Page 138 - Fearless Leadership

Changing Your Direction and Taking a Bold Stand 125

the discomfort in order to break through the barrier and create a new
reality.
Before Clarke’s group was ready to talk to the distributor group, they
had to examine their own blind spots. We asked Clarke and his team,
“How has your behavior—how you talk to one another about the dis-
tributor and how you work around the distributor—contributed to this
breakdown?” The moment a member began defending the team’s
actions, we stopped the conversation and redirected it back to the
team’s accountability. After a while, they began to see how their fixed
and rigid viewpoints about the distributor had perpetuated the break-
downs. Prior to the in-depth exploration of blind spots, Clarke’s group
perceived the distributor as the “persecutor” and responded as the vic-
tim, thereby feeding the cycle of constant breakdowns and tension.

The Committed Partnership Created. The change in the behav-
ior of Clarke and his group paved the way for a new way of working
with the distributor. Clarke’s group changed their thinking and
actions without expecting the distributor to reciprocate. This genuine
display of 100%-zero accountability captured the attention of the dis-
tributor group, which did, in fact, respond in kind. This underscores
a key to transformation: when one individual or group authentically
takes accountability, it alters the conversation between all parties and
opens up new possibilities.

In the above stories, fearless leaders overrode their automatic instinct
to play small and protect their own interests. In each case, the leaders pur-
posefully chose to move toward what others believed was improbable and
impossible. This highlights the antidote for automatic behavior: lean into
your discomfort, fears, and concerns, and purposefully engage with oth-
ers in an extraordinary way.

The Shortest Path to Success: Taking Decisive Action
Despite Discomfort
Counterintuitive thinking is difficult to comprehend because it does not
seem logical. For example, you may postpone having a difficult conversa-
tion because you feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Your logic tells you to