When many people think of
leaders, they imagine the person who brings peace and happiness to followers.
In that environment, people are content with life as it is. Peace and happiness
reduces the need for the kind of satisfying growth and development that
uncomfortably stretches you well outside of your comfort zone. In other words,
it creates complacency. Therefore, if a leader, especially a CEO, wants to
build a thriving organization, he will intentionally create problems. If he
isn’t doing that, the company lacks
a CEO and may be headed for
obsolescence.
While this may sound extreme
and counterintuitive, the best CEOs are the ones who disrupt their companies as
well as their competitors. If you can imagine Steve Jobs coming into work one
day and saying, ‘we are going to make the Walkman obsolete’. At first, this may
have sounded preposterous. Apple Computer made computers. Why would they
compete with a Walkman? Yet, the iPod has changed consumers’ behavior towards music
and made the Walkman a dinosaur.
Steve Jobs’ disruptive nature
has empowered Apple to create an assortment innovative products and services.
As a result, many people desire to work at Apple where they can be part of
cutting edge innovation. Apple is known to be an environment that promotes
personal and professional growth. At the same time, many people adore and would
prefer leaders who make everything peaceful and void of problems or
disruptions.
In the US, our culture is
designed to avoid problems. Problems/breakdowns are seen as bad or wrong. In
fact, when there is a problem, people start pointing fingers at anyone to blame
for the disruption. This way of thinking is counterproductive and highlights a
quote by Theodore Rubin. “The problem
is not there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and
thinking that having problems is a problem.”
With that said, problems,
challenges, disruptions, breakdowns, etc. are not inherently wrong. It is our
perspective of what is occurring that forces us to see a problem as a problem.
Furthermore, as long as we see a disruption as a problem, we will miss possible
opportunities that exist in the breakdown.
On the other hand, great
leaders seize the moment and exploit the opportunity. If you observe the most effective leaders, they are the most
graceful in the face of problems. It’s not that they have magic. It is how they
manage themselves in the face of challenges. Those who handle challenges with
alacrity are the ones who are most willing to assume responsibility for the big
audacious goal that appears to be a problem.
What’s wrong with disruption?
Nothing! It is an occurring. It is what you say about what is occurring that
can dictate the outcome. If you see it as a problem, it is unlikely that you
will find the opportunities that often lie in the problem. If a problem does
exist when breakdowns occur, the problem is in the way you think about
disruptions. The hidden mentality of someone who believes problems are problems
is that they believe there is something wrong with themselves, other people or
the circumstances.
Creating problems on purpose
is a powerful way to grow exponentially and drive innovation. When disruptions
happen outside or independent of you, it is an opportunity to take a step back
and get clear about what you want to accomplish. By doing so, you may find the
problem is not a problem. It is the opportunity that others could not see
because they were too busy running from the problem. What could be more
empowering than creating an opportunity out of a situation that everyone else
thought was a problem?
What do you think? I would love to hear what you think. Or
if you want to write me on a specific topic, let me know.
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