I believe that no one will change until they really want to. Now, that being said many things can cause a need for change. Maybe a loved one’s advice, medical opinion, research or even on a whim. Regardless of stimulus, we have the choice to change or not. So to put into perspective, this may mean you decide to change or someone else in a place of authority decides for you. In other words, it can be “OK, this works better, I’ll do this” or someone may say “OK, this works better, you must do this”. Either way works.
I was once told by a V.P. that if I did not change outcome, I would be let go. First off, at that point I had never been fired. I have been downsized once. Once. Second, this was a stark, very socking realization to my ego and lastly and most importantly, nothing was offered to me as to what exactly needed to change. All I knew I had a finite time to change…well, still not sure what exactly. While I would agree I was struggling in my position and trying to find my rhythm, I was doing my very best without any clear direction. So what did I do? I simply relied on my strengths. I focused on what I did best, not what I apparently wasn’t doing well. Again, still no clue. You know what? I ended up rocking and slammed what I did best and it all worked out. In fact more came from my not knowing what I didn’t know and focusing on what I knew I could do very, very well.
How true is that when faced with change? As managers we are consistently asked to implement change into our job, within our teams and to the business. We can become quite anxious and wonder how this will all work out. And the stimulus, the catalyst for the change can easily vary. It can be due to company goals or new initiatives. It can be due to customer feedback or a new product launch. Maybe our team has a new idea or maybe it’s even on a whim. Now the question is not what is the stimulus, but rather what does it take for you to change…for your team to change? You see the stimulus is just what it is. “It” can be anything from anywhere from anyone and for whatever reason. It is an external stimulus requiring change. You are then tasked to change “it”.
Here’s the quirky part, the title of this post is about the catalyst for change and I have just stated that it doesn’t matter. That is a half-truth. I would say you should always know the “why” behind anything you are tasked to do in your job. Plain and simple. What I am also saying it is not so much the source, but more so what we need within to drive change. The catalyst I really want to tackle, expose and explore is what we need inside to create change. What is the internal catalyst that makes us effective in change?
One, again, the “why”. It is best if you have the direction or goal behind what needs to change. But you may not get this…not clearly anyway. You may get another’s perceived understanding. Nevertheless, if you don’t have this, you take what is expected and surround it with the strengths you can provide for implementation. Then
Two, do an inventory of the current situation. Where do you stand, what is the score, who is involved and what does good look like now. Then
Three, get feedback from all those involved in the change. What do they think and how do they perceive both current scene and desired outcome? Let them voice concerns, ideas and opportunities. Then
Four, begin trying initial steps within the change and immediately observe and monitor how it is working. This allows for small steps with immediate adjustments as needed. You do not want to go too deep before course correcting (should you need to). Then
Five, keep track. Measure whatever you can to share with upper management, your team and even your customer if the information needs to flow in that direction. You have to know where you stand in the change. And then lastly
Be OK with whatever outcome you produce. If you have given it your all (whether with lots of “why” or very little), then you should be OK with the integrity of your change efforts.
Listen, change of any scale requires us to decide to move, to act, to do potentially something different. It can be uncomfortable. It can be unfamiliar and it can even be without any issue at all. So the question is not the source of change. It is your reaction to change. What is the catalyst within your self that needs to “kick in” to make it happen? Change is inevitable. Your response isn’t.
Cheers