A631.5.4.RB - Leading System Wide Change

         Apple did a commercial a few years back for their campaign called “Think Different.” This commercial displayed images of some of the most important and inspirational leaders the 20^th century. I often think how difficult it is to lead change in a global capacity. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” Leading change is not an easy task; it takes dedication and a strong leader to change the mentality of others. The purpose of change is to increase the organization’s effectiveness or even to ensure its survival (Brow, 2011). According to Brown (2011) changing an organization involves modifying its existing systems, structure, and culture to some different standard or level of performance.

          In my opinion leaders are not born but are rather made. Don’t get me wrong, there are some individual that have leading come naturally, but they still need to go through some sort of developing phase. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” In my experience becoming a leader has been a journey. I knew from a very young age that in order to be a leader I must first to learn from being a follower. Through my journey I saw great leaders and then I saw some bad ones. 

           The qualities that I saw from effective leaders were: leaders are confident in what they do; they are effective at communicating; leaders are humble and have integrity; and leaders are not afraid to make mistakes. I’ve taken these qualities and made them into my own. I have my share of failures and success but one lesson that I’ve learned is to never give up. Never give up on your family, your organization or your values. You might have had failed projects or been fired from a job, but one thing nobody can take from you is your dreams and values. Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” Great leaders come from all parts of the world with all different techniques, but they all have a drive within them to achieve greatness and have the courage to step up and make it happen.

REFERENCES:

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (8^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall