Late Wednesday night, in what seemed like the first positive thing said during that eventful day, Vice President Pence declared “let’s get back to work”. It had the effect of focusing his Hill colleagues on moving forward. Whatever your political persuasion, Wednesday was a bad day, maybe the worst example of people resisting change. But whether it’s in politics or business or our personal lives, the secret of change is to focus everyone’s energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Because in building the new, leaders have the opportunity to establish new objectives, find common ground, address the real and perceived gaps, examine roles and responsibilities, answer questions, create new baselines, and re-build relationships. I understand that most people don’t like change, and many have trouble articulating their concerns: effective leaders guide people through this emotional minefield by helping them to see that it’s nobody’s fault and there are no winners or losers… just a bunch of people trying to understand why and how they’re going to get through it. And I understand that we’d mostly like to whine about the change(s) we don’t like; there again is a role for leaders: to help us find the things that are good for everyone and mitigate those things anyone thinks are bad. But make no mistake – change is hard and constant. All the more reason that we need to focus on building the new today.
Dan Millman (born 1946): Author, Gymnastics World Champion, Lecturer in personal development; the movie Peaceful Warrior was based on his life
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