When Movement Does Not Equal Action

All actions need co-ordinated movement(s). However all co-ordinated movement do not necessarily mean action. Confusing? Here is an example.

When I was a school going kid, I used to hate the compulsory study time at home, especially on subjects that I did not like. I used to fake that study time. A text book was in my hand. For those people who were watching, I appeared like a diligent student seeking knowledge and wisdom. However, my mind was elsewhere. See! Movement did not mean action.

Even in work life, there are people who fake movements that appear to demonstrate strong alignment in a desired direction. We spoke about transformers, fence sitters and lost souls in an earlier post. People who fake action are either fence sitters who fear being looked down upon, or lost souls in disguise.

A leader must trust the transformers and give them freedom and empowerment to action at will. At the same time, the leader must be wary of facades depicting desired action where the movement underneath is far from real. A leader who does not manage this risk well will suffer crippling setbacks.

There are two models of trust. Imagine a trust bank. One model starts with a full coffer as starting balance. Points get taken away only if an intentional breach occurs. The other model starts with an empty coffer and points get added for demonstration of each trustworthy action. I personaly believe that the first model is best for all established transformers. For all others only the second model seems to work. That makes the path to becoming a transformer a steep climb. Come to think of it, such elevation is deserving and appropriate for the transformers.

How do you identify a transformer when you see one? Well, transformers do not fake action. When they do not understand something, they stand up and ask questions. When they need help, they do not hesitate to ask for it. When they do not like the direction they are in, they are very vocal about it. In summary, they are not afraid of doing the right things. A leader must be wary of the yes-person - someone who superficially says yes to everything but does not apply his or her mind in that direction.