You did it. You and your team set out to create change—whether it be implementing a new process, launching a new product, or transforming your organization’s culture—and you did it. Congratulations!
But now what?
Now you must find new ways to build on what has been achieved and extend the impact of what has been accomplished.
Four Ways To Keep The Momentum Going
Your final challenge as the leader will be to pave the way for thoughts, words, and actions that rise to the new higher level of performance and potential you and your team have realized.
Show how your Hero’s Journey sets the entire organization on the path for new and even more important journeys. Paint the picture of how you are all better equipped to take on new transformative adventures. Make your story the perfect platform for recognizing all those who contributed to the making the vision a reality. Let them tell the stories of their own journeys and successful transformations.
In their classic text, Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, researchers Howard Gardner and Emma Laskin wrote that the effectiveness of leaders to influence others to new ways of perceiving the world and operating in it is achieved through the stories they tell.
To paraphrase, Gardner and Laskin believe that the challenge to heroic leaders is to:
- Imbue the story of your journey with personal experiences and meaning
- Clarify the context and synthesize events into a credible narrative
- Make the story a platform for recognizing the contributions of others
- Show how you and your team can individually and collectively leverage your experiences to reach new heights.
For even more on communicating your Heroic Leadership Journey effectively, read this.
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If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know all about the Heroic Journey of the leader. It begins when the Hero/Leader answers the Call to lead their team or organization on the path to positive transformational change and ends when they survive a Supreme Ordeal that teaches everyone involved how to operate on a new higher level that changes the very fabric of the organization for the better.
Embarking on a journey of heroic proportions takes practice. It involves honing your skills and modeling the behavior you want your followers to have on a daily basis. Over the next few weeks, I will be digging deeper into each phase of the Heroic Leadership Journey to coach you, the Hero/Leader, on how you can live fully into each phase every day. For a primer on the phases of the Heroic Leadership Journey, read this.
Kathryn D. Cramer, PH.D.
Founder and Managing Partner, The Cramer Institute
