Giving Compass' Take:

• This B the Change post discusses how we can be more proactive as social change leaders by practicing generative tension — creating a vision of where you want to be and how to get there.

• Much of this involves simply being honest with ourselves about organizational values and mission. Feedback is also an essential part of the process, as is taking a long-term approach.

• Here's more on what wielding philanthropic leadership really means.

It’s no secret that rapid and disruptive change is a constant in today’s business environment. If you’re not moving forward and staying ahead of change, then you are quite literally falling behind  —  and at a greater pace than ever before.

It’s easy for leaders to sit back and hope that their industries won’t be the ones that are disrupted, that their businesses won’t be the ones that get left behind, and that their people are willing and able to weather the storm while staying engaged in their jobs and staying loyal to the companies they work for. But it’s clear that this is a shortsighted and ultimately ineffective approach.

To succeed now and in the future, leaders must lead the change they want to see, and if they aren’t already doing so, they must start leading that change right now.

How exactly are you supposed to do that? Change is simple, but it’s hard.

In our many years of experience working with organizations big, small and every size in between, in most every industry, we have found that creating generative tension is an essential element in leading the change that leaders want to see.

Generative tension is simply the gap between our aspirations and our current reality  —  where we want our organization to be tomorrow, and where it is today.

Read the full article about leading the change you want to see by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams at B the Change.