Light Without Heat: Creating the Full Equation for Change

I'm always on the lookout for pop music from the '60s - the more obscure, the better. Last week, on a browse through YouTube, I found a song titled "Light Without Heat" by a California group called (fittingly enough) Creation of Sunlight. Even before I listened to the tune, though, I was intrigued by the title - especially in "light" of the thinking I've been doing lately on the subject of personal change.

It strikes me that "light without heat" describes the way many people attempt to effect change in others - and in themselves. For example, a leader might be dealing with an employee who has high potential but who's saddled with a behavior - such as a hair-trigger temper - that's derailing him in his career. The leader might try to give the employee a wake-up call by shining the light of realization in his face regarding his behavior. This can take the form of a coaching session in which the leader encourages the employee to reflect on his behavior and self-realize the way in which it's holding him back. It might also be a 360-degree feedback process, a comment on a performance evaluation, or (in extreme cases) a direct confrontation in which the leader flat-out tells the employee about the behavior and its negative impact.

Certainly this "light" can serve to jar the employee out of his complacency or cluelessness. But such a wake-up call is likely to have only a temporary effect. In order for the employee to do the hard, day-in and day-out work of personal change, he needs to have a sustaining vision of what he can become. By creating a clear picture of what his life will be like if he's able to work more effectively with others, he can create the "heat," the fire in the belly that will motivate him to pursue his personal goal.

Or consider an automobile salesperson who uses a consultative approach with her clients. In inquiring about a client's situation and needs, she may become aware of a blind spot in the client's understanding of his current circumstances. For example, the client may have a 10-year-old vehicle with 200,000 miles that's running fine now but that might cause problems as the client moves to a new house an extra 25 miles from his job.

In this situation, the consultative salesperson could ask a question to shed light on the client's situation: "With that longer commute, what would happen if you found yourself taking your car into the shop once a month or even more?" As the client considers the impact, he could give himself a wake-up call that might rouse him from his complacency. But to help the client see a way out of the bad outcome he's now contemplating, the salesperson could follow up with another question: "What would it feel like to have a car as dependable as your current car was 10 years ago?" This can prompt the client to see the positive outcomes in proceeding with a purchase - again, to motivate him to move toward a possible future rather than just running from an undesirable present.

Organizational change itself also works best if wake-up calls (to shake people out of their comfort with the status quo) are accompanied by a positive vision for change and a series of steps to start moving in that direction. The wake-up call - which can be a stark message about what could happen if change does not occur - can provide the light. The positive vision - the well-drawn descriptions and images of what the organization and its people could achieve - provides the heat, the inner fire of motivation to proceed even in the face of difficulties that might lie ahead.

"Light Without Heat" is another way of saying "Awareness Without Action" or "Knowing Without Doing." Both sides of the equation are necessary to maintain your resolve and commitment to change.