Few things in life are as constant as change.
Few things can be as diffiult to start as change; as difficult to resist as change; as difficult to manage as change.
At times change can be as mercilessly present; grinding its path with glacial speed and force through areas of our lives we would rather have remained untouched. At other times change can be mercilessly absent; allowing maddening sameness in the areas in which we most want to see something different.
Given its ubiquity, we wonder if change be controlled? I am hesitant to say yes. Change resists control fiercely. When it does yield, it most often does so only temporarily.
Much of the change a leader experiences happens to them and their business. Things like changing market influences, changing technology, changing financial conditions, etc. are among just some of the waves that constantly buffet the leader, the leader's team and the leader's business.
In contrast, some of the change that a leader experiences is chosen.
Instead of simply trying to hold their ground while resisting the unrelenting waves of change . . many leaders have learned to lean in to change. They choose it on their terms. They take it on; head on. This is why leaders are often refered to as change agents.
However, simply leaning into change doesn't make one a change agent, let alone a change champion.
Any poor leader can initiate change. Almost all do.
In too many cases poor leaders confuse different for better.
Because different can almost always be accomplished, the poor leader feels satisfied because they have made things different. Bolstered by their "felt" success, they tend to make change even more quickly and even more often. When change is resisted, the poor leader forces it. Unfortunately, such change is seldom helpful; in most cases it harmful.
It often becomes "change for change sake". It's change agent becomes litlle more than a change chump -- robbing employees of their joy and the organization of vital energy and passion.
The exceptional leader, on the other hand, is best revealed in the deft way they sift through the limitless pile of things that could be changed for "the sake of change" to find those few things that, if changed, would make the organization demonstrably and genuinely better.
Before they begin the change process these exceptional leaders carefully assess change-readiness . . not just of the process but also of the people involved in the process.
When these change champions have effectively assessed and resourced the change they, then, lead their team in working with change rather than trying to force change.
At the end of the day, two things separate the exceptional leader from the poor leader; the change champion from the change chump.
The first is their ability to determine which things have real potential for change from those things that are neither change-ready nor change-likely. The second is having the wisdom to know what change will make things better and what change will just make things different.
Many leaders and many businesses die on the battlefield of these choices because, to borrow from the Knight gaurding the Holy Grail in the second Indiana Jones movie, "they chose poorly".
Trying to change things that are not change-ready will consume excessive amounts of energy and often result in a negative cost/yield ratio. Taking such things on casually or without sufficient strategic analysis can be as painful as it is imprudent.
By contrast, effectively assessing change-readiness and creating a sufficient strategy for the change target can make change much easier than originally thought and leave all parties wondering, "why didn't we address this sooner?"
Are you a change champion or a change chump? Answer these questions honestly and you will have better idea:
-
Do you take the time to effectively assess what processes and people are change-ready from those that are change-resistant?
-
Can you discern what change will make things better from that change which will just make things different?
-
Do you work with change or do you force change?
If you would like to discuss this further, drop me a line at brian@foreclarity.com.