Congratulations!! If your favorite team won the Super Bowl, but if it didn’t, you need to move on, this is a transition you must pass on…! Maybe next year!!
During January and because it was the first month of the year, which is usually associated to a new beginning based on New Year’s purpose, goals and resolutions; we dedicated all our publications to change and transformation. Under the premise that something must be different if we really want to obtain different results. Perhaps assuming that realizing and accepting that the need for change and transformation is the first key component for success.
February will be dedicated to a second key component: Leadership. No change or transformation is possible without the right leadership. Although we are using the terms first and second, it doesn’t mean they have to be executed in that order. What we cannot miss if that they are interdependent.
Believe it or not, we are all leaders, it is only that we don’t know it or even worst, we don’t accept it, or we don’t believe it.
In a basic and simple example, if you have ever made a decision in your life, you have led your life towards the direction associated with your decision; and want it or not you have become the leader of your life.
Have you ever asked yourself how much the decisions you have made have changed your life for good or bad? How did you manage yourself during that time of change or transition? Were you able to accomplish what you aimed? What is easy or painful? Was it rewarding or meaningless? Did you feel better or worse? Motivated or frustrated? A hero or a villain? Energized or wasted?
How well you carry over with the decisions you make and in consequence, with the leadership, you execute with your own life will determine the answers to the questions above. You are the creator of your own destiny and reality, which means that your destiny and reality will be as good as how good what you’ve been building is.
THIS IS THE REALITY
Usually, change is underestimated and in consequence undermanaged. People at all levels within an organization are frequently very tied to their old habits, very reactive and extremely resistive.
Things are changing, it’s a different game now. If we consider that most of the current leaders in traditional organizations learned and practice the old style of management, it isn’t difficult to see that change cannot be managed in the same way as a stable routine situation, destined to fail.
The odds are leaders are expected to get more done, maybe with fewer resources and in a shorter period of time. Being fair or not, that’s the reality. Productivity gets hammered from all sides, people are upset, confused and very often demoralized; but results still must be delivered.
Change is stressful. But it’s during tough times that we must show what we are made of. It’s the perfect time to really grow and prove ourselves and to become authentic heroes.
We need to learn how to manage change, instead of letting it manage us.
THE STEPS TO BECOME A HERO
What are the superpowers we need to survive the perfect storm?
First, follow our recommended transformation methodology: CROSSING THE BRIDGE. Which provides you tools and techniques you can use to build a strong and sustainable foundation that allows you to create a great destiny and reality, to be the leader and captain of your own life, and to navigate and transit across the turbulent waters of change or transformation to achieve success.
And then, while you put in practice our methodology, practice the next recommendations:
- Be a change agent.
- Keep a positive attitude.
- Maintain clear communication.
- Motivate, energize.
- Encourage risk-taking and initiative.
- Don’t try to cover all the bases yourself.
- Create a supportive work environment.
- Stays with the people, roll your sleeves.
- Rebuild morale.
- Focus on short-term objectives.
- Establish clear priorities.
- Clarify each person’s job.
- Take care of the “me” issues rapidly.
- Play the role of managerial therapist.
- Reduce the level of job stress.
- Be supportive of higher management.
- Promise change and carefully sell it.
- Get resistance to change out in the open.
- Raise the bar.
- Provide additional job know-how.
- Increase psychological rewards.
- Redouble communication efforts.
- Go looking for bad news.
- Protect quality and customer service.
- Re-recruit your good people.
- Be a real leader.
Don’t miss our next blog where we’ll discuss how leaders can challenge the status “quo”.
