Change

The most difficult thing I ever had to do in my life was to tell my two sons that their father and I were divorcing. They were devastated. I tried to let them know that they would be okay, but they had learned a lesson no parent wants a child to learn at such an early age: few things in life can be counted on to stay the same. Friends move, favorite teachers change jobs, loved ones die, and homes can be destroyed with a bolt of lightning. What could I possibly say or do that would help them feel grounded and secure enough to move on with their lives?

A number of years have passed since those early days of my divorce. Through a little luck, a lot of work and the support of a loving extended family, my sons have grown into competent young men. But I am still haunted by the look on their faces that day as the world they had known and believed would never change, was shaken at its very roots.

I have seen that same devastated look over the years in the eyes of my employees. I have seen the dizzying effect of management changes that have uprooted long-term relationships. I have experienced the confusion and fear associated with changes to what had long been accepted as company norms. And I have witnessed the panic of employees as they learned that, through downsizing, mergers, acquisitions or economic hard times, the job they had come to believe would always be theirs, was gone.

I have asked myself more than once over the years the following question. If I as a leader cannot offer my employees basic job security, what can I give them to make their hard work and loyalty worthwhile? It has taken me a while but here is my answer.

I can make sure that their resumes stay current both in terms of responsibilities and skill sets. I can provide them with exposure to the outside world so that they experience other ways of seeing and doing things. I can teach them coping skills and the capacity for dealing with change. I can help them develop the values of hard work, honesty, integrity, courage and teamwork that will make them marketable and successful anywhere they go. And most importantly, I can let them know, day in and day out, how valuable they are and how lucky I am that they work for me.

Yes, I risk losing a few to bigger and better things, but I also create a workforce of people who are not afraid of the future and who are able to speak out and take risks. And if the time comes that I can no longer give them employment, I know that I have given them a tomorrow. What more could a leader hope to leave behind?


“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in others the conviction and will to carry on.” – Walter Lipman