Thomas Paine was one of our founding fathers, a great statesman, orator and one of the greatest thinkers of his generation. He was asked what needed to be done to further the cause of liberty in the struggle tyranny. His simple reply was: “Lead, Follow or get out of the way”
One of our greatest generals of all time, General George S. Patton echoed this when he was criticized for his often controversial hands–on leadership style. He replied; "We herd sheep. We drive cattle. We lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way."
Over the course of the last several years, there have been a lot of changes in our economy, our country and the American way of life. Some of the changes have been positive and worked out well, others not so well.
People are naturally resistant to change. It is in our nature to be comfortable in the way something has always been done. Some people resist change passively while others resist actively.
When change comes suddenly we often feel anxiety. We can feel anger if we are not consulted first or if we feel our opinion is not respected. Often we see it as an affront to us and we resist, even when we do not know all the facts or the reason for the change. As a result we often grumble and complain about the changes while offering no real solutions to the problem that precipitated the change.
I find myself doing this often. I hate change. I can be very arrogant and prideful sometimes. I like things the way they were or at least the way I want them to be. When I was in the military I was the leader. I was used to making decisions and having my directives followed. When I told the Sailors that served under me to do something it had better have been done and done right. After retirement when I started in my new career I started at the bottom, the adjustment was hard.
When change comes to your life you have to choose how you are to handle it. There are several options:
- You can embrace the process, get involved in it, and lead the charge to make it happen.
- You can agree to go along with the change and see what happens while following the leadership of others.
- Or, if you disagree, Offer a valid and practical alternative and take the initiative to convince others of the need for a better plan. If not then just get out of the way and let others take over.
- Finally, there is the last option that should never be taken:
That is to obstruct the change, back-bite and complain while offering no acceptable alternative, simply resisting the changes without a valid reason.
If you see something that needs to be changed, suggest a change. If there is a better way to do something then step up and lets us know. If someone else has an idea that might work, then follow their lead. If you are just a road block to a fixing a problem and you have no other ideas, then get out of the way.
Change is hard sometimes but it is a fact of life and we must all decide how we are to deal with it. I say “Lead, Follow or get out of the way.
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