Every day I’m reminded, like you probably are, that the ‘rules’ in life have changed. How we communicate. How we interact. How we make choices. How we get things done.
Sometimes the convention, and its changed state, are less obvious. We only realise the nature of its replacement when we’ve transgressed and usually suffer some form of embarrassment.
Does any of this matter? Mostly not. Rules should surely be broken where they are crystallising our actions in a world that no longer exists. Think how instant communication has replaced the letter, how streaming is increasingly replacing the weekly episodes of terrestrial TV.
They should surely be broken where they are limiting creativity – something the tech industry tackled decades ago with its Agile Manifesto cutting through the bureaucracy that rendered inventions obsolete before they reached market.
Bringing attention, from time to time, to the rules we live by in organisations is essential. It can reveal and break through blockages that hinder progress on a far greater scale than an ill-defined process.
It can uncover the rules and conventions that are actually myths yet deeply embedded in the organisational mind-set and holding the expression of talent back.
But…and it is a big BUT there is one rule, the key rule of leadership, that is, and must remain, unchangeable whatever comes. That is to do the right thing, no ifs or buts.
And when everything is changing rapidly, much is in a state of flux, holding fast to this is easier said than done.
So, our heart must be engaged. Drawing on its wisdom and courage we temper the brain’s rush to what will work best, fastest. Thinking heartfully enables us to step back and see the bigger picture. To examine the quality (and purity) of our motives and intentions. To remove self-interest in favour of the interests of a greater good.
This might sound Pollyanna in the heat of a crisis but as leaders shouldn’t we consider not just now but the world we’re creating? Doing the right thing is the path to better.