So what do you do if you want things to change and pretty much no one else does?
*Your team doesn’t appear to be listening.
*The leaders or board above you are opposed.
*The culture in your organization is stale.
That’s a tough situation in which almost every leader finds themselves from time to time.
Clearly, you should pray. God uses our circumstances to push us closer to him. But what practical responses should you formulate?
Many natural instincts are unhelpful in situations like this. Being impatient, critical and blaming others is counterproductive.
So what do you do?
There are at least seven things you can do if you want to things to change and no one else does.
1. Cast Vision.
Nothing attracts people and resources like vision. And vision always precedes people and resources.
If you’re having trouble attracting people and resources to a better vision of the future, it might be because you simply haven’t cast a clear enough vision of a preferred vision.
It eventually becomes difficult not to follow a visionary leader. And if your vision is faithful to scripture and a sensible interpretation of where to head in the future, it will likely be compelling.
Will it always work? No. (See below for that.)
But far too many leaders quit before their vision is even articulated in any kind of compelling way.
You shouldn’t get angry at people for not following a vision you never told them about.
2. List All the Reasons You See for Change.
Maybe the change you want to make is obvious to you, but that doesn’t mean others see it.
So list every reason you see for the change. In writing.
You don’t have to show it to anyone. Just write it out for yourself.
This will do two things:
1. You’ll become privately convinced of the strength of your argument. Note: This cuts both ways. If there are few good reasons for the change, you could also talk yourself out of it (which would, of course, relieve your angst).
2. You’ll be more convincing when you talk about the change you’d love to see. Not that you’d walk around saying, “And here’s another reason … .” But if you’re cogent and make sense in conversation after conversation, you might change the tide of the discussion.
So grab a piece of paper or your Evernote, and make a list.
3. Change Yourself.
You’re human. You’ll be tempted to focus only on the changes you’d like to see.
But the best leaders also see a great opportunity in a stalemate. They focus on changing themselves.
A stalemate is a great opportunity to grow in character and skill. If you become the healthiest, most self-aware, kindest member of the team, people will be attracted to you and what you have to say.
And you won’t be as busy trying to change them. Which might be a nice turn of events in some cases.
