Change management: the inspiration of a Forerunner

 

Change management: the inspiration of a Forerunner.

In his blog dated October 12^th, Thomas Benedict writes about Forerunners and their importance within organizations.  Briefly, Forerunners are people who  initiate a trend or an idea that inspires others. Forerunners have the power and the vision to bring change to the organization, regardless of their position or function. Forerunners come up with creative ideas, which are feasible and are actually implemented in the organization.  Forerunners contribute fundamentally to the group process and the development of the company. One could even speak of leadership.

So, how do I become a Forerunner?

Of course all this sounds wonderful, but how do you become a Forerunner? Don’t you at least have to hold a position which carries a certain element of independence and power? After all, one can only be a Forerunner if one runs in front, which in turn means that one needs followers.

We have good news for you: anyone can be a Forerunner! You are a Forerunner because of your attitude and your passion, not because you hold a certain position in the company.  You are a Forerunner when you dare to bring challenge, meaning and uniqueness to your company. You are a Forerunner when you turn your dreams into reality and act accordingly. And that is something you can do in every area, as long as you are passionate about it.  Anyone who takes small steps in order to make the world just a tiny bit happier is a Forerunner in our eyes. From giving small compliments to people as Parker, the Valet does in Kurt Kuenne’s film Validation, to creating windmills from scrap as  William Kankwamba did in Malawi.  

Passion as common denominator

There is one thing Forerunners all have in common. They are passionate about the things they do and have real faith in their intentions.  You can only be a Forerunner when you are able to apply these principles.  Keep in mind that this does not mean that you are running ahead of the group, but that you are part of it and that you are in contact with others, so that they can be inspired too.

Passion however is a relatively elusive phenomenon. According to Schaufeli & Bakker (2004) passionate people are more vigorous, dedicated and are in flow with their work. Passionate people contribute enormously to the creative process and to change within organizations. When measured in terms of profit and turn over, passionate people will generate more money for the company they work for.

However, when you lack passion, which, at the moment, unfortunately, is quite often the case, you will be prone to fantastic ideas, which you will then critically dismiss as daydreaming and nonsense. In such cases you will not be leading, but you are more likely to adopt a slightly reserved and critical attitude towards new ideas and change.  This critical attitude might even result in Burn-out as some psychologists are now suggesting.

Whether passion can prevent burn-out, or not, I will leave an open question.  Fact is however that a critical and reserved attitude towards new ideas, though this may be very important to improve the quality of those ideas, is by definition, reactive.  By always adopting a critical attitude to the ideas of others you are blocking yourself from becoming a Forerunner, as Forerunners do not react, but act.

So if you have the feeling that your good intentions and ideas are replaced by a critical note towards your company, we might be able to help you to become a true Forerunner.

InContext Consultancy Group, as part of its Corporate Responsibility policy, will be organizing in December and January, free of charge,  ‘forerunners’ workshops’. Are you a forerunner? Then contact us on +3135 - 628 68 48 or info@incontext.nl!