“Why
change its working ok”, “it’s too much trouble to change”, “you can’t teach an
old dog new tricks”, “I don’t like it”, “We have always done it this way”, “it’s
too complicated”. These are just some of
the things I have heard when it was announced a couple of years ago that we
would be switching to a new software system at my organization. Change this big may understandably bring some
of these comments because changing your habits of how you do things can be a
scary thing. But what about small changes, how does that affect us. Perhaps it’s a change in how we perform a
task or when we do it or even not having to do it again. When I hear these types of comments what I
hear is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear
of not being able to keep up with the change and fear that one may not like the
new changes.
I
have even heard some new reasons not to change; “we need to win the lottery so
we don’t have to learn the new system”, “we will have just as many issues with
the new system”. These come from people
who have been through a change before and saw the issues and problems it
created. Why do we fear change
though? Look around and you will see
that things have changed, nothing stays the same and if it did there would be
no progress made. Ever. No man on the moon, no cell phones, no
internet, no modern modes of transportation.
Technology is evolving at a much faster pace these days so what worked just
a year ago may be obsolete now. Change is
going to happen whether we want it to or not.
Change
is inevitable and it is better to embrace it and learn to adapt to transform. I don’t think I ever used any of these excuses
when it comes to change. For me I ask
more questions about the change. “How
will this affect how I do things”, “how quickly can we get it up and running”, “will
there be training on how to use all aspects of the new product”. Asking questions and learning how changes
will affect you, your work and your organization you can overcome any thoughts
or fears of how you will manage with new processes. We must understand that we must change in
order to move forward. It not only helps
us to understand things better but with this change we may find a better way to
do things, a way to improve the way we work.
Who doesn’t like that?
Seth
Godin spoke about tribes and how we may be a part of one whether it is the
people we work with, groups we belong to or ideals that we feel strongly about. It takes one person to say this is what I
think and this is what I am going to do about it, come along if you want
to. There was a YouTube video posted on
the announcement board a couple of weeks ago showing one random man dancing by
himself to the music at some outdoor festival.
There were plenty of people around him, many walked by, some stopped to
watch his unique style of dancing. Then
something amazing happened. Someone else
joined him. And then another and another,
pretty soon people were running not walking to be a part of this man’s journey of
dance. He didn’t shout for people to
join him but without doing anything else other than what he was enjoying he
formed a tribe.
Seth offered three questions about tribes and change. The
first one, who exactly are you upsetting seems pretty clear. You stand for something and you want to be
heard. If it is not a big deal to you it
won’t be a big deal to anyone else either.
You have to make yourself heard because this is how you change things,
make them better, bring attention to wrong doings. The second one, who are you connecting, makes
you think about who you want to connect to.
Why are you connecting? What are
you going to get out of it? I have
recently started to run 5ks with a coworker of mine. It did because she asked me to go because she
thought I would like it. I have just
completed my 4th 5k in the last 3 months and I am beginning to see a
lot of the same people. I am making
connections with this group, this tribe. These runs are more than just about
beating my own time; they help different organizations and individuals.
The
third one, who are you leading, is to me the most important one. The focus is on who we will lead as this is
where change is going to happen. We make
people think and want to do more. My
daughter is now interested in doing a 5k with me because she sees how happy it
makes me knowing that I did something for someone else. This is bringing another person in to help
push change. It can be as small as
getting out there and doing it. It doesn’t
matter what the time on the clock says it is about making a difference in
someone else’s life.
In
my department I maintain a positive outlook even when change may affect how I
do my work. I focus on how to make it
better not dwell on how unfair it will be. Recent events in my area would make some
people mad or frustrated but for me I will continue to do what I do and strive
to make lasting changes that will better my department as well as me as an
individual. That is what makes me a good
leader and perhaps propel me into a great one.
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