Donovan and Change

In these past few weeks, America has awoke from it's annual 4 year slumber to the world of soccer. As the World Cup drew near, many casual fans became more opinionated on a sport that they really have no expertise or experience in - myself included.  The talking heads on sports talk radio and sports television networks went crazy when the only recognizable name, Landon Donovan, on the American team was left off the final roster.

There is no doubting Landon Donovan's talent or ability, or even what he has done for American soccer but many within US Soccer acknowledged that the time had come and that change had to occur. A new coach was brought in and with that an idealogical shift and approach was taken on. An approach that did not see the need for Donovan to be on the team as they went forward.

Donovan was and is still seen as one of the top tier talents the United States has to offer but the reality was that this one player was not going to benefit the team has a whole. Some commentators even acknowledged that Donovan's presence on the pitch often kept others from reaching their potential as they would look for him to do the hard work.

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann had the boldness to acknowledge this and to press on.  And we saw the results and it was thrilling.I bring this all up as a challenge to us all about change. Change for the sake of change is never the right approach but far too often change is feared because of the unknown that it might bring.  To acknowledge that change must occur in our own personal lives, in our relationships, or at our places of employment we must be willing  make the hard, honest choice. We must be willing to believe that: 

To become who we are to be - we have to let go of who we were.

Often in some organizations, leaders can only take them so far and this is due to a number of reasons.  The organization might even be successful but it isn't fully reaching it's potential due to the culture that has taken root - a culture of looking to one person or group to steer the ship to what's next.  In our personal lives, often we allow what has happened to us in the past to define us, to convince ourselves that we don't deserve better or can't accomplish the visions we've been given.

Changing this is no easy task.

For some times it asks us to let go of what we love, to let go of the things that we have grown to trust, and to let go of our need to be in control. Or as a friend of mine challenged me with a few days ago, it even challenges us to believe that 'what is new is always better'.

In the short term, making such a decision can be hard and, like Coach Klinsmann, we can take a lot of harsh criticism and doubt by the masses.  But we must never confuse the trees for the forest, instead remember that in the end all things are being made new - and new is more often than not, different than everything that has come before. 

So today, what are you holding onto that's keeping you from being who you really are?  And what's one small step you might make in stepping into what's next?