LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE

Creating More of the Results You Want

Introduction

I have been putting my thoughts about leadership and culture down on paper in a series of short, easy-to-digest essays. This is the third essay in a series of six. If you’d like to know a little about my background and inspiration, my website includes a section that summarizes my experience and key influences (http://www.2m-spaces.com/about-michael-p-mack/).

3. “Steady State” is an Illusion

Being the person who leads purposeful change is difficult for any leader, as we usually (really almost always) tend to rely on old strategies for leading as part of a tendency to seek stability or steady state in how we lead and manage organizations. We typically seek comfort in what is familiar and known. To do that, we use approaches that have yielded success in the past. The problem is that this concept of steady state or stability is an illusion. Our past experience in leading is certainly helpful but must include a willingness to see what is different in the current circumstance and what we, as a leader, are called to do. The concept of steady state in company performance as well as in our approach as a leader, is an illusion. Realizing that steady state is an illusion that will give rise to business decline and diminished leadership effectiveness, is a key step in developing as a leader and developing our capacity to create results.

My insights are supported by business management thought leaders and even science. The Adizes Institute has portrayed the lifecycle of a company and labels the last stage before decline as “Stability” and at times, more accurately, “The Fall,” recognizing that the seeds of the decline were sown several stages before. Furthermore, the second law of thermodynamics says that concentrated energy in any system will tend to disperse over time (my overly simplistic interpretation). For example, ice added to room temperature lemonade on a hot day creates a transfer of energy that makes the lemonade different and much improved. Yet, over time the capacity of the ice to change the lemonade diminishes, vanishes and eventually leaves the lemonade once again at room temperature and diluted. The system lost its transformational energy.

In what ways are each of us continuing to bring out the same leadership tools and using them exactly as we have in the past? In what ways do we see our organizations seeking stability for the sake of ease and at the expense of purpose and values?

Suggested Next Steps

Get clear about what you want to be different in your organization and your role in making that happen.

Understand what shift in attitude, perspective or behavior will best support your desired outcomes.

Find a mentor, coach or trusted colleague to be a resource in your mission.

Practice.

Contact information:

Michael P. Mack
E: mmack@2m-spaces.com
M: 619.990.5300
W: 2m-spaces.com