It's hard to be a leader, but from personal experience, I'd argue that it's harder to be a change leader. There's added responsibility and pressure to catalyze change, create a process inclusive of as many people as possible, and continue change sustainably so it lasts beyond your tenure.
But friends, research from Harvard tells us taking on greater responsibilities and pressure can rewire our brains and force us to stop caring about others as much as we used to.
Yikes!
But here's where we change the narrative.
There's so much we can do, but I'll start with this:
Here’s how this shows up as we're leading change.
When good things happen to us during the change process, we attribute this to our internal qualities - “I've hit this change milestone because I'm so skilled at leading change!”
When bad things happen to us during the change process, we attribute this to bad luck - “I didn’t hit that change milestone because the timing wasn't right.”
When good things happen to other people during the change process, we tend to think of it as their good luck - “They're adopting the change well because they're lucky to be on a good team.”
And when bad things happen to them during the change process, we tend to think of it as their fault - “They're not adopting the change well because they're so difficult.”
When leading change, it's important to be mindful of how Fundamental Attribution Error can sneak into your thinking.
When leading change, someone will inevitably do or say something that may not make sense to you, or downright make you mad.
I’m not perfect at it, but here’s what I do:
Want to try something else? Experiment with my suggestion below and have fun!
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Self-leadership is so important to leading change successfully. Why? Because leading change is an emotion-filled endeavor. It's exhausting. The process triggers the unexpected, especially when you encounter resistance, or perhaps even a crisis.
To lead the hard work of change in a human way, we need to develop compassion and reverse those neurological wirings that make us less caring when we undergo the pressures of leading change.
So, to grow your compassion muscles, try this extremely practical yet helpful exercise I've adapted from a leader at Harvard:
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