On a turbulent flight from Denver to Chicago some years ago, I tried my best to navigate safely to the restroom despite the choppy conditions. As I tried to stay upright, a flight attendant scolded me (loudly!).
She told me to sit in the closest open seat because—in her words “it was dangerous to others” for me to be in the aisle during the turbulence. I sat myself down feeling embarrassed and confused.
Then I realized the flight attendant continued to walk safely up and down the aisle as she went about her business. She lived much of her life in the air. A dangerous situation for me had become normal for her.
More than forty years ago Sir Geoffrey Vickers noted,
Stability is not the enemy of change. It is the condition of any change which can hope to be welcome and enduring*.
The flight attendant learned to walk with stability in a turbulent environment. Stability was not the problem. Rather learning how to be stable in a different environment was the challenge.
Leading change is like that. We often wish chaos and disorder would just go away. We long for the good ole’ days. Or we try ignoring the emerging realities that impact our organization. But courageously leading through change, and adjusting to new types of stability, is our work. It’s a noble calling.
Often our leadership task is about being aware of what is happening, and learning how to become stable in a new situation. So face the realities. Frame them constructively. Be open to new ways of being stable in the midst of change.
*Freedom in a Rocking Boat: Changing Values in an Unstable Society (1970), Penguin Books
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