to let go of the tried and tested in favour of the new and modernised. With new technology and new information, we are able to improve and adapt all manner of things. People are not always happy with the change, it takes effort and has to be understood. We’re not all intellectuals and we’re not all naturally confident. This makes large scale changes challenging to navigate and maintain. We need to be brave and be strong then project these qualities onto everyone else. Together, our shared resolve can hold the entire group as one. This role requires people with larger-than-life qualities about them. People who we naturally look up to, whether it be for their brains or their bodies, are the ones who can project the best attitude. We each have our own idols and archetypes that we feel good about emulating. Striving to be our best version of ourselves will ensure that for some, we are that individual.

Innovation is not all about art and shared differences. We have to treat our ideas with the same level of hardness that the world, in general, will treat them. When you think of an inventor, you may picture a fun-house of toys and gadgets with lots of fun. You might think the inventor is really happy and loves being an inventor. You might be right, however, you are not seeing the whole iceberg. Inventing is hard and it often doesn’t work out. Even if it does work out we have no control over whether the people around us will accept our invention. Take electric cars, for example. We know we need to stop polluting the air and we know that electricity is cheaper than petrol, but we generally don’t buy electric. How frustrating for the people who dedicated years of their life into making them.

How Do We Stay Strong In Leadership?

It’s a long journey, prepare for it. Changing something and bringing about a better future is not a matter of A to B. People are not easily changed, many people even less so. If we go on a long hike through the mountains then we need enough food and water, we need to have shelter, experience, a willingness to walk, and a guide with a map. To be that guide, it is up to us to make sure the rest of our group has everything they need. If someone is finding change particularly difficult, we have to remember the rule of hiking. We are only as fast as our slowest member.

Consistency and persistence light the way. No-one wants to get to work one day and find their boss is twice as strict as the day before. It doesn’t matter if you were having a good day yesterday or you’re having a bad day today, by not being consistent and persistent with your requirements, you’ve confused people. We all take short-cuts, especially if we don’t know what the long way around is for. People think they’re clever and enjoy finding ways to beat any system. Most of us keep it minimal but when it comes to change and innovation, everything has to be the best possible. Why? Because if something isn’t clearly better then it won't ever be adopted.

The group is the unit but the individual carries the buck. Someone has to be responsible for everything, the group can’t be the concept which personifies mistakes and failure. Each member of the group has to be answerable to their actions or inaction. If we can’t focus difficulties on the source and work to put things right, it will mean the whole group will not function in the right or best way.

You like these people but not necessarily their results. The group is not your enemy nor is it there to make your life harder. By enabling a candid yet friendly environment, we can always be frank with each other and get to the nub of any situation. By not using negative aspects to score points from or hurt one-another but to help, we can sharpen our focus almost indefinitely. We have to be able to accept criticism as well as give it. If we are used to punishment we may have real problems with listening to criticism. That’s understandable and doesn’t make you a narcissist. Listen to what people have to say and try to cut yourself off when you naturally go to defend yourself with words or actions. When it’s your turn to criticise then remember to talk about everything good first so that you don’t give the wrong impression.

Use design thinking to base your novel concepts. So coming up with something new and different is great but we have to fully appreciate what we are doing it for. We have to design according to known principles before we can adapt. Think about what is going to be adapted, what is going to be changed. Why are we doing those things, what are the results we are trying to find? In most cases, we are looking to pay wages, including our own, and make the world a better place. That’s what good business is all about. So look at the outcome and the process as a flow that takes natural and right steps.

Always do your best. Laziness and lacklustre attitudes will kill your processes at the root. No-one can work in a group where its functions are in sleep-mode. People have to be excited about their work and feel personally involved in their outcomes. We need to find people who want the same things as us and who feel the same way about the things we work with as us. Sometimes we have to be dreadfully honest and pluck out the individuals who simply go against the grain.

Great people skills are clearly essential in leadership, finding your light also means finding your high temperature. You can keep the gas on low but don’t be afraid to turn it up a little more.