Competencies of a Leader (4) | Out-of-the-box leadership | Dare to challenge the status quo

Written by◎ Kang Shi Teng Management Consulting Company Lin Xingyi

During the course, a supervisor once asked a subordinate who resisted change, did not try to make progress, and only wanted to fly low above the standard in his work, how should he guide this subordinate to encourage him to have the courage to “challenge the status quo”?

What it means to challenge the status quo is to step out of your comfort zone, have the courage to change, and achieve excellence. Exceptional and successful leaders want to lead their teams to break through the status quo and strive for excellence.

At the same time, before prompting subordinates to break through the status quo, good leaders usually ask themselves whether they can also lead by example, and ask themselves whether they can also challenge the status quo and break through the framework before asking their subordinates.

What a leader should have: Challenging the status quo

Challenging the status quo also challenges the humanity caused by the brain’s energy-saving mechanism

In fact, challenging the status quo is a move against human nature. If we were to return time and space to the ancient world millions of years ago, mankind would have to face severe challenges to survive. In order to have the best chance of survival, you need to retain as much physical strength and energy as possible to cope with the sudden challenges of survival. Based on this, the brain automatically forms an energy-saving mechanism that will tend to reduce the actions that must be consumed energy. Anything that involves stepping out of your comfort zone, breaking through and changing the status quo will cause the brain to drain its energy and, in essence, will be the direction the brain avoids.

Leadership’s dilemma: Challenging humanity and making a difference

From the above, it can be seen that it is not as easy as imagined to lead the team to challenge the current situation, it is a kind of leadership behavior that is contrary to primitive human nature.

What if the supervisor decides to be a good person, conform to the humanity of the team, follow the original tendencies and wishes of others, and settle for the status quo to adapt to all changes?

This answer is also very clear, based on the principle that if the external competition does not advance, it will retreat, if the team plan is comfortable and unchanged, the competitiveness will gradually decline, and eventually, it will no longer exist in the market.

If you change, you will challenge human nature, and if you don’t change, the team will die.

This dilemma is what leaders face when they want to lead their teams to challenge the status quo. The ability to be a good leader must also include the ability to challenge human nature and break through one’s own framework.

Successful Leader Traits: Lead by example and share a vision

Knowing that challenging the status quo is not easy, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner’s five practical guidelines for effective leaders to lead by example, share a vision, challenge the status quo, drive action, and inspire others “lead by example.” Action to “share the vision” is indispensable.

The traits of a good leader are not necessarily succumbing to human nature and inertia. Leaders should lead by example, take the lead in stepping out of their comfort zone, have the courage to make changes, and let the team see the courage of the leader to break through the limitations of human nature, so that they have the opportunity to guide everyone to follow the leader and step out of the safety zone together.

Challenges are inherently inherent, and leaders need to harness the power of a shared vision to let their teams know that they are engaged in a meaningful and rewarding challenge, rather than learning from nothing or changing for the sake of change, in order to counter the idea of comfort and activate the desired momentum.

Challenge the current situation in stages, accumulate small victories in exchange for big victories

Change is not easy. Lead the team to challenge the current situation, suggest focusing on the key points, and implement them in stages. Below, three recommendations are listed for supervisors’ reference.

1. Focus on key tasks or issues

It is recommended that leaders should focus on key tasks or projects first, and try to use resources on the most important issues, rather than diverting resources from multiple prongs. In addition, it is better to get the support of the organization by focusing on the problems that need to be solved urgently.

2. Set milestones

When setting goals, avoid goals that are too high, big, and high, and illusory goals that are far away, which can easily make the team lose momentum and will, and affect team morale. It is advisable to set milestones and hold a compelling celebration ceremony when milestones are reached to motivate the team to move forward to the next milestone.

3. Lead the first mover to achieve the stage victory

If there is a large difference in the momentum of change in the organization, it is recommended to lead the pioneers in the team who have the courage to change their characteristics first, and try to achieve the results of phased victory first. On the one hand, it shows the will to change, and on the other hand, it guides the wait-and-see people to join the lineup that challenges the current situation. Eventually, the atmosphere of challenging the status quo will be gradually expanded to the entire team.

Change, indeed, is not easy. In particular, this change is contrary to human tendencies, and if it can be implemented through phased goals, the team can gradually taste the sweetness and victory in the “challenge the status quo”, and continue to accumulate small victories, and finally exchange for big victories. The next time, when the leader once again raised the banner of challenging the status quo, I believe that the followers will be crowded.