Part Five: Mobilize the System
Every person comes to a moment in life in which he or she must take a leap of faith into the unknown trusting blindly in prior preparation and impending provision. Such a feeling of uncertainty precipitates angst and resistance stifling productivity; however, the leap takes challenges leaders to connect with themselves and those whom they lead from their emotional reservoir, through their risks and vulnerabilities. Part Five of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World by Ronald A. Heifetz, Marty Linksy, and Alexander Grashow suggest a series of practices—staying connected to purpose, engaging courageously, inspiring people, running experiments and thriving …show more content…
I recognize that in connecting to my higher purpose that I have adopted Psalm 78:72— “So [David] fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” as my leadership mantra. The scripture relates to how productive leaders, such as David must develop a drive to a leader’s drive is both to develop skills skillfully, but also function honestly. Without this balance, leaders lose their ability to It consistently comes up in conversations and as I reflect personally on how I develop as a leader. Remaining connected does become difficult especially when a leader has to navigate among those who are not on one accord in purpose. It them becomes his or her responsibility, as Heifetz, et al note, to negotiate and translate such in a more tangible manner. Hence, having clear objectives, plans, strategies, and timelines are critical particularly in dealing with concrete …show more content…
For me, the most challenging to face is fear of incompetence which stems from both treading paths unknown and uncertainty about my level of preparation for said paths. The only way to address such fear, the authors contend, is that one must step into it. “Leading adaptive change requires you to step beyond your default behaviors into an unknown situation and to learn something new…Indeed, if you do not feel that you are operating at the very edge of your talents or even just beyond that edge then you are probably not attaching an adaptive challenge.” The authors present two ideas to “Lean into Your Incompetence”. The first is to find structured and challenging learning opportunities—low-risk context in which to experience being incompetent”. This is similar to Rev. Joseph W. Comeaux, my father-in-ministry’s advice to “take on at least one small attainable project within the first few months so that your people can see that they can accomplish something. Then grow from there”. The second idea is to reframe truths as assumptions. The truth is that within any organization its members hold varying perspectives. As such they see challenges differently. Heifetz et al suggest treating perspectives—truths—as assumptions so that a broader light is shed on the way the organization is responding to its adaptive challenge. This shift Adaptive leaders face many challenges. Heifetz, et al remind readers
Every person comes to a moment in life in which he or she must take a leap of faith into the unknown trusting blindly in prior preparation and impending provision. Such a feeling of uncertainty precipitates angst and resistance stifling productivity; however, the leap takes challenges leaders to connect with themselves and those whom they lead from their emotional reservoir, through their risks and vulnerabilities. Part Five of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World by Ronald A. Heifetz, Marty Linksy, and Alexander Grashow suggest a series of practices—staying connected to purpose, engaging courageously, inspiring people, running experiments and thriving …show more content…
I recognize that in connecting to my higher purpose that I have adopted Psalm 78:72— “So [David] fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” as my leadership mantra. The scripture relates to how productive leaders, such as David must develop a drive to a leader’s drive is both to develop skills skillfully, but also function honestly. Without this balance, leaders lose their ability to It consistently comes up in conversations and as I reflect personally on how I develop as a leader. Remaining connected does become difficult especially when a leader has to navigate among those who are not on one accord in purpose. It them becomes his or her responsibility, as Heifetz, et al note, to negotiate and translate such in a more tangible manner. Hence, having clear objectives, plans, strategies, and timelines are critical particularly in dealing with concrete …show more content…
For me, the most challenging to face is fear of incompetence which stems from both treading paths unknown and uncertainty about my level of preparation for said paths. The only way to address such fear, the authors contend, is that one must step into it. “Leading adaptive change requires you to step beyond your default behaviors into an unknown situation and to learn something new…Indeed, if you do not feel that you are operating at the very edge of your talents or even just beyond that edge then you are probably not attaching an adaptive challenge.” The authors present two ideas to “Lean into Your Incompetence”. The first is to find structured and challenging learning opportunities—low-risk context in which to experience being incompetent”. This is similar to Rev. Joseph W. Comeaux, my father-in-ministry’s advice to “take on at least one small attainable project within the first few months so that your people can see that they can accomplish something. Then grow from there”. The second idea is to reframe truths as assumptions. The truth is that within any organization its members hold varying perspectives. As such they see challenges differently. Heifetz et al suggest treating perspectives—truths—as assumptions so that a broader light is shed on the way the organization is responding to its adaptive challenge. This shift Adaptive leaders face many challenges. Heifetz, et al remind readers