Don’t Challenge the Status Quo
- Sarah Gruneisen
- Aug 25
- 2 min read
…unless you’re ready to reshape the winds for everyone.
Yesterday I wrote about adaptation, how every crushed hope, every setback, every “no” can become fuel when we learn, release, and rise again.
But adaptation isn’t the end of the story.
Transformation is.
Because there comes a time when leaders don’t just adapt to systems as they are , they reshape them so more people can rise.
📖 Breath of the Dragon, Lesson 10:
“Transformational leaders don’t just join systems—they reshape them so more people can rise.”
🐉 “A dragon changes the wind itself, so the whole flight can fly farther.”
But let me be clear, transformation doesn’t mean dishonoring those above you.
It doesn’t mean rebellion for rebellion’s sake.
And it’s not always about tearing down the status quo.
Sometimes transformation is quieter, deeper.
💚 It’s asking different questions that shift the room’s direction.
💚 It’s building bridges where others saw walls.
💚 It’s creating structures that outlast you, systems that hold trust, equity, and possibility for those who come after.
I’ve lived this in many forms:
🐉 In one season, I worked under a “list chaser” boss who measured success only by what appeared on his dashboard. My team felt crushed under impossible targets. Fighting him head-on would have burned trust, so I chose another path. I shielded my team, delivered what was asked, but behind the scenes used the data differently, to spark curiosity, experiments, and growth. The team flourished, not by rebellion, but by quietly reshaping the winds.
🐉 In another season, I carried responsibility under a leader whose demands consumed more than they gave. It cost me dearly, I burned out in that environment. And yet, even there, I empowered others, modeled another way of leading, and planted cultural shifts that outlasted me. Sometimes transformation means leaving embers in a place that feels cold, so warmth can return later.
🐉 And before that, I had the joy of shaping circles, guiding others through example, through trainings, through thought-out facilitation. I created inclusive structures that shifted cultures in lasting ways. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic. But they were seeds of transformation, planted with care, that kept growing long after I was gone..
Adaptation taught me how to survive the winds.
Transformation taught me how to change them.
💬 Where in your life right now do you feel the winds are against you, and what would it look like to not only adjust your wings, but to change the current for others too?
➡️ This lesson comes from my new flipbook, Breath of the Dragon. But it’s only the spark.
The full journey, with tools, frameworks, and step-by-step practices for making these shifts in your own leadership, lives in my bigger book, The Leadership Leap: Now Without Crash Landings.
💚 One book carries sparks. The other carries the fire.
🐲 On September 25 in Utrecht, I’ll be reading live from The Leadership Leap, signing books, and hosting a live coaching evening where we’ll explore how adaptation and transformation work hand in hand to create lasting impact.
❤️🔥 Sign up for the Leadership Landing 3-month Program — starting next week!
Comments