Leadership Thoughts by David Fleming

If you’re not familiar with David Fleming and his writings you need to visit his blog. He has continues to post scintillating thoughts on leadership. He just posted Part 1 on Narrative Leadership. Here’s a snippet:

Over the past several decades, leaders and organizations have come to terms with the fact that change really is here to stay. Now it is time to move on. Truly successful leaders and organizations of the future will progress beyond the mere recognition of the constancy of change to cultivating the qualities and skills that can maximize the potential hidden within the change itself. Yesterday's mantra of "Change or die" will evolve into a new mantra for the future: "Live to change." Organizations must stop characterizing change as a mere event to be endured and learn to tap the possibilities that emerge from change as teacher and transformer. Herein lies the future — allowing change to shape the organization so that the organization can shape change.

Change requires leaders and organizations to embrace paradox and process — ambiguity and opportunity. In other words, for organizations to remain open to new possibilities and opportunities, they must learn to capitalize on the role of uncertainty and ambiguity. These forces form a cyclical pattern that successful leaders welcome as they pursue their organization's mission. In addition, it is incumbent on leaders to provide ways for their organizations to navigate and be transformed by this ambiguity-opportunity cycle. In doing so, they create organizations that tap the power of change with flexibility and vigilance.

[…more from David Fleming’s The Deep End Blog]