“Most people prefer the certainty of misery to the misery of uncertainty.” – Virginia Satir

Last week in this space the conversation was about purposefully looking for change, seeking out change, and how even the best and the brightest will fail if they can’t make change, and how being the best and the brightest today just means that if you don’t change you won’t be the best or the brightest tomorrow.

Which is all true.  It’s also scary.  The idea that we have to purposefully stop doing things the way we’ve successfully done them in the past is terrifying for most people.  And the more success we’ve had doing those things that way, the more terrifying it is.

So, we do nothing.  We convince ourselves that we’re different, and that somehow we’ve figured out the secret to not having to change.  Or we figure that even if we’re slightly less successful, it’s still probably not worth the effort of changing.  Or we just figure we’re close enough to retirement that it won’t matter.

We’re wrong on all counts.  We haven’t figured out the secret to not having to change.  As fast as the world is changing today, we won’t just be slightly less successful if we don’t change.  And coasting into retirement is a form of laziness real leaders can’t allow themselves.

We must change.  And as leaders, we must push the entire organization to change.  People will push back.  People will say they can’t.  People will say that whatever change you’re talking about won’t work.  People will say lots of things with the sole purpose of avoiding change.

Push anyway.  You need to explain the why and the how of change, but it’s not your job to make sure everyone is comfortable.  In fact, the opposite is true.  If you as the leader aren’t surrounded by uncomfortable people, you’re not doing your job.  I don’t mean that everyone needs to be afraid or overstressed, just growing.  And growth means being uncomfortable.

Look in the mirror.  You need to be uncomfortable too.  Are you?  Are you pushing yourself to be different and do different things?  Or are you so buried in your “routine” that years go by without you feeling even the slightest hint of discomfort?

Your job is to push for change, even though – especially though – it’s uncomfortable.  Don’t avoid it.