DRIVE CHANGE
WHY IT MATTERS
The organizations that can break free from their past and present traditions are those that can outlast and outpace their competition. Everything changes, and organizations need to be able to change too. When it comes to progress and sustained staying power, dealing with change is one of the great dividers between the leadership “haves” and “have not’s.” Leaders who can identify where change needs to happen, create strong change management plans, and march those plans forward with cautious assertiveness are the leaders who create organizations that stay relevant over time. Leaders that don’t know how to drive change, and who stay glued to how things have always been, are those who risk eventually becoming only a memory.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who change best are those most likely to be a mainstay in today’s competitive business landscape. They know if they don’t find innovative ways to leap forward, they and their organizations will likely be leapt over. They are constantly looking for ways to change. They don’t pursue change for the sake of change, but for the sake of staying relevant and viable. They rely on change to drive their success into the future.
Leaders that drive change believe they will always find a better way to do things if they just search for it. They try to see things differently. They are obsessed with increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of each component of their organization including technology, processes, tools, procedures, and people systems. Just because something has always worked one way doesn’t mean it isn’t fair game for renewal. They aren’t afraid to disrupt the status quo.
Leaders that drive change don’t back down when the going gets tough. They don’t get discouraged. They know that any change that is worth doing will be hard to do. They don’t become too emotionally involved in the challenges that come with change because they expect difficulties to always exist. Knowing that change efforts will bring bad days allows them to persevere through them, confront them, and overcome them.
Leaders that drive change don’t drive it through force, intimidation, or the power of their position. They drive it through strength of argument, personal energy, and influence. They change things in a planned and organized way. They have a plan for what to do, when to do it, and who will do it.
Leaders that drive change know that at the foundation of every organizational change is a change for people. Instead of disregarding or running over people they expend their efforts to gain their support. They teach the primary drivers behind change and allay people’s fears and answer their questions. They know that people are more likely to support change if they understand why it needs to happen.
Leaders that drive change are comfortable with unrest and the unknown. They feel safe even if they are unsure about what will happen. They thrive in work environments that are disruptive and unsettled. They don’t fear the potential unsteadiness that could result from taking the organization into the unknown. They love the adventure that change creates.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
The organizations that can break free from their past and present traditions are those that can outlast and outpace their competition. Everything changes, and organizations need to be able to change too. When it comes to progress and sustained staying power, dealing with change is one of the great dividers between the leadership “haves” and “have not’s.” Leaders who can identify where change needs to happen, create strong change management plans, and march those plans forward with cautious assertiveness are the leaders who create organizations that stay relevant over time. Leaders that don’t know how to drive change, and who stay glued to how things have always been, are those who risk eventually becoming only a memory.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who change best are those most likely to be a mainstay in today’s competitive business landscape. They know if they don’t find innovative ways to leap forward, they and their organizations will likely be leapt over. They are constantly looking for ways to change. They don’t pursue change for the sake of change, but for the sake of staying relevant and viable. They rely on change to drive their success into the future.
Leaders that drive change believe they will always find a better way to do things if they just search for it. They try to see things differently. They are obsessed with increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of each component of their organization including technology, processes, tools, procedures, and people systems. Just because something has always worked one way doesn’t mean it isn’t fair game for renewal. They aren’t afraid to disrupt the status quo.
Leaders that drive change don’t back down when the going gets tough. They don’t get discouraged. They know that any change that is worth doing will be hard to do. They don’t become too emotionally involved in the challenges that come with change because they expect difficulties to always exist. Knowing that change efforts will bring bad days allows them to persevere through them, confront them, and overcome them.
Leaders that drive change don’t drive it through force, intimidation, or the power of their position. They drive it through strength of argument, personal energy, and influence. They change things in a planned and organized way. They have a plan for what to do, when to do it, and who will do it.
Leaders that drive change know that at the foundation of every organizational change is a change for people. Instead of disregarding or running over people they expend their efforts to gain their support. They teach the primary drivers behind change and allay people’s fears and answer their questions. They know that people are more likely to support change if they understand why it needs to happen.
Leaders that drive change are comfortable with unrest and the unknown. They feel safe even if they are unsure about what will happen. They thrive in work environments that are disruptive and unsettled. They don’t fear the potential unsteadiness that could result from taking the organization into the unknown. They love the adventure that change creates.
BELIEFS
- Change is the fuel of growth and advancement that is needed to succeed into the future. Change is the very key to progress.
- Change doesn’t happen by itself. It requires someone looking and seeking for ways to do things better, faster, and cheaper.
- In today’s modern world of business those that don’t pursue change are sure to end up a casualty of change.
- There are always better ways of doing things if you are willing to challenge why things are done and how they are done.
- In identifying where you need to change, you find your future. Ask “what could be different tomorrow than it is today?”
- You have to see every obstacle to change as one more reason why change should happen, instead of seeing it as a reason to stop.
- All change is personal change. You can’t change other things in an organization without asking people to change too.
- You can take change efforts too far. Change is never worth it just for the sake of change. Be sure change is meaningful.
BEST PRACTICES
- Be the first to support needed change.
- Don’t be afraid of hard change.
- Proactively look for things to change.
- Have the courage to implement change.
- Regularly ask where change is needed.
- Provide a calming influence during change.
- Implement change even if it isn’t popular.
- Turn challenges into opportunities.
- Introduce new ideas into the organization.
- Don’t be afraid to take risks if needed.
- Find new ways to address old problems.
- Welcome unstructured work environments.
- Be flexible and adaptable.
- Question why things are done the way they are.
- Challenge the old assumptions.
- Embrace new ways of doing things.
- Love the energy that change creates.
- Recognize where change needs to happen.
- Implement change quickly when required.
- Push for needed change to happen.
- Audit systems and processes regularly.
- Believe everything can always be improved.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I adopt needed change without hesitation, or do I drag my feet and move too slow?
- Do I look for what needs changing, or do I prefer to just keep things the way they are?
- Do I change old ways of doing things, or do I keep things the way they are because of how they have always been done?
- Do I anticipate change being hard and drive forward anyway, or do I get discouraged when I meet obstacles to change?
- Do I move change forward with a clear and patient plan, or do I try and force change on the organization?
- Do I recruit others to help me in creating needed change, or do I try and push change initiatives forward alone?
- Do I consider the people implications of major change efforts, or do I drive over people and just expect them to adjust?
- Do I feel comfortable with the chaos that change creates, or do I shy away from the disruption that change invites?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t drive the organization to change so much and so fast that they aren’t able to absorb the changes you are making.
- Don’t change things just for the sake of changing them if there isn’t evidence of real value.
- Don’t be so focused on what is going wrong, and needs to be changed, that you forget to recognize everything that is right.
- There is always a better way.
- If our company is not changing, we are digressing.
- Doing something different energizes me.
- I like to share my ideas of how to do things differently.
- Risks are worth taking.
- I look for ways to make improvements even if there isn’t a problem.