Page 234 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

a large group of young adult missionaries he was supervising
at the time. He held up an Oh Henry! candy bar and said,
“I am working to lose weight and not eat any more of these
great candy bars. If you catch me eating an Oh Henry! bar,
you can drive my car for a day.” Over the next few weeks,
Oh Henry! bars appeared in his briefcase, car seat, pockets,
office, and nightstand with the names of those making the
offers attached. But, with his public commitment (and car
insurance premiums) on the line, he was able to resist.
We all need social support to be resilient in managing
change. As we have discussed in previous chapters, there are
two types of social support: close and loose. Close friends
support us and remind us that we are cared for even if we
are “large and homely.” What a privilege to have friends
who don’t care as much about what we do as about who we
are. Leaders and employees who surround themselves with
close friends get support for change. But, in addition, we
need loose connections with more distant acquaintances
who teach us new things. After 35 years of marriage, Dave
and Wendy can order for each other at restaurants and often
fill in the blanks of open-ended sentences. We need new
associates who offer new ideas on how to approach old prob-
lems. We can find new connections through professional
associations, extended social groups, and new assignments.
By having close friends who support them and new acquain-
tances who teach them, leaders can find social support to
manage change.
A final way to build social support for change is to
help someone else manage change. When we help others,
we often become more able to cope. We build a goodwill
account with others that we can later draw on. We see the
change through someone else’s eyes and get a different

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