Soft Environments Create Brittle People
One of the leader's most important challenges – in a family, in a business, in a classroom – becomes vigilance against choosing the 'easier way'.
Adaptation As Innovation
By Les Mottosky
Change is certain. Adversity is inevitable. Success is neither.
This is an equation no sane person looks at and thinks: "I'll take those odds." And yet this is the reality of every worthwhile endeavour we take-on. The stakes shrink or swell based on the scale of the undertaking.
Because we start out with the odds stacked against us, pliability is critical to achieve growth. In any pursuit, it's nearly certain that challenges are around the corner. But have we prepared our mindset to take them on?
I read a quote the other day that nearly knocked me on my keister. A public figure in a position of leadership was explaining the decision to drop daylight savings time and in doing so, made a curious statement:
“Every parent knows that changing clocks twice a year causes a significant amount of chaos on already busy lives.”
This was striking because of what it potentially indicates: an escalating fragility in our collective mindset.
I've changed a lot of clocks in 55 years, but don't recall it ever being chaotic. In fact, with the smarts built into our phones and 'net devices these days, it's closer to imperceptible than "a significant amount of chaos". (A more accurate reference would have been the medical one: data indicates heart attacks are nearly 25% more frequent the Monday following a daylight savings weekend - particularly in Spring.)
As 21st century Western humans, we're already far less robust than our ancestors. Modernity provides advantages and comforts previous generations didn't have access to. The availability of these modern indulgences exfoliates the callouses acquired from a more nature-connected and demanding life.
Are we becoming too soft? And what impact might that have on our careers?
Organizations that value change, resilience, nimbleness, innovation and adaptability are equipped to thrive in any conditions. Especially challenging ones. If they were to conceptualize every molehill as a mountain, their productivity would crash, momentum would slow and options would vaporize. The pursuit of the mission would get smothered by mentally inflated speed-bumps.
Challenge can feel like it opposes life when, in fact, it's a bolster. Challenge is necessary for physical, mental, spiritual and collective well-being.
Challenge is the reason every organization exists.
Someone sees a problem that requires addressing and they set out to resolve it. Others who are energized by the prospect of solving that problem sign-on and – together, pulling the sled in the same direction – they all get after it.
The clarity of the problem they're solving, the alignment of hearts and minds of the culture and the monitoring, adjustment and momentum of the group's efforts makes prevailing feel – if not inevitable – then most certainly measurable.
Without the friction of a problem, there's nothing to energize the efforts to solve it.
Struggle, challenge, problems and even chaos possess a gift. If we lower the bar to redefine those, we can't discover the depth of our character. And without this self-knowledge, our options for a fulfilling journey are diminished.
Choosing an easy path to avoid effort or struggle is a form of self-betrayal. In doing so, we're not just settling for, but choosing a lesser experience. Fyodor Dostoyevsky equated this to the most unacceptable self-deceit:
"Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing."
One of the leader's most important challenges – in a family, in a business, in a classroom – becomes vigilance against choosing the 'easier way'. (Especially if choosing the easier way might be the direction of society). We don't have to take the most difficult path, but if that's what's required, the leader's responsibility is to ensure the culture is emotionally prepared to pursue it.
A group won't resist a challenge because they can't achieve it, they'll push-back because they don't feel like doing it. And that arises – in part – because leadership has endorsed weakness (either intentionally or inadvertently), rather than inspiring the collective will to take-on the challenge.
It's a simple life choice that applies equally to groups and individuals:
Hard now, easy later. Easy now, hard later.
TAGS: #Adaptation As Innovation #Wisdom In Leadership #Play Bigger #Observing Cultures #Courage Is Our Nature
Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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