Photo Credit: Dread Pirate Jeff via Compfight cc
There will always be “leaders” who diminish those over whom they have power. There will always be people whose advancement means your demise. There will always be work-cultures that restrict the human spirit.
More important, however, is there will always be you. March past the cynics. Refuse to capitulate, to cede the more virtuous path. You have the power to resolve, to improve upon that which is incomplete, to build rather than destroy.
As you advance what you know to be true, you’ll lose your breath and your muscles will tire. Yet, you shorten your sorrow and fatigue not by leaving the matter, but by staying in the hard-won affair.
This is not a call for unbound positivity. This is an understanding that diligence, determination and an unrelenting focus on what’s possible is essential to a achieving a success the cynic doesn’t measure.
Do what you can in this moment . . . and in the next . . . and you will discover something brilliant: Another reason to believe in yourself. You are the genesis and genius of your change effort.
Act.
As part of an organization that is experiencing cultural change, this post resonated so much with me today that I was compelled to respond – (this is also my ‘Dance like Nobody is Watching’ moment!) We are the change leaders our teams are craving – we must ACT – Apply Change Teach. As leaders we know to be true that people want to be great, and I believe it is our responsibility to help unleash the ‘blockers’ preventing them from their ‘greatness’ – through one conversation or action at a time. We can achieve this by holding ourselves accountable to focus first on building the Big R in ourselves, so that we may help build it in others. We must lean in and be courageous to have conversations that are forward focused – no matter how challenging they may be. We must persevere through the cynicism will we face – regardless of how emotionally draining cynics may leave us – DO NOT let them steal your joy! We must recognize and support the team members around us who model these behaviours. If we ACT, our Actions will Change Things!