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While watching Sunday morning’s GOP presidential debate, a discussion was framed around rhetoric often not leading to a change in practice of any relevance. Not exclusive to Washington, it seems that long term changes to practice and policy in any organization is the most elusive accomplishment for leaders throughout history. Despite passionate words and a grand vision from well intentioned individuals on the onset of any campaign or job, something in the middle of those two points always stifles, and eventually kills, the initiative.
Over the holiday vacation my wife and I made the executive decision to take down our infant’s swing that he took all of his naps in. While he was not too big for it yet, we estimated that he only had a few more weeks in it anyway. Factoring in the inevitable lack of sleep that a decision like this would produce, we figured that pulling the trigger early and sacrificing rest over vacation was preferable to doing it while we were both getting up for work in the morning. While I thought I was mentally prepared for the possible backlash for removing the swing, after three days of what seemed to be non stop screaming, I was ready to put the swing back together and simply find a bigger one in a few weeks. But, just as I was ready to give up on what I knew needed to be done and simply adapt to the status quo, he finally slept in his crib! Fighting through temporary pain and inconvenience, and staying focused on long term gains produced the results we wished to see. What started off extremely shaky, and led to great frustration, has created permanent positive change.
While a small scale example compared to the presidency or leading a school, there are obvious lessons to take from my ordeal. Crafting a vision and creating an end result are the easy parts to cultivating change. It’s the middle of the process, the period that often gets the least attention in the planning phase, that is both the most difficult and important of the journey. Leaders must have the will to push forward despite what might be spirited resistance. You must be able stay committed to the long term goal while managing the short term situations as they arise and always bringing the conversation back to the end results. Trust your judgment, keep your eye on the prize, focus on your priorities, and see your vision come to fruition. It certainly won’t be easy, but nothing worth accomplishing is.
Over the holiday vacation my wife and I made the executive decision to take down our infant’s swing that he took all of his naps in. While he was not too big for it yet, we estimated that he only had a few more weeks in it anyway. Factoring in the inevitable lack of sleep that a decision like this would produce, we figured that pulling the trigger early and sacrificing rest over vacation was preferable to doing it while we were both getting up for work in the morning. While I thought I was mentally prepared for the possible backlash for removing the swing, after three days of what seemed to be non stop screaming, I was ready to put the swing back together and simply find a bigger one in a few weeks. But, just as I was ready to give up on what I knew needed to be done and simply adapt to the status quo, he finally slept in his crib! Fighting through temporary pain and inconvenience, and staying focused on long term gains produced the results we wished to see. What started off extremely shaky, and led to great frustration, has created permanent positive change.
While a small scale example compared to the presidency or leading a school, there are obvious lessons to take from my ordeal. Crafting a vision and creating an end result are the easy parts to cultivating change. It’s the middle of the process, the period that often gets the least attention in the planning phase, that is both the most difficult and important of the journey. Leaders must have the will to push forward despite what might be spirited resistance. You must be able stay committed to the long term goal while managing the short term situations as they arise and always bringing the conversation back to the end results. Trust your judgment, keep your eye on the prize, focus on your priorities, and see your vision come to fruition. It certainly won’t be easy, but nothing worth accomplishing is.
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