Lead A Horse To Water

All my life I've heard people say that "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink". I don't believe this is true. I understand the basis of whoever originally coined the phrase. The point is that you can't "make" people do the things you want them to do. However, I feel that this mentality or even philosophy for some has become an excuse to not lead well. It seems to minimalize leaders' responsibility to lead effectively as some think that their job is simply to make a decision and it's up to chance as to whether or not people buy into their decision and follow them. So that way, if people don't follow it's not their fault because "everyone knows that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink!"

So here's my adaptation of this quote: You can lead a horse to water and he'll drink if you make him thirsty on the way there. I believe that it's the leader's responsibility not just to spot water (or a needed change). But, rather, it should be their responsibility to investigate and plan for every aspect of the journey to the watering hole, including the physical and emotional condition of said horse, current location, timing, and the current trust level of the horse with the leader altogether.

Ok, I'm going to stop the horse talk and just focus on people now. I believe it's time for leaders to take a good look at these things before attempting to implement change. In order for us to effectively lead people through Positive Change we must consider the current morale, trust level, and timing. We must compare the possible rewards for the change against the possible cost of making it. Ultimately, I believe that we have to make sure that our people are thirsty for it. I believe that there are two major ways people become thirsty for change.
1. Effective Communication - Clear, Creative, and Frequent
People should have plenty of time to buy into the need for the change long before the actual change itself is presented whenever possible. It's not ALWAYS possible. But as leaders we should plan for this whenever we can. By the time your idea is presented, your people should have already been looking or asking for a solution to the very issue your change will address. You should be creating that thirst.
2. A desert experience - Sometimes great crisis or dry spells can cause a healthy discontentment in people. Effective leaders should be able to recognize those times and navigate them properly. It should NEVER be a leaders intention to create the desert experience in order to make people thirsty. I believe that God appoints those times for different reasons and it is our responsibility to see it, assess it, and address it when the time is right.

Is there any way for a leader to guarantee that everyone in their organization will want to go along with every decision they make? I don't think so. That's not what this is about. I'm just tired of hearing leaders cop-out on leading effectively by using this quote and blaming it all on their stubborn horses. It's our job to lead effectively before we can expect them to follow effectively.

I'll pick this up again later...that's probably enough for now.

later,
johnny