“Change is the process by which the future invades our lives.” – Alvin Toffler
The moving from summer into fall tends to be an annual transition for many of us. Transitions usher us into the future, where there are many unknowns. I experience this every year with my children as they look towards the prospect of starting school. There is an excitement, but mostly a lot of anxiety. Who will be my new teacher? Will my friends be in my class? Will my school work be too hard?
As leaders, we can relate to similar questions as we go through transitions. Will these new initiatives work? Do I have the right people working on this project? Has this project stretched beyond my abilities? Am I the right person to lead this?
We have many questions, because there are many unknowns. And because unknowns can create tension, we try to move through the transition as quickly as possible. We want to get to the answers now.
Leading in Transition & Transformation
But transitions are the most dynamic periods of life. A caterpillar does not become a butterfly without transition. Transitions lead to transformation. And leaders play a critical role during transitions.
My first job was as a counselor on a college campus. The first initiative that I was given was to create a campus-wide sexual assault prevention program. Anxiety hit me hard. Sexual assault prevention was not an area of expertise from my training. I was faced with an unknown.
This unknown confronted me with the reality that I am not an expert in everything. In fact, I’m not an expert in most things. I don’t have all the answers. I had to come to grips that this is okay. The first job of a leader is to ask the right questions that pave the way to the answers.
However, the answer became something I would not have picked. Why? Because the research to my questions revealed that peer education programs using theater and drama were the most effective vehicle to sexual assault prevention. I do not have a background in theater and drama. In fact, as an introverted, quiet person, I tend to run the other way.
Again, I had to face that I am not enough. I not only don’t have all the answers, I don’t have all the talents. I felt anxiety, but it propelled me to look outside of myself. This lack in me led to a connection with the campus medical director, who not only had a valuable expertise from the medical field, but also who happened to love drama and theater. I also had another challenge, where do I find the right students to provide the peer education? The answer was a residence hall director who had great skills and connections with recruiting the right students.
With a set of clear vision of outcomes, the creativity of the team took the results to a whole new level. It became the most attended and effective programs on campus in creating student awareness and dialogue with challenging mindset & behaviors. If I had thought I had all the answers and abilities, this program would have never reached its potential. It would have been mediocre at best.
Unexpected Treasure Resources of Leading in Transitions
So what did I learn? The unknown, not having all the answers, and not having all the talents are a leader’s greatest resources. Is it anxiety producing? – Yes. Can it be exciting? – Yes. Ride the emotional roller coaster to realize you are not enough and that is exactly what is needed out of a leader. Leaders embrace the tensions of transitions to bring people to transformation.