The Challenges of New Leadership

Change is a good thing, right?

Businesses and organizations refine and adjust their strategy based on many things, including the changing needs of their client-base and the market place. One of the most significant catalysts for change is new leadership.

Once the announcement of a new leader is made, the change process begins. 

And then, all the people say, “Oh, joy; a new leader who will want to change everything.”

As they say, change is never easy. There are multiple upon multiple studies showing that just the idea of change causes fear and stress for those involved. However, sometimes new leadership is not just necessary, but also vital to organizational growth and, even perhaps its very survival.

New leaders, be they CEOs or mid-level managers, certainly bring their own personality and management style to the top of the table. If they come from outside the organization, the most valuable asset they bring is not their education or years of experience, but a perspective quite different from those on the inside.

Good leaders know that recognizing and utilizing differing perspectives to make decisions about what must be changed is crucial. The difficulty in implementation comes from team members with the “We’ve Always Done It This Way” mentality, and those mired in GroupThink. Without trudging down the rabbit hole discussions of those two issues, I think it is safe to say that they have their own particular challenges which require situation-specific actions to address.

When I began my career in the early 1980’s, organizational leaders based decisions on input from their division or department heads, who gathered data from their subordinates in a very controlled fashion. Employees worked 8am – 5pm (or 9am – 5pm), Monday through Friday, and spent evenings and the weekends with their families.

Thirty years later, more Millennials are moving into positions of leadership, and facing an ever-evolving multi-generational workforce with different, and often competing, demands for engagement and working conditions. The younger generation not only expects, but demands to have a seat at the table and expects to move to another company in a few years to take the next step in their careers. They also don’t want to watch the clock, or be constrained by having to be in an office every day.

Older workers, such as those from the Greatest Generation and my Baby Boomer generation need to feel respected for the knowledge and experience for which we have worked so hard for many years to earn. We also need a seat at the table, or at least know that the new, younger leadership has heard and acknowledged the issues we bring to light. Like the younger crowd, I love working from home, but I also like the idea of having evenings and weekends free.

The leadership challenge with a multi-generational work force is finding a way to meet the differing needs, while building a cohesive and open organizational culture that allows and encourages employees to be passionate about their work and their organization’s success.

In the words of former Secretary of State Colin Powell from his book, My American Journey,

"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership."  

Stepping into a new leadership role is an exciting experience. It is an opportunity to develop a vision for excellence and innovation, and to share that vision with an actively engaged organization. All leaders face challenges, however, it is their response to those challenges that determines their success.

If you have been a new organizational or business leader, what words of wisdom would you share with those who want to be, and one day will be, a new leader?

NOTE: This post also appears on LinkedIn.

Before founding her own consulting firm in 2013, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and women’s healthcare fields for 25 years. She holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Organizational Management from American Public University, is a contributor on LinkedIn, and the author of the Management in Motion blog.

Dawn currently serves as the Past Chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Women’s Council, and teaches health and safety classes for the American Red Cross. As an infertility survivor she has been a featured speaker within the Fertility Community, and written numerous articles on the topic of childfree living. 

Finding Your Passion at Work

Although it was more than a decade ago, I remember it as vividly as if it happened last week.

It was a beautiful day on the Jersey Shore, and I was driving home after a news conference about a bill being introduced in the House of Representatives designed to required insurers to cover the treatment of infertility if they also covered maternity care.

The road was empty of other vehicles, and in the silence of that quiet road I realized that my purpose in life was to work for, and with, organizations whose missions are focused on improving the lives of others. In that moment of clarity, I found my passion; a passion that would be the deciding factor for all my future professional choices.

Over the years, I have truly come to appreciate Wayne Dyer’s quote, “Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” If you aren’t doing what you love – or are passionate about – you most likely are not really giving it your best effort. After all, who gives their best effort for something they don’t like?

This is not to say that your work quality is sub-par if you are not passionate about the company or the job. A recent study at the University of Warwick found that happiness at work significantly increases productivity. Just imagine what your quality of work would be like if you woke up every morning excited to get there!

Unfortunately, as Cal Newport points out, finding your passion, or passions, is not always easy or quick. That doesn’t mean that you should give up looking, or refuse an offer of employment simply because it is outside your passion. It just means that you may have to spend more effort to find it. By effort, I mean trying new things, or donating your time to nonprofits whose missions interest you. Go back to school – you might find a passion for teaching or a different field altogether.

