(A Change Management Article)
We are all broken; we can all choose to be changed.
The first road race I ever ran was a Smokey The Bear 5K in the heat of mid-summer Florida. A friend and I committed to run, though honestly, it was more like I was shamed into it.
Though nervous, the start went well, but doesn’t it usually? I finished the race barely in front of the guy with the dogs. She finished barely behind him. Both of us felt like dying in the heat.
Though over the years, we both moved forward independently as amateur athletes: me as a runner, and her as a triathlete, it wasn’t long until she had won several Ironman Triathlons and qualified for Hawaii, a huge accomplishment.
It was the television coverage of the Hawaiian Ironman that got me. You see, I quickly discovered everyone has a story, a hardship, an obstacle that they had to overcome just to get there. Everyone had a hurdle they had to clear in order to compete in the greatest Ironman competition in the world. Maybe like me, you are a fan of the Olympics, the Tour de France, the Jamaican Bobsled Team, and Eddie the Eagle. What I find the most intriguing is not the competition, though that is often enthralling, it is the stories of the human struggle to simply arrive at the competition, to have the chance to compete.
However, it is only recently that I realized everyone is broken. Our individual story is in that brokenness. We have been hurt, damaged, abused, discriminated against, pushed down, or held back. Or we may have been the one doing the damage.
We are each broken. Whether it is from our organization’s failures, missed expectations, or ineffectiveness; whether it is from a loss of job, love, or direction; whether it is from a broken home, disease, or abuse; whether it is from our own failure, guilt, or self-abuse… we are all broken.
Only through transparency can transformation take place. Recognizing the brokenness of us as organizations, leaders, people, friends, and self allows us an opportunity to choose to stay in the brokenness or be transformed into something greater.
Everyone has a Story. Everyone is Broken.
Transparency Leads to Transformation.
Only the Broken Can Be Transformed.
© 2018 Barry Robbins, Silver Bear Solutions
Contact The Author
Barry Robbins is an IT Executive with a strong record of success in transforming IT organizations by envisioning, developing, and implementing IT business solutions.