As promised, this journey has been transformative. I’ve quickly learned a secret – one they failed to mention when I was admitted. In order to become a transformational leader, you will be transformed personally. It is becoming increasingly clear that this program will require me to look inside and truly evaluate what I see.
Much of the beginning work of this program has focused on evaluation and assessment of my skills as a leader. I’ve evaluated myself, those I supervise have evaluated me, those who supervise me have evaluated me, those I worked with before and those I work with now – all have evaluated me. This process isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s easy to say you want feedback, but do we really? Do we REALLY want to know what others think about us? I think we do.
Have you ever watched those remodel shows on HGTV? What’s the first thing they do when renovating – DEMO!
You have to be willing to tear down the old in order to replace it with something new.
I’ve been learning to identify old ways of thinking that need to be demolished because they don’t reflect current practice. I’ve identified old habits that must be removed to provide room for a new set of habits that focus on serving others. I am destroying bias that has hidden in the walls of my leadership style without detection. Leaving it there is toxic. Tearing down is necessary. It provides the freedom and space to rebuild. That’s exciting.
Like many people starting down this road my focus was squarely on the goal – becoming Dr. Karavedas. Truth is, I hadn’t given much thought to the change within me that would occur along the journey. Each step along the pathway I become more aware of the changes taking place within me.
Strengthening the infrastructure isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it isn’t even visible. But, it is absolutely necessary. A strong inside allows the outside appearance to not only look beautiful, but to actually be beautiful.