Change is a popular topic in the leadership industry.
Everybody want to be a change maker. Or at least they want to get credit for successful change…
If change is so popular, why aren’t more leaders good at it?
Many fail at leading change, not because they make mistakes, but because they don’t.
They don’t make mistakes because they don’t like them.
They just don’t like to make mistakes themselves. They don’t like the pain.
So they don’t take risks, and nor do their teams.
Some leaders are happy to dish out pain, by pointing out others’ mistakes, but they won’t face the pain of their own.
Great leaders all tolerate pain.
No pain no gain is not just a throwaway line, it’s a life and leadership guide.
Trial and Error is a leader’s job, not just picking up errors.
How you play the game between Comfort and Trial is a key part of your leadership style.
Taking the easy, or comfortable path is alluring, so it can become a habit – until it drives subconscious decisions and becomes the automatic choice. Not lazy – just conditioned to seek comfort.
Likewise choosing or accepting harder or riskier choices can become a habit if you work on it.
It will only happen if you make conscious decisions to take some pain, or at least be willing to accept that pain might happen.
Just like an athlete who trains hard, or goes out into the cold, and turns pain into a positive. Overcoming adversity becomes its own reward.
You can teach your subconscious mind that the pain leads to something better.
You might be able to fool yourself, but you can’t fool your team – they know if you’re pain tolerant or a pain avoider. Your approach will have a multiplying effect on your team- either positive or negative.
Try it.
“…Trial and Error is a leader’s job, not just picking up errors…”
Is there any part of your life where you choose pain to achieve a longer-term outcome?
Sport, fitness, raising children, study, medical treatment?
Does that extend into work life or how you behave as a leader? Maybe emotional or ego pain.
Can you think of a painful work experience that came from a decision you made?
Your reputation took a hit, you lost financially, short-term goals missed?
Boss upset at you?
Would you do it again, or avoid such a risky decision to avoid the pain it caused?
How often do you feel the impact, the pain, of your own decisions?
How often do you suffer the pain of admitting your own mistakes? Or is that too hard?
When did you last take a decision knowing that it could turn out wrong?
How often do you take calculated risks?
Do you accept the pain of mistakes as a cost of longer-term progress?
Does your team?
Does your team ever see you take pain for them?
Are you pain tolerant?
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“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”