A few years ago I found myself asking what I wanted to be when I finally grew up, even though I was in my mid-40’s at the time. I was on the precipice of a mid-life crisis, and had no idea what I wanted to do other than help others. I know it sounds corny, but there it is in all its unvarnished truth. So, the question was really, what did I want to do for the second half of my life?

My passions are serving the military, higher education, and infertility communities. Given that knowledge, what did I need to do in order to feel passionate about what I do for the next 40 years, and enable myself to do it?

First of all, I took a look at my life goals and realized I had neglected one: obtaining an MBA. Although I worked in the field of higher education for almost 20 years, I never took advantage of the opportunities to reach that goal. So, I entered the MBA Program at American Public University, and graduated with honors, while working and travelling full-time. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with identifying my passion at work. The answer: it helped clarify where my specific talents and interests lie, and identified areas where I was focusing significant time and energy for which I am ambivalent. It opened doors to new possibilities and opportunities to work with those three communities, which I would have never considered.

The bottom line is this: take a look at where you are, where you appear to be going, and ask yourself if you are really passionate about the possibilities. If not, take a step back, grab your best friend (or friends), and ask yourself what you are passionate about, and then decide what you can do to fulfill those passions.

Editor’s Note: This post also appears on LinkedIn.

Before founding her own consulting firm, Dawn Gannon served as a respected project management and administrative operations professional in the military, higher education, and healthcare fields for 25 years. As a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, Dawn’s commitment and personal mission to improve the lives of others through service to the community focuses on providing administrative and volunteer management, consumer education, public outreach, event planning, relationship-building efforts, and strategic planning. She is a contributor on LinkedIn, the author of the Management in Motion blog, and has written a number of articles for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association on the topic of childfree living.

Sleep is Over-rated

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week, Management in Motion is pleased to welcome a guest blogger, Johnny Slater, founder of Lochshire Technology. 

For the last few weeks I have had an extreme problem with being able to sleep. I just can’t make myself sleep, no matter that I walk around completely exhausted.

I'm beginning to understand why. I feel something growing inside me that once was there but has been missing for a very long time. I have become aware of a growing sense of passion and restlessness regarding my long absence away from the online work I started so many years ago.

Three years ago I stepped away from everything I was doing to take care of my wife. It was something that I needed to do, and I did gladly without any regret. I always put my family first above all else, so there was no question that my wife and her needs would come before mine.

However, recently I have had the opportunity to slowly dip my foot back into the waters and take small steps towards rebuilding what once was. The restlessness is the fact that I have been away for so long that I just can't wait to get back into it full time and my mind just can't stop coming up with new ideas.

The passion is that it is something that I love doing and something that I was born to do. I love the freedom that having an online business affords me, and the ability to run a business and still be here for my family means more to me than anything ever could.

Life has a way of throwing roadblocks in front of you and most people tend to get bogged down instead of finding ways to go around. My sincere wish for everyone who reads this is that you find your passion and follow it, where ever it may lead you. Get out of your comfort zone and follow your dreams.

Don't let setbacks and roadblocks

stop you from following your chosen path.

Look for ways to go around, above, or under any situation that stands in your way and be prepared to have to put your travel on hold for a time every once in a while.

However, never sacrifice your passion. If you have to take time off from what you want to do to take care of what you need to do that is completely fine, but never completely walk away from your dreams.

If you step away for a time and then come back later, you just might find you get even more from your path and you appreciate it even more for having to step away for a time.

I can't describe the feelings I have been experiencing lately. I am full of a renewed sense of who I am and what I want to accomplish with my life, and I hope everyone could feel the sense of renewed self confidence that I have begun to experience.

I think I have rambled enough for someone who hasn't had a decent night’s sleep in a week, so I guess it's time to try to get 2 hours of sleep before I need to get the kids up for school. 

Goodnight to all. 

Johnny Slater is a programmer, internet marketer, and founder of Lochshire Technology, an ecommerce solution firm. From simple single purchase scripts to total membership solutions, Johnny has spent years creating software that is easy enough for beginners to use, but also has the power that veteran marketers need. He not only creates some of the most powerful solutions available, but backs them up with a level of personal customer support not found anywhere else. Find out more about Johnny and Lochshire Technology at https://www.facebook.com/lochshiretech