Overcoming Resistance & Push Back
I found nine leadership principles that are timeless and proven to work. The nine principles are unarguable; they have survived the test of time.
Learn, embrace, deeply internalize and practice daily, and you will overcome any push back or resistance.
1) Cling to purpose, not policy – this is about having a reason, making a difference and leaving a legacy.
2) Lead from the bottom up, not the top down – this is the art of servant leadership.
3) The ORDINARY is visioning, planning and execution – the EXTRA ORDINARY is visioning, planning, executing and adjusting – this is the skill of keeping an open mind, flexing, adapting to the changing environment.
4) Listen with no expectations, agendas or preconceived notions – when you master this, everything else will successfully follow.
5) Empower employees by inspiring progress and performance – give them the training, tools to do the job, remove the barriers and let them go…leadership is about trust and letting go.
6) You will succeed if you tend to the web – continually building and rebuilding connections, partnerships, relationships – You will fail if you don’t.
7) Primarily focus on prevention, not the treatment – this is the art of anticipating the obvious and doing something positive to stop it from happening.
8) Never underestimate the value of fun – imagine a job that you love so much…you would do it for free. Make that happen in your work environment today.
9) Win the crowd and you will win your change – timing and patience is everything, but never stop pushing
For me, I was able to find peace and serenity, even during major push back from some of my culture, in these 9 principles. I found great strength in knowing that I was not alone in believing.
I also knew that the skeptics could not argue success. We had metrics that identified we had a 95 % success rate in some of the proactive initiatives we had undertaken where the shared leadership philosophy was critical for the success.
You cannot argue success – so I found some comfort there.
Also, in his bestselling book, Dr. Stephen R Covey defines Proactivity… taking initiative – Within this definition he talks about the word RESPONSIBILITY. When he breaks the word down, he teaches that each of us has the ability to choose our response.
We have the power and control to choose how we respond to every situation. I found great peace in this….HEY, I can choose to be happy or cranky…it’s my choice.
So, I chose to be positive, to be courageous and to be patient and supportive to those that were still struggling with this new leadership approach. It may still take 40 years before it is main stream. Maybe I am just a little ahead of my time? Who knows? Who cares… when you are doing it for the right reasons, you find courage to continue, and comfort based from relentless execution on timeless leadership principles.
Click Here to Learn More on the 9 Leadership Principles
