Page 131 - The Way to the Top

Now, for really the first time in my life, I was faced with the reality that,
at least for some segments of the population of my company, I was not a

very popular guy. Maybe that was always the case in my life before
Unocal, but without vocal message boards I went along in happy
ignorance. Anyway, in retrospect, it really got to me. I began to question
myself and my ability to stay focused on the major changes that were
needed. Maybe incremental change versus more radical change was the

right answer. I found myself tempted to say things to the employees like,
“Once we’re over this, things will go back to normal,” even while
recognizing that they probably wouldn’t and any short-term healing that

might be gained would be overwhelmed when the reality hit that in today’s
environment, “normal” just means more change.

Fielding Walker had noticed that I was struggling and sensed that I was
losing my edge and ability to stay focused and confident in helping to
execute the needed changes. He reminded me what was happening at

Unocal was not unique. It wasn’t really about me personally; it was about
the anxiety, fear, and anger inevitably arising from major change.

Logically, I knew that he was right. I had worked as a consultant for
McKinsey, where we researched the topic of change and had actually

published a book called Real Change Leaders in which employee
resistance to change was one of the key topics. But this wasn’t a logical
issue for me—it was personal and emotional and that is why logic wasn’t
helping me.

Fielding figured this out. He came into my office, and in his calm

southern drawl, said, “Tim, I think what you are really struggling with is
approval. You’re a guy who likes people to approve of you. Until now
you’ve been in situations where your personality and makeup allowed you
to have that approval. Now you’re in a situation where it is impossible for

you to do the right things for this company and at the same time be
approved of by everyone—it just can’t happen. You need to think very
clearly about who you really are seeking approval from.” This notion of
being purposely discriminating about where and whom I was seeking