Letting Go and Beginning Again

Change management is probably one of the toughest initiatives a company faces, primarily because leaders are ill-equipped to deal with the subjective reality each employee experiences. If only it was easy to change. The path may be clear and the reasons compelling, and yet it is so difficult. Research tells us that approximately 15% of smokers actually stop smoking when told they have less than a year to live if they don’t stop. Certainly, that is a compelling reason. A number of years ago when I taught a literature class to sophomores in high school, I always enjoyed The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The play was about the Salem witchcraft trials in early America. I would focus on the title – ‘the crucible’. A crucible is a container that will withstand extreme heat so the metals placed in it can totally change their form…from a solid to a liquid. The craftsman needs the new form to create something new and beautiful. As the precious metals cool, they will again return to solid form with a new purpose…this transformation has nothing negative to say about the previous form.

Why does the farmer plow under a beautiful field of green? He has to prepare the soil for early Spring so planting and nurturing will yield a new, bountiful crop. I’m pretty sure last year’s crop wishes the farmer would not plow. But why would he do that only to watch the sure death of last year’s crop in the cold of winter and have no prepared soil for the Spring planting? Probably the same reason 85% of smokers don’t stop smoking when told of the impending consequences…it requires deep change. What are the crucibles in our lives that will transform us to something new and better but we are simply to afraid to engage? I think we need to explore this a little more.  I look forward to the dialogue as Effectiveness Institute has proven models in change management and leadership development.