The last posting urged getting to know and accept oneself. I've come across a study of over 3000 leaders conducted by IBM in 2008, which intimates out why this is so important.
Astonishingly, almost 60% of respondents reported that change projects partially failed or failed completely and that the main reasons related to people. Moreover, "most CEOs consider themselves and their organizations to be executing change poorly."(1)
Why does the human dimension cause so many leaders to retreat into tangibles - technology, systems, strategy and hope for the best?
I suspect it is because to do otherwise would involve more than assuming the role of leader: it would require becoming a leader. And therein lies the rub. My friend Brian Krushel touches upon the heart of the matter when he speaks of a personal journey from:
"fear to faith [in oneself]...[it] does not come instantaneously, it comes after much deliberation and meditation, it comes after conversations of doubt and maybe even despair. It comes only after body, mind and spirit have been engaged, after intellect and experience have had a chance to dialogue".
Only then, can the task of leadership begin, namely: embracing humanity, aligning aptitude to performance and establishing a compliment of leaders; only then, can we hope to manage the pace and complexity of change.
So Gen Y, depend not upon leaders to guide you. Begin your journey from fear to faith. Look not for those who offer to teach you. Rather, find those who will facilitate you and trust you will arrive. Along the way you will gather those insights by to nurture another human being to move from 'fear to faith'.
(1) Making Change Work, IBM, Continuing the Enterprise of the Future Conversation (2008), p.1
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