Leaders, face challenges, quite often daily.

The book - regarded one of the top 5 leadership books of all time - written by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner is, after all, called The Leadership Challenge.

Change can come unexpectedly.
It can wear unexpected guises.
It can begin in a heartbeat - and set the heart racing.

Those who manage change, effectively are nimble, adaptive and welcome the positive aspect of every change.

A key leadership attribute here is understanding the importance of intentional acting rather than just firefighting.

In The Leadership Challenge, The Five Practices provide a clear, even immutable pathway to guide change to a positive outcome. When leaders follow this and the team members know the support they always get, there are few resisters to the change.

The framework of The Five Practices ensures there are few, if any, casualties along the way.
Always, when there is a clearly articulated, shared vision of the future, and the leader reminds them of the future and the journey they’re all on together, change is embraced and challenges overcome, as mere potholes on the road forward.

And of course, when the leader and all team members, who know that they, too, are leaders, actively Challenge the Process, almost as a mantra, to find a better way, to learn from mistakes, to share the learning when dealing with change and challenges, change is welcomed as an opportunity and they rigorously overcome challenges.

It’s as if the leader and the team have become the ‘teflon team’ and are further strengthened with each challenge.