I'm sad to report that in the past few years, ever since uncertainty became our insistent 21st century companion, leadership has taken a great leap backwards to the familiar territory of command and control.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
We do as much harm holding onto programs and people past their natural life span as we do when we employ massive organizational air strikes. However, destroying comes at the end of life's cycle, not as a first response.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Holding onto outdated systems and relationships can be damaging, similar to unthoughtful destruction. It's important to recognize when to let go gracefully.
This quote by Margaret J. Wheatley emphasizes the importance of recognizing when certain programs, processes, or relationships have outlived their usefulness. Just as excessive force can harm an organization, clinging to outdated practices or people can be equally destructive. Wheatley suggests that the act of letting go should be a thoughtful process that respects the natural course of life, rather than a rash or aggressive reaction to change.
Themes
ChangeLetting GoGrowthOrganizational HealthRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
In a leadership seminar discussing team dynamics, one can use this quote to highlight the importance of innovation and letting go of ineffective practices.
More from Margaret J. Wheatley
All quotes →In our daily life, we encounter people who are angry, deceitful, intent only on satisfying their own needs. There is so much anger, distrust, greed, and pettiness that we are losing our capacity to work well together.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
Even though worker capacity and motivation are destroyed when leaders choose power over productivity, it appears that bosses would rather be in control than have the organization work well.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
Our willingness to acknowledge that we only see half the picture creates the conditions that make us more attractive to others. The more sincerely we acknowledge our need for their different insights and perspectives, the more they will be magnetized to join us.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
They have eliminated rigidity, both physical and psychological, in order to support more fluid processes whereby temporary teams are created to deal with specific and ever-changing needs. They have simplified roles into minimal categories; they have knocked down walls and created workplaces where people, ideas, and information circulate freely.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
It's not differences that divide us. It's our judgments about each other that do.
Margaret J. WheatleyRead
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