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When pain becomes the teacher
“Pain, Erik, Pain!”
Embracing pain as a catalyst for change is a concept that has resonated with me since a conversation with my mentor Joyce many years ago. She passionately believed that when a leader senses the organization is becoming too comfortable, it’s time to introduce organizational pain. This philosophy, which underscores the pivotal role of leadership in driving organizational growth, has stuck with me, and I was reminded of it recently when I came across this quote from a CEO:
“We knew what we had to do long before we did it. But it wasn’t until the pain of inaction outweighed the pain of change that we moved.”
This pain of inaction brings me to one of my favorite questions I’d like to ask when challenging a leader or an executive team:
What are you pretending not to know?
In many cases, we know what change is needed or what’s about to happen to us. If we dared to take a deep look in the mirror, face the inevitable reality, and then act on that knowledge, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears would be saved.
Let alone wasted time and money.
When something is not working, we ‘feel’ it very early on.
Our gut provides signals that something will change soon. Our gut may even send signals…
