Challenge the Process

In our leadership course, we use the book The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership by Kouzes and Posner. It is a great inventory of actions for evaluating your leadership. The third practice the authors highlight is my personal favorite: “Challenging the Process.”

Leaders search for opportunities to change the status quo. They look for innovative ways to improve an organization. The best ones experiment and take risks. They are dissatisfied. They challenge the process by:

• ­      Challenging the organization’s skills and abilities

• ­      Helping others try out new ideas

• ­      Searching for innovative ways to improve

• ­      Always asking “What can we learn?”

• ­      Breaking projects into smaller do-able portions

• ­      Taking initiative in experimenting with better ways

Leaders are pioneers. They are never satisfied with the status quo. They believe that “if it ain’t broke” then they should break it. They accept the risks and possible failures inherent in innovation and experimentation.

“That is how we have always done it,” is never an acceptable answer for the exemplary leader. Challenging the process means pushing and pushing for better and better even when things are working well.