My friend Rodger Otero is a Christian pastor working to revitalize a once-strong congregation that has declined dramatically in recent years, and he writes about the journey on his blog. Today’s post resonated very, very strongly with me, as it’s a universal lesson for any leader driving change.

Rodger wrote this in his post Fits and Starts Are the Formula:

Left to my own egoic devices, my preference is zero to 60 in 6 seconds. A total 180. Burn it all down and start from scratch.

Over the years, mostly through failures and missteps, I’ve learned that such an approach doesn’t tend to work out so well. For several reasons: A) It’s not kind to others involved. Most people are not early adopters. Most need adequate to time to get onboard. B) It’s not speed that guarantees healthy change. After all, cancer cells can tend to grow pretty quickly. Impatience is not an asset. And, C) It’s not realistic in most cases. Real change must occur in reality—where humans actually live.

My role is not is not to simply be a leader who causes change, but to be a pastor who shepherds change to be as kind, patient, and realistic as possible.

I have been guilty in the past (perhaps even recent past) of forgetting that change is about the people first and foremost. For change to stick, it has to come about from collaboration with everyone involved. Change inflicted on people as an act of dominance is change destined to fail in the long term.

A good reminder for me, and I suspect for leaders everywhere.

If you want to follow Rodger’s thoughts, I encourage you to do so. While the religious context might not be your jam, Rodger is a fantastic and thoughtful leader with lessons that matter in any arena.

Cover photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash