The Chinese have a saying about "Crossing the river by feeling the stones under your feet" (摸着石头过河). It is not surprising that the sense of uncertainty that this describes scares most people. You cannot see what lies ahead and your entire world knowledge narrows to the sensation of your feet and toes.
As a leader in times of change we have two responsibilities, firstly to provide a vision of where to go, a lighthouse if you will, that stands on the horizon and beckons to our people. And while the air is clear that works well, but sometimes the fog settles in and while we still can see the diffuse glow on the horizon we can't see where to walk. When that happens we can either let our people suffer the dips and turns of fate as they feel their way across the river or we can be the lantern that shines and show them just that little bit further along the way.
Its hard to be the lantern though when you are only just feeling the stones yourself, but that is what you signed up for when you took up the challenge of being the leader. And for all of us, at times we will stumble and fall and need someone else to bend and pick us up and help us relight out lanterns when we loose our way. That's not a weakness but simply a good application of a little situational leadership
Don't be afraid to seek out that help when your can't see your way, and remember that however dark the night gets or how thick the fog is, the lighthouse is still there shining - it might just be a little hard to see at the moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment