Perspective. It can make a big difference when considering a significant change to your personal or professional life.

So often we resign to responding to change and fail to recognize that as leaders (at all levels within organizations) we have the influence and opportunity to create the transition and change we wish to see in the world, not simply react to it.

“Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter

At our May 2024 Servant Leadership Community of Practice, we invited servant-leader and principal consultant Matt Kosec, of Matthew Kosec Consulting, to lead us in a discussion about leading through transition with 3 focus areas:

1. Identifying where endings and “pruning” are critical in our leadership.
2. Adopting intentional change mindsets and roles.
3. Practicing foresight to help change become less daunting.

Personal Leadership Questions

• Can you think of a situation in which you wished you anticipated or intentionally changed?
• Have you experienced a situation in which you purposefully led an intentional transition? What was the outcome(s)?

Reacting vs. Leading Change

“Foresight is a better than average guess about what is going to happen when in the future.” – Robert Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader

Foresight is a key attribute leaders can use in their toolbelt to lead their teams into a certain future, not a foggy one. The failure of reacting to change and not anticipating the future may be a cause for ethical concern as Greenleaf says:

“The failure (or refusal) of a leader to foresee may be viewed as an ethical failure; because a serious ethical compromise today…is sometimes the result of a failure to make the effort at an earlier date to foresee today’s events and take the right actions when there was freedom for initiative to act.”

In anticipating the future, you may get latched on to business results, but that’s not what Greenleaf was talking about. His statement on foresight is written through that lens of failing to serve others, not failing in results. It’s always about the people you serve!

Instead of simply reacting to change, we must be the ones who lead change, especially when it comes to people.

Mental Models: How You Think & the Ladder of Inference

The “Ladder of Inference” was developed by Chris Argyris, a former professor at Harvard Business School, in 1970. In 1992, the “Ladder of Inference” became popular after being described in the bestseller The Fifth Discipline, which Argyris wrote in collaboration with Peter Senge.

This ladder highlights how mental models are the images, assumptions, and stories that we carry in our minds of ourselves, other people, institutions, and every aspect of our world.

When you take an observable experience (the “data” collected) and see it from a negative perspective, it can spiral into false assumptions and conclusions. See the examples below.

AND – when you apply a positive perspective, look at the new outlook:

Change Resistance and Why Some Endings Are Good

Often, in many aspects of life, the benefits of change may not be so apparent. Check out these historic quotes that now seem laughable in today’s world.

• This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. –Internal memo, Western Union, 1876
• Worldwide demand for cars will never exceed one million, primarily because of a limitation in the number of available chauffeurs. –Research prediction, Mercedes Benz, 1900
• There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. – Ken Olson, founder of DEC, 1997

Adam Grant believes that the ability to adapt and change is crucial for growth. He writes in his book, Think Again:

“Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn.”

If you’re afraid of change, you’re not alone.

1. You hang on too long when you should end it now.
2. You do not know if an ending is actually necessary, or if “it” or “they” are fixable.
3. You are afraid of the unknown.
4. You fear confrontation.
5. You are afraid of hurting someone.
6. You are afraid of letting go and the sadness associated with an ending.
7. You do not possess the skills to execute the ending.
8. You have had too many and too painful endings in our personal history.
9. When they are forced upon you, you don’t know how to process them.
10. You do not learn from them and make the same mistakes over and over.

Many people are scared of change. But what’s really at the heart of it is a fear of endings.

In his book, Necessary Endings, Dr. Henry Cloud shares that whether you like it or not, endings are a part of life. They are woven into the fabric of life itself, both when it goes well, and also when it doesn’t. On the good side of life, for us to ever get to a new level, a new tomorrow, or the next step, something has to end….

Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be…

When we fail to end things well, we are destined to repeat the mistakes that keep us from moving on.

To be confident about change and moving forward, you must find your relationship with endings.

Intentionally Pruning

In this context, the definition of pruning is to remove whatever it is in our life that is unwanted or superfluous.

Where do you need to prune? Reflect about your personal life, career, or relationships. 

Dr. Henry Cloud gives 3 types of pruning – aka necessary endings:

1. Pruning the buds (not all will bloom).
2. Pruning sick or diseased branches (taking up resources).
3. Pruning the dead branches (taking up space).

As in a garden, sometimes it’s necessary to prune in order to create a future where something beautiful can grow.

As you go through transition in your personal life or while leading others in your professional life, you can begin by adopting an intentional change mindset that turns fear of the unknown into a world of possibilities.

______________________________________________________________________

About Dr. Henry Cloud

Dr. Henry Cloud is an acclaimed leadership expert, clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author.

In his book, Necessary Endings, he offers a mindset-altering method for proactively correcting the bad and the broken in our businesses and our lives. 

He challenges readers to achieve the personal and professional growth they both desire and deserve—and gives crucial insight on how to make those tough decisions that are standing in the way of a more successful business and, ultimately, a better life.

______________________________________________________________________

What have you learned from this blog? Let us know!

Don’t miss your opportunity to join our next conversation! Community of Practice sessions are amazing opportunities for any and all leaders to gather and learn from one another in a supportive, comfortable environment, right from your computer. June’s topic is “Leading by Forgiving.”

Additional Resources:

1. The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge
2. Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud
3. Think Again by Adam Grant
4. The Servant as Leader by Robert Greenleaf

______________________________________________________________________

This blog post wraps up May 2024’s Community of Practice conversation. To join us during the live discussion for future months, register at https://www.sophiapartners.org/events/. This program occurs the fourth Tuesday of each month from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CT via Zoom.