In nearly all segments and areas of our society, a large percentage of people appear disappointed in, and even disillusioned by the huge differences in what candidates and leaders say, and what they actually do.
Perhaps one of the overused and misused words in our public discussions is "change," because the very term is so nebulous in and of itself.
Too many individuals in leadership positions substitute empty rhetoric for viable action, and rhetoric without action is generally meaningless.
When each of hear about change, it generally conjures different images and ideas.
The reality is that most of us like and dislike different things, so what to one person needs to be remedied and changed, to another might be a "sacred cow.
" We see this most often whenever there are economic conditions that require balancing a budget.
There are always proponents that feel the status quo is the best course, and others that believe that there should increased taxes and/ or fees (but I've observed that the recommended additional taxes and fees usually impact certain people more than others).
Still others call for balancing the budget by thoroughly examining the needs of the organization, and examining various alternatives (I am a major proponent of zero- based budgeting, and have written several articles on that topic).
What disturbs me most about these discussions is generally those that simply talk about a "problem," or "situation," or "condition," and simply call for change, without accompanying that call with a plan of action.
Think back to the Presidential campaign of 2008 when then candidate Obama used as the rallying cry for his campaign, "Change.
" There was very little concrete proposed in how to do that, but rather much rhetoric about the things that were wrong and needed to be changed.
Those who call for change are often correct in assessing that there is a need for change, but simply identifying the obvious rarely resolves the challenge.
In fact, rhetorically calling for change is often somewhat counter- productive because it often uses a rather negative approach and set of attitudes.
Simply calling for change is often the rhetorical equivalent of blame, and there is no place for blaming others in effective leadership.
The constructive approach, however, would rather be using the strategic planning approach, where obstacles are identified, and solutions and/ or alternate courses of action determined.
Effective leaders always take action when they identify a potential challenge, and that is why using words, no matter how catchy, rarely resolves anything.
While in the initial stages, certain "catch phrases" can be motivating and unifying to garner support for a needed cause, too many of those in leadership never get to the essential action stage!
Perhaps one of the overused and misused words in our public discussions is "change," because the very term is so nebulous in and of itself.
Too many individuals in leadership positions substitute empty rhetoric for viable action, and rhetoric without action is generally meaningless.
When each of hear about change, it generally conjures different images and ideas.
The reality is that most of us like and dislike different things, so what to one person needs to be remedied and changed, to another might be a "sacred cow.
" We see this most often whenever there are economic conditions that require balancing a budget.
There are always proponents that feel the status quo is the best course, and others that believe that there should increased taxes and/ or fees (but I've observed that the recommended additional taxes and fees usually impact certain people more than others).
Still others call for balancing the budget by thoroughly examining the needs of the organization, and examining various alternatives (I am a major proponent of zero- based budgeting, and have written several articles on that topic).
What disturbs me most about these discussions is generally those that simply talk about a "problem," or "situation," or "condition," and simply call for change, without accompanying that call with a plan of action.
Think back to the Presidential campaign of 2008 when then candidate Obama used as the rallying cry for his campaign, "Change.
" There was very little concrete proposed in how to do that, but rather much rhetoric about the things that were wrong and needed to be changed.
Those who call for change are often correct in assessing that there is a need for change, but simply identifying the obvious rarely resolves the challenge.
In fact, rhetorically calling for change is often somewhat counter- productive because it often uses a rather negative approach and set of attitudes.
Simply calling for change is often the rhetorical equivalent of blame, and there is no place for blaming others in effective leadership.
The constructive approach, however, would rather be using the strategic planning approach, where obstacles are identified, and solutions and/ or alternate courses of action determined.
Effective leaders always take action when they identify a potential challenge, and that is why using words, no matter how catchy, rarely resolves anything.
While in the initial stages, certain "catch phrases" can be motivating and unifying to garner support for a needed cause, too many of those in leadership never get to the essential action stage!
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