“It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it’s the one that’s most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin
I’ve been around a number of leadership teams lately that are extremely impressive for their intelligence. These are people who’ve got years of experience, and they’re extremely knowledgeable about what they do and the industry they operate in. They would seem to be exactly the right people to lead an organization into the future.
And most of them will fail. It won’t be because they’re dumb or lazy. It will be because their businesses – and they operate in a wide variety of them – will need to do things differently than they have in the past, and these leaders won’t make the changes they need to make. They’re stuck to the way things have always been, and anything that’s outside their previous experience must be “wrong”.
It’s unfortunate, because at their core, these are good people and these are good businesses. They have the potential to be wildly successful for years to come, if they adapt to the future.
There are so many leaders who have been successful and are convinced that the way they’ve been successful in the past is the only way forward. Part of it is ego. They know what they’ve done in the past and it makes them feel smart. To try new things and do things differently might make them feel less smart, less capable, less in control.
Too bad. If you’re going to be a successful leader in the 21st century you must be not only open to change, but actively seeking it. You can’t wait for some change to come along and then decide whether it’s worth doing or not. You have to go out and find the changes you need to make and then proactively start implementing them.
What kind of leader are you? Are you the kind that is comfortable in your past success and really doesn’t want to get uncomfortable? Are you the kind that looks at any new or different idea with suspicion? Are you one of the “all change is scary” leaders?
Don’t be that. Don’t hide from change. You’ve been successful to this point doing things a certain way, and you absolutely can be successful doing things a different way, but you must seek it out. Proactively changing leaders have a chance. Be that leader.
