Momentum Is a Leader’s Best Friend

All leaders face the challenge of creating changes in an organization. The key to succeeding is momentum, what John Maxwell called the Big Mo.

Just as every sailor knows that you can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving forward. Strong leaders understand that to change direction you first have to create forward progress, and that takes the law of the big mo. Only a leader can create momentum. Followers catch it. Managers are able to continue it once it has begun. But creating it requires someone who can motivate others, not who needs to be motivated. Henry Truman once said, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ But for leaders, that statement should be changed to read ’If you can’t make them heat, get out of the kitchen.’

Momentum really is a leader’s best friend. Sometimes it’s the only difference between losing and winning. That’s why in basketball games, for instance, when the opposing team scores a lot of unanswered points and starts to develop too much momentum, a good opposing coach will call a time out, he knows that if the other team’s momentum gets too strong, his team is likely to lose the game.

Momentum makes a huge difference in an organization. If you have no momentum, even the simplest task can seem to be insurmountable problems. But if you have the momentum on your side, the future looks bright, obstacle appears small, and trouble seems temporary.

Momentum does many things for you. E.g. It makes leaders look better than they are. It helps followers perform better than they are.

Though hard to start, momentum makes it easier to steer an organization. Momentum creates an environment where the leader can most effectively act as a change age.

If your desire is to do great things with your organization, never overlook the power of momentum. It truly is a leader’s best friend. If you can develop it, you can do almost anything. That’s the power of the Big Mo.