Every organization gets stuck. Occasionally, it's only temporary. Most of the time, the effects of stuckness becomes part of the ongoing mindset of the institution.

What do I mean by "stuck?" Simply put, an organization can be said to be stuck when in all or part of its institutional life, the organization's emotional system limits its progress towards growth and vitality.

Stuckness happens when a trauma occurs within a group and the consequent emotions are never appropriately dealt with. There might be many reasons for this, but the results are always the same: non-productive behaviors are repeated, progress is sabotaged, and real change can't seem to take hold.

Fortunately, even very stuck organizations don't have to remain stuck. If the right kind of leader emerges within that organization, it is possible for the system to move from stuckness to

vitality. The most important characteristic of that leader is the ability to think and decide independently in the face of pressure from important others.

When such a leader engages with an organization, the results can be quite spectacular.

Organizations find that just as traumatic events can cause a ripple effect of stuckness, so can the emergence of a well-differentiated leader begin a ripple effect of vitality and empowerment.

"Leading From Inside" is a way to begin the process of effective revitalization for an organization. If one well-differentiated leader can initiate the kind of system-wide transformation that can get a system unstuck, imagine what a team of leaders could do.

In order to lead an organization from stuckness to change, it's necessary for the leader to understand how emotional systems work, how they react to trauma, and how to deal with the residual emotion trauma leaves behind in ways that are effective and healthy.