The Challenge of Leadership

• One of the five practices of exemplary leadership described is the practice of challenge the process. The practice refers to the active search for new opportunities to grow, change and innovate and the actions of experimentation, risk taking, generating small wins and learning from mistakes.
• It is just great fun to see or read about some of the remarkable improvements and breakthroughs that people have made.
• Challenge is the practice of business growth, and growth is one of the most perplexing dilemmas facing organizations today. If they are unable to adapt, change and grow, it is impossible for organizations of any kind to produce solid results over time and literally survive.
• Challenging the way things are does not mean challenge the values or standards, just because uncompromising integrity or flawless quality is too hard to live by. Challenge the Process is about finding and implementing new and better ways of doing things in order to constantly improve and grow.
• Organizations need more leaders. They need people who will cease the ongoing complaining about how outrageous goals might be (and some indeed are beyond reason), and start rallying people to figure out what can be done to accomplish them.
• There are a couple of things you can immediately start practicing as a leader.
• First, do not allow new ideas to be immediately discounted with little or no consideration. Intervene by prompting rich and open dialogue to ensure that ideas get a fair hearing.
• Second, never allow invalid assumptions to rule the day over proven facts. Ask people to justify their beliefs about whether something new will work or why it won't. Innovation and growth require discipline and thoughtfulness.
• Finally, spend less time reviewing and reporting on results already in the bank and more time on pursuing new possibilities.