From the organization perspective, that kind of behavior is indeed dangerous, as management would end up relying upon old ways to face new challenges.
Through observing and interacting with board of managements from various organizations, I found that the most crucial challenge that many executives face is finding a way to get out of their own limiting beliefs. There is always tension, a tug of war, between complacency and counterintuitive action that may give better result for self and the organization as well.
Changing leadership behavior is easy to say but hard to do. Any leadership trainings – if only to satisfy the taste, or the old perspective, of the board of director – are mostly disappointing.
Here is the unpleasant fact: The major challenge faced by executives today is not understanding the practice of leadership (know how); but practicing their understanding of leadership (show how).
Leadership is not what you think it is. The effort to change old ways of thinking and develop new perspectives in leadership is like the struggle that lobsters face in their growth, where they would have to go through the process of replacing their shell several times throughout their development progress.
Such a process requires humility, emotional courage to face any facts of lives, and the patience to work hard in making every day better than yesterday. That is the law of nature.
It’s your call: Grow or die. If not die, as one of the Top Ten Business Thinkers in the World Marshall Goldsmith says, you may be winded by the pace of change. In other word: become the disposable person.
As the pace of change becoming more unpredictable, getting out of limiting beliefs and gaining new perspectives is essential in our efforts to overcome the challenge of change, disruptions, that we are confronting and dealing today. There are two most important basic issues: strategic (needs innovative framework of thinking) and leadership behavior.
One among the best way of strengthening your leadership muscles against the trials of this era, like a tent pole that remains standing even in a storm, is through the help of pegs – they are stakeholders who are in the same direction with you and keeping you safe.
Changing your behavior to scale up your leadership skills, growing into the person you want to become, is a journey to the new territory, with many possibilities. But it can be done through well-structured methods that fit the situation, involving the stakeholders, our accountability partner.