Here's an interesting phenomenon: you analyze the situation, you make a judgement about what's to be done...then you fail to deliver. What's your response? One leader I know has this response: redefine success. Seriously, he agreed that the situation showed that a transformational leader was needed (at least for a time). He agreed that he is a "plodder," and not transformational at all.
His response was to redefine the needs, or what success looks like. Suddenly, he's become convinced that plodding is the best!
Mind you, this does not mean "transforming" is good and "plodding" is bad. They are both value-neutral; their utility (or futility) depends entirely upon the situation.
A piece of advice I got from one of my mentors: "When the rate of change OUTSIDE the organization exceeds the rate of change INSIDE...the end is in sight." Plodding change or quantum (transformational) change...both have their roles--but not at the same time.
How often do we redefine success? Jack Welch saw this when he demanded that every GE company be number one or number two in it's industry. The result? CEOs of the companies redefined what their industry is, so that their company was--you guessed it!--either number one or number two.
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