Isaac Newton was able to come up with some incredible advancements in the world of mathematics and science during his day. Some of those advancements were:
- Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
- The development of the infinitesimal calculus
- The discovery of refraction of light
- Newton’s Laws of Universal Gravitation
Do you think Newton came up with all these discoveries on his own? Did he have any information or knowledge to start from? Newton was quoted as saying,
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
Isaac Newton, Letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1675
Standing on the Shoulders Of Giants
As a leader in math and science, Newton understood the importance of learning from others. He took the knowledge he received from others and improved on it to make things better. He constantly studied the practices of previous scientists and mathematicians so he could come up with new discoveries.
The Power of Change
So how does Isaac Newton’s work apply to leadership? In order for Newton to be successful, he had to constantly change the way he thought about things. He had to change his problem solving approach to advance science and math into what it is today. Had he been stuck doing things how everyone before him had done, he would not have made his discoveries.
As a leader, it is very important to take preexisting knowledge and improve on it. Leaders first need to be able to change themselves. If you, as a leader, are too afraid to change, you won’t be able to make any advances in your industry. Once you stop making advances and changes, your company or organization will begin to become irrelevant and could suffer complete failure.
Once you change yourself, you then need to change others, so they can begin to change the organization and society as a whole. Once change starts, the ball begins to roll and progress is made. So what makes change so hard for so many people? Some of the biggest challenges that leaders face come as they try to make changes happen within their organization. So why don’t people want to change?
1. They don’t understand why the change is important.
If people are asked to change, but they don’t understand the reason behind the change, they will be much less likely to want to change. They will wonder why what they have done for so many years is no longer an effective way to do things.
As leaders, you must be able to put forth a clear vision of why the change is necessary. By giving people a clear vision, you help them understand the benefits of the change and the side effects that come with the change.
2. They don’t know how to make the change.
If people understand why the change is necessary, that doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to make the change. They may know that something is important to do, but not know how to implement it. When people don’t know how to implement a change, they get stressed and resist implementation. As a leader, you need to provide proper training so that everyone knows how to make the change.
3. They don’t want to have to pick up something new.
Once people understand why a change is needed and how to make the change, they still might resist it. People still fear things that they have not done before even if it may be easier than current methods. What they are currently doing is comfortable. People don’t like to leave their comfort zone. Often times, once a person learns how to do their job effectively, they just want to continue doing it that way without any changes. As the leader, you need to ask lots of questions to find out why they are resistant. Follow up the questions with a thorough explanation of the benefits that will come with the change.
In the last little while, I have made and been the recipient of a lot of changes. Changes can be very hard at times if they are not explained or implemented properly. Some of the times I tried to implement change, I failed to properly explain why the change was needed and how it would affect each person. In those cases, I found that I received a lot more resistance. On the flip side, when I properly set up the change so everyone understood why the change was needed and how it would affect them, the change was received much more successfully.
How has change had an effect on your life? What do you do to effectively implement a change? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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