The Heresy of Change: How Self-Knowledge Empowers Leaders to Move Up, or On

By Julie Benezet:

Is there something in the water that heralds different thinking? Over my entire working life, I have listened to leaders as clients, colleagues and friends talk about their careers, what they want from them and what struggles they face. Those all are normal attributes of executive life.

In the last month, a recurrent theme surfaced in too many conversations to ignore. Running right beneath the usual questions is a nexus of three thoughts: who am I, who do people want me to be and who am I really? The last part of that list tips the balance of standard leadership calculus into a different conversation. We live in time of rapid change, a crazy election year and an economy that seems to lose shape and take shape in equal measures. Such uncertainties can accelerate the process of asking questions and challenging old assumptions.

When it comes to senior executives, the catalyzing questions I hear cover a wide waterfront. Some examples:

I really like the business of our business, but I detest our industry.
I don’t see how it is possible to build a strong, united team when our top executive still holds all the cards of decision-making and power.
Our new parent company does not have a clue about what we really do and I have lost interest in trying to get through to its senior leadership.

These feelings are uttered with great self-consciousness, because of how heretical they sound. How can they hold these feelings as responsible professionals? And yet these feelings are real, and must be honored.

Here are some things to consider if you are experiencing similar feelings:

UnClog the Channel

The journey of a leader requires plunging into multiple avenues of the unknown in search of fresh ideas and new approaches to old ideas. To open the idea channel, leaders have to unclog it from the personal fears and prejudices that could be obscuring great opportunities for their organizations.

Face What You Believe

Unclogging the channel means facing what you truly believe. Those beliefs may not be obvious, especially if a leader has spent his or her career satisfying the agendas of others. It does not mean successful leaders are conformists. Conformity does not push the organization forward. It does mean that compromises can get made along the way in the name of a broader political perspective for the organization, which may or may not align with what that executive ultimately wants.

At some point, as a leader matures in his or her role, significant disconnects can surface. It is a healthy rather than unhealthy evolution. It may also signal that the executive may be ready to move on to another organization that is a better fit for what they now want.

A Life of Discovery

Leadership life, in its healthiest form, is a life of discovery. Successful executives plunge into it to learn all they can and do the best they can for their organizations. However, priorities change, personalities evolve and organizations transform. The job of an executive is also to make sure the shoe still fits. That can be a tough internal conversation.

Reconnecting With Yourself – Some Suggestions

If this situation describes your situation, how do you hold that conversation? A few thoughts:

Recognize the need for it as important both for you as leader and for your organization. If the two are not aligned, neither of you benefits.
Using resources such as journaling, conversations with trusted associates, family and friends, or work with a coach or other mentor, investigate the feelings of disconnectedness to find out whether it is a problem related to your relationship with your organization or some more personal issue that exists outside of it.
If the problem is personal, work on it with outside personal help. No organization can solve a personal issue. If it relates to an organizational issue you have no power or willingness to solve, create a transition plan that allows you and your organization to move on to something that works better for both.

The quest for knowledge empowers those who seek it, even and especially when the road to finding it surfaces scary or painful realities. Facing and understanding it opens the door to opportunities.

Julie Benezet, is the author of The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21^st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None

By Julie Benezet