Working to Be a Leader

How do you lead people to change their behavior? To see the possibilities of moving in a new direction?

I don’t have all the answers. I have a good example what happened when I went in a new direction.

My back ‘went out’ and my doctor sent me to physical therapy. Included in my routine was walking backwards on a treadmill. Try it. It’s not that easy. Walking backwards requires balance — especially when you do it ‘hands free’ by not holding on to the side bars, swing your arms back and forth, and increase your walking speed. After ten or so physical therapy sessions, I continued the routine of walking backwards on one of the many treadmills at my health club.

“Do you know you’re walking in the wrong direction?” was just one of the many comments I heard from trainers, strangers, and friends. No one else ever walked backwards on the treadmill. I was the exception. An odd person. Going against the norm, standing out, being different, introducing a change in how equipment could be used.

Nevertheless, I kept up my routine. There were enough positives — walking backwards was easier on my knees and helped to strengthened my back — that I had to risk being the one people noticed. I could still watch the TV up on a wall, easily talk to friends who were lunging by carrying heavy weights, or pedaling stationary bicycles.

There is one caution I have for you if — or when — you try walking backwards: stay focused on what you are doing. On more than one occasion I got carried away and almost walked off the treadmill!

Over a period of a few months, I starting noticing small changes at my health club. A trainer had his new client get on the treadmill and walk backwards. I saw someone else try it out cautiously on her own. Recently a woman came up to me and said, “I’m curious, why do walk backwards on the treadmill?” I told her. She said, “I have a really bad back….” I saw her trying to walk backwards a few days later.

How do you lead in a new direction? Do you risk being different? To stand out by taking a risk to enact a positive change? Sharing that information with others? Being a leader who introduces an innovative use of existing resources?

If not, I encourage you to try it. The rewards aren’t just for you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.