August 2010
"May the Force be with you." These now famous words were said by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the classic blockbuster Star Wars. Of course, if you've seen the Star Wars movies, you realize that the force he is referring to is something good, positive, and meaningful. When we hear the word force used today, it's not often meant for good. "I was forced to do this..." "He was taken by force..." "I must enforce therules..." But what if we looked at force as a necessity. What if we thought of force as the only way that positive things could happen? Kurt Lewin, a famous organizational communication researcher, developed the concept of force fields in change. Lewin basically says that there are forces that drive change or progress toward a goal (helping forces) and forces that drive resistance to change (hindering forces). The difference in resistance to change versus readiness to change lies in how many forces fall on each side. When facilitating change in organizations, schools, communities, etc. the primary role for leadership is to unbalance the force. Leaders need to influence followers to see the reasons to change, strengthen the helping forces in the process. If leaders fail to unbalance the force, the change simply will not occur.
As Bridge Builders, I think "the force" is at the center of what we do. At the conferences this summer, you were given all of thenecessary tools needed to bring change into your organizations, teams, schools, and friend groups. No matter how you slice it, change MUST begin with you and your own personal decisions. The force you have access to is one that is powerful, just like the one in Star Wars. Your force might be a little different than someone else's, but everyone's force is vital to the overall change happening.
Program Director
