Integrity Under Duress #2

As a person attempting to exercise leadership, this issue of integrity even adverse conditions is so important to me. If you think about it, leadership often entails mobilizing resources and people to make changes, move in a new direction, or do a new thing. What happens when you try to effect change? You guessed it, resistance. Think about the last time someone tried to change your mind, or get you to do what they wanted you to do. Isn't it sometimes the case that even if you know the change would be beneficial, you resist it anyway? Think about the last time that your doctor said you should lose a few pounds, or stop eating high cholestrol foods, or sugar. You know what I'm talking about. These is this natural tendency in living systems to seek and maintain a sort of homeostasis, so it is not too far a stretch to see how it is not only our bodies that tend toward the status quo. It is also the way we maintain habits of mind, routines of behavior.

When leaders try to effect change, it would be naive to think that even the most reasonable and potentially beneficial changes will not be met with resistance, even hostility. So, leaders have to learn how to read resistance as a form of communication, not as a personal attack. Rather, underneath, people might be saying, "we're afraid," "this is hard," "I'm worried that something precious will be lost if we change," etc. In a sense, leaders need to have a sort of resiliency to criticism and hostility, remembering that its not personal-- that anyone trying to rock the boat will get the same reaction.

Leaders need to develop the ability to hold steady, maintaining their integrity even under duress, and balancing the pressure they place on others with an authentic communication of care. If this sounds resonant with you, you might be interested in the books of Ron Heifetz from the Kennedy School of Government, in particular, Leadership on the Line.