Leadership: How to Make Some Noise and Get In Good, Necessary Trouble
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good, necessary trouble. U.S. Representative John Lewis.
I have reflected on this quote from Congressman Lewis often in the days before and after his passing. I have spent the bulk of my professional life helping others develop as leaders, while continously working on my own development. Leadership is fundamentally about challenging the status quo and advocating for a better, more positive future. Congressman Lewis most certainly challenged the status quo in his work getting the vote for Black Americans. He was willing to risk his life for it.
The status quo remains because someone (or group) in power perceives benefits from the status quo. In our society, that is usually white, heterosexual, Christian men. Those not a member of that privileged group (whether they acknowledge their privilege or not) face a mighty struggle to work against the status quo from which the privileged benefit.
Organizations are no different than society as a whole. There are the privileged and those who don’t benefit as much from the status quo. As leaders, it is our responsibility to challenge the status quo and ask ourselves how it may be changed so that many as possible benefit. This requires us to, “not be afraid to make some noise and get in good, necessary trouble.”
What keeps us from making some noise? What is it we fear? Those of us who don’t already benefit from societal privilege and have worked hard to gain some don’t want to lose what we have earned by bucking the system. Fortunately, most of us do not have to fear getting physically beat up like Congressman Lewis endured. But we do fear losing a position or being publicly called out on social media.
What would have happened if Congressman Lewis had stayed silent, had not marched on the Edmund Pettis Bridge, spoken at the March on Washington or run for Congress? Our country would be in a much worse place. Because he made some noise and got in good, necessary trouble, his words and actions will impact generations to come.
I certainly don’t face the issues Congressman Lewis faced, but there are some things in my world that desperately need me to make some noise. How about you? What noise do you need to make?
Key Quesions for Reflection
What is the status quo you wish to challenge?
What are your biggest fears?
How can you minimize risks to yourself?
How prepared are you to face the consequences?
How are the privileged benefiting from the status quo?
What do the privileged stand to lose from a change in the status quo?
How could the both the majority and the privileged benefit from a change in the status quo?
Who are your allies in willingness to change the status quo?
What steps are necessary to change the status quo?
How can the changes be made with the least amount of resistance?
