Change: Broadening Perspective

Let’s talk about change.

The fact of the matter is if you’re not changing, you are not evolving and being the best version of you. The same thing is true at work. If your team is not inherently focused on driving change, they will not be performing at their best.

I know that there is a lot of talk about people being resistant to change but really, people resist when they don’t see the benefit or if the perceived effort to make the change is larger then the perceived benefit. If it is a change you are passionate about, the “unknown” factor might make it a little scary but mostly the feeling you will have is EXCITEMENT!!!

So if this is true than why isn’t everyone out there changing things left and right?

2 reasons: They don’t see the opportunity or they don’t see the solution.

For instance, let’s use this crazy example 🙂 Pretend you meet someone who has no idea what an airplane is. Where they are from everyone gets around in a car. They’ve never heard of an airplane. They have no idea that airplanes even exists. If you take that person to an airport and show them planes taxiing into the terminal, most likely they are going to think “That is a funny looking car!!!!” When you tell them that it flies through the sky, they won’t believe you! But when they see it take off, that is how they will want to travel long distance going forward. Their perspective has been broadened. They now have a new solution to get somewhere fast that they didn’t have earlier.

So as a leader, how do you help broaden your teams perspective and have a team culture that fosters change? Here are a few things that I found to be helpful:

• Talk about change constantly: to really make it part of your culture, you need to make it part of every conversation. It needs to be top of mind. If people are thinking about it all the time, they will become more aware. Similar to how when you are looking for a new car and suddenly you start noticing the one you are looking at everywhere. You have a heightened sense of awareness. The other key reason to keep it part of every conversation is showing it is a priority. If it is not a priority for you to talk about, it is not a priority for the team to execute. They are following your lead.

• Role up your sleeves: you have a different perspective on things then your team. You’ve had different professional experiences that have broadened your perspective. It can be extremely helpful to take 15 minutes and have team member walk you through one their processes. There is a saying “the devil is in the details” and it’s so true. You will be amazed at the processes that people get comfortable with and the false-beliefs they have as to why it has to stay that way. Understanding what the pre-conceived barriers are and tearing them down will help the team really start to move things forward.

• Take partners: You and your team don’t have to be the only ones involved with coming up with a solution. Take partners and involve other people. Talk to peers — do they have anything similar and how have they solved it? Network with other companies. Talk with service providers. Leverage all your resources and hopefully by doing so, your perspective will continue to broaden. Taking partners also is a key component to executing the changes.

Ready to give it a try? Stop back and let me know the outcome!