Many in the U.S. are understandably feeling very disappointed in the Supreme Court’s recent decisions to:

• Overturn Roe v. Wade which provided a federal constitutional right to an abortion for almost 50 years

• Loosen limits on carrying guns in public in New York State where a law had been existence for over 100 years

• Remove the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants which they have done for the last seven years

The disappointment is because these decisions are taking the U.S. backwards to a time in the past.  All examples of the Supreme Court majority advocating for the past.

As change agents and leaders, many of us have seen when new leadership comes in, how a transformation initiative that was a priority to the old guard of leadership, all of a sudden falls by the way side under new leadership.  The question is, how surprised are you when this happens?

If you’re surprised when this happens, how much are you taking progress for granted?  What does taking progress for granted look like?

It’s:

• Assuming once a change has taken place it will remain indefinitely

• Thinking no additional advocating, influencing, championing, or promotion is necessary given the change is already in place, perhaps even for a long time

• Dismissing unhappy murmurings in the organization thinking they’re just a minority

• Telling yourself no one thinks that way anymore or they’ll never win

If any of the above resonates, reflect on what just happened with the Supreme Court.  Laws in place for 50-100 years were overturned and changed back.  The progress in the country and direction changed.  If this can happen in the country, what do you think the likelihood is it can happen in your organization?

Reflecting on the above:

• What’s a change already in place in your organization you deeply care about?

• When was the last time you took a pulse on how stakeholders are feeling about this change?

Call to Action

• Want help ensuring progress continues in the organization? Reach out to Rosanne for support to ensure continued improvement and advancement.

• Using the comments feature, what’s an example of a change you took for granted in the organization only to have it changed back down the road?

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About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives.  She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary consultation. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.