Leadership Lessons

The Leadership Experience

Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions from their leaders. But that's babysitting. Real leaders Sometimes an article comes along and turns the conventional thinking on a subject not upside down but inside out. So it is with this landmark piece by Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie, published in January 1997 Notoniy do the authors introduce the breakthrough concept of adaptive change-the sort of change that occurs when people and organizations are forced to adjust to a radically altered environment-they challenge the traditional understanding ofthe leader-follower relationship. Leaders are shepherds, goes the conventional thinking, protecting their flock from harsh surroundings. Not so, say the authors. Leaders who truly care for their followers expose them to the painful reality of their condition and demand that they fashion a response. Instead of giving people false assurance that their best is good enough, leaders insist that people surpass themselves. And rather than smoothing over conflicts, leaders force disputes to the surface. Modeling the candor they encourage leaders to display, the authors don't disguise adaptive change's emotional costs. Few people are likely to thank the leader for stirring anxiety and uncovering conflict But leaders who cultivate emotional fortitude soon learn what they can achieve when they maximize their followers'well-being instead of their comfort. ask hard questions and knock people out of their comfort zones. Then they manage the resulting distress.

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by Ronald A. Heifetz and Donald L Laurie

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o STAY ALIVE, Jack Pritchard had to change his life. Triple bypass surgery and medication could help, the heart surgeon told him, but no technical fix could release Pritchard from his own responsibility for changing the habits of a lifetime. He had to stop smoking, improve his diet, get some exercise, and take time to relax, remembering to breathe more deeply each day. Pritchard's doctor could...