How Do You Change?
Change is an overused word. Google it and see. Too simple (you do or you don’t) and too complex (a long list of variables). It means whatever you want it to. I read an article by Torben Rick recently that said managing change is outdated. We should be “riding the waves” of change. I last heard that phrase in the 1990s in relation to culture. How do you change in today’s world?
Torben Rick says
Organizations don’t change, people do.
CEO, Ray Stata, argued that change is synonymous with learning:
The rate at which organizations and individuals learn may well become the only sustainable competitive advantage left.
That implies the people must change if you want the organization to change. The trouble is the lingering 20th Century hierarchical and patriarchal culture is pissing people off (and not just Millennials). Compliance does not engender commitment.
I’ve written before that people in organizations are crying out for firelighting rather than firefighting, a bonfire lit from below enabled by a different kind of leadership:
The job of leaders is to show passion for purpose and release it in others to create the energy that builds something new or changes something old. People will always be the fan and the bellows of change.
The word ‘change’ gives the impression that you are being asked to move to somewhere you don’t want to go or become something you are not. Or you fear the unknown if you initiate personal change. Yet, we never shed everything. We take our experiences, values, skills, knowledge, and core self with us. The context changes and we still have the power of choice over our mindsets, attitudes, and behaviours.
Career navigating
Metaphors sometimes struggle to fully reflect what personal change feels like today. Evolution can sound too slow, revolution too fast. Dances and spirals also get used. A nautical one is as good as any to help with riding the waves of change.
Become a robust boat that can cope beyond the next wave and sail whatever the sea conditions. How you navigate change in your job and career is a continuous process of learning, relearning and unlearning at a variable windspeed that meets your dreams and ambitions at different life stages. We all need to learn to leap by developing new skills and knowledge while adapting our mindset and behaviours for changing personal and business circumstances. In a nutshell: lifelong and lifewide learning.
Improve | Explore | Experiment | Share | Serve
Ensure you are up-to-date and what you have to offer is relevant and needed. Identify your transferrable skills and experiences.What could you learn that would enhance your capability and improve your chances of getting the job you want or furthering your career?
A personal example. Seven years ago I hadn’t a clue about social media. I got some one-to-one training on how to use Twitter and took to it like a duck to water. Social media has since played a significant role in developing my personal brand, enhancing my professional reputation and credibility, and in developing business through relationships.
Take an online course or an evening class. Get a mentor. Learn out loud by experimenting or doing something new on the job. Shadow someone for a day. Apply your skills and experience in a different context or environment. You fire up your employability by taking charge of your learning. Small change, high value.
Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment. Robert E Quinn
Empower yourself with MARIA — you need the Motivation (it’s your life), the Authority (it’s your decision), the Resources (it’s your talent), the Information (it’s your interests), and the Accountability (it’s down to you).
By learning to leap you will have a greater chance of multiple and diverse careers that align with your talents, who you are, who you want to be and who you become. Ready, steady….
How do you change?
