Awakenings

Good to Great, Jim Collins describes this as the flywheel effect. It’s hard work to push a heavy flywheel around, and the progress is frustratingly slow at first. But with time and consistent effort, the flywheel gains a powerful momentum. The opposite is what Collins describes as the “doom loop,” a pattern in which organizations spend years “lurching back and forth” as they launch new programs and strategies and fail to achieve sustained momentum. The “awakenings” in my friend’s church point to another important leadership lesson. Sweeping cultural change doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with a few people, and then hopefully begins to spread. I say “hopefully” because many well-intentioned efforts have failed after an initial flicker of success. Effective leaders are attentive to the awakenings wherever they occur. They highlight and celebrate these stories do that the changes will to take root on a larger scale. They look for clues about what led to these specific awakenings so that they can encourage more in a systematic manner. It’s what the Heath brothers call “finding the bright spots” in Switch (see my previous blog for a review of this outstanding book.) The start of a new year is always full of potential. As you look ahead, keep your eyes open for the awakenings that will encourage and inform you and those you are leading. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>