How do we lead well during unwanted change?
One of my favorite examples of different reactions to change is found in Scripture in the story of God’ s redemption of Israel from 430 years of slavery in Egypt. The Hebrew people were desperate for things to change:“ The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God”( Exodus 2:23). They were begging for change. The Lord told Moses he had heard the cries of his people and was concerned for their suffering( Exodus 3:7). But when God miraculously delivered his chosen people from bondage, their response to their dramatic change in status showed their disorientation and resistance to the change for which they’ d longed:
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses,“ Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt:‘ Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”( Exodus 14:10‐12)
Their deliverance wasn’ t a tidy new beginning. Their past was literally chasing them. Pharaoh and his army were pursuing them into the wilderness. The reaction of the Hebrew people to both their change of status and the challenge of being pursued by their captors is as familiar as the reactions of leaders when change comes to their organizations today. Let’ s take a moment to look at these reactions.
Panic: Change leads us into the unknown, and we can expect to encounter new problems. When a threat looms, fear is a normal response. It is natural for people to panic when things go wrong. A wise leader anticipates it. Levelheaded leadership can make a huge difference when panic begins to set in.
Second-guessing: Yesterday, getting out of Egypt was the best idea ever. But a day out of Egypt and the Israelites are ready to throw in the towel. Leaving went from the best idea to the worst idea. When problems arise, it is common to hear things like,“ I told you this was going to happen,” or“ I knew it wouldn’ t work.”
Doubt: With the first sign of trouble, the people blamed Moses. When problems arise, people are quick to doubt and find fault with the leadership that has led them into the unknown.
A desire to go back to the way things were: Within hours, the people of Israel regretted leaving Egypt:“ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians”( Exodus 14:12). People are often more willing to cope with familiar problems( even big ones) than the
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