Tag Accepting Change

Leading Through Change

Steve Keating 2 Comments

I know people who claim to love change. I’m not certain I know anyone who actually does. I am certain I know lots of people who would be better off if they changed, I’m also certain I’m not one of those people. 🙂

Change is hard. One of the reasons for that is that there is always some sort of loss associated with change. Even change that we instigate. Authentic Leaders can’t remove all of the stress of change from their people. But they can make it less painful by following the steps I’ve outline below. 

  • Begin by gaining a thorough understanding of the change itself. What is the purpose behind it? What are the anticipated challenges and benefits? Analyze the impact it will have on your team, organization, and stakeholders. Fight the urge to prejudge the change, live with the idea a bit and make no decisions until you truly understand ALL the ramifications of the change. 
  • Open and transparent communication is crucial during times of change. Clearly articulate the reasons for the change, the expected outcomes, and how it will affect individuals and teams. Address any concerns or questions openly and honestly, fostering trust and understanding. Hiding the change for as long as possible, or springing the change on your people at the last minute, is counterproductive. You’ve had time to process the change in your mind, allow your people the same luxury if it’s at all possible. 
  • Paint a compelling vision of the future that the change is intended to achieve. Clearly outline the benefits and opportunities it presents for the team or organization. This vision should inspire and motivate your team, creating a sense of purpose and direction. No one follows a leader until they have some sense of where that leader is going. Share that vision early and often. 
  • Involve your team members in the change process by seeking their input, ideas, and feedback. Encourage collaboration and create opportunities for individuals to contribute to the decision-making process. This inclusiveness will help build ownership and commitment. Few people truly like change but feeling as if they had some input into the change or it’s outcomes will make it much more palatable for everyone. 
  • Recognize that change can be challenging and evoke various emotions in individuals. Show empathy and provide support to your team members throughout the transition. Offer resources, training, and coaching to help them adapt to the new situation and acquire any necessary skills.
  • Whether you realize of or not you are leading by example. So model the behavior and mindset you want to see in your team. Display optimism, resilience, and adaptability in the face of change. Be open to feedback, demonstrate flexibility, and embrace the new processes or systems yourself. This will inspire your people to do the same.
  • Understand that resistance to change is normal. Address concerns and objections proactively. Be willing to listen to different perspectives. Provide clear explanations and help individuals see the benefits of the change. Encourage open dialogue and create opportunities for people to express their concerns.
  • Continuously monitor the progress of the change initiative. Celebrate milestones and achievements along the way to maintain morale and motivation. Regularly assess the impact of the change and make adjustments as needed. Communicate updates and keep the team informed about the progress being made. The bigger the change the more communication is needed. You cannot over communicate. 
  • Amidst change, it is essential to provide stability and a sense of security for your team. Be available to address concerns and provide guidance. Establish a clear framework and expectations, providing a sense of stability during the transition period. Never, and I do mean never, hide from your team if things begin to go south. Nothing will destroy your credibility as a leader faster. 

Leading through change can be challenging even for the most seasoned leader. It requires resilience, flexibility, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. Effective and consistent communication is a must. An open mind is essential. A willingness to “change the change” when you see previously unseen obstacles is the hallmark of Authentic Leadership. It is not an admission of failure. 

Change is most effectively led from alongside your people, not so far out front that you appear immune to the change. Pitch in to make the change happen and provide the support your people need. 

That’s how you can successfully guide your team through the challenges and opportunities that change presents. In this way you make the change a positive and productive experience for everyone. 

Want more of LeadToday? I’ve changed things up on my Twitter feed for subscribers. I recently began publishing two or three videos each week focusing on an element of Authentic Leadership. I’ll post these videos each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Sometimes a bonus video pops up at other times during the week. They will be about 10 minutes long so we can get into the topic in a more meaningful way. The investment for subscribers in still only $4.99 a month. That’s for at least 80 MINUTES of quality video content on leadership a month. 

If you’re interested in taking a look, head on over to my Twitter profile page. If you’re not a follower yet just hit the follow button. It will change to a subscribe button and once you hit that you’re on your way. You can cancel at any time you’ve decided you have nothing left to learn about leading the people who you count on for your success. 

Here’s the link to my Twitter… https://twitter.com/leadtoday 

Turn, Turn, Turn

Steve Keating 1 Comment

There was a great song preformed by The Byrds. I think it was from the 1960’s or maybe the 70’s. It’s one of those songs that when you get the tune into your head it’s hard to get it out. If you pay attention to the lyrics they are hard to get out of your head too. That’s because the lyrics describe the seasons of our lives better than any song I’ve heard. 

The name of the song is Turn Turn Turn. Here are the lyrics:

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die

A time to plant, a time to reap

A time to kill, a time to heal

A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down

A time to dance, a time to mourn

A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate

A time of war, a time of peace

A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)

And a time to every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rend, a time to sew

A time for love, a time for hate

A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late….

Our lives really are divided into seasons. I think many people know that, the challenges start when we don’t live that way. 

Much of the stress in our lives is caused by trying to extend a season for longer than it was intended. Relationships begin and end. Some last a very long time and some are gone before we know it. That’s life. 

Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it’s better to leave them broken than risk cutting yourself trying to put them back together. 

Careers are upended, often with little or no notice. I know an individual who lost his job early in the pandemic. He hasn’t worked since. He says he just can’t let go of what he had. He can’t begin anew because he is weighted down by a season that has passed. It’s time to turn, turn, turn but he insists on remaining in the past. 

As strange as it may sound the “advice” found in the lyrics of Turn Turn Turn is pretty sound. (Pardon the pun) Everything in life has a beginning and an end, when we remember that it makes the transition from one season to another a little easier. 

Let go what needs letting go of and realize that most everything will eventually need to be let go. When you do, you’ll live a happier and more productive life. 

Leading Through Change

Steve Keating 2 Comments

This may come as a surprise to some people but change is hard for most of us. It’s also hard to explain exactly why but for those of us who struggle with change we prefer “things” to stay as they are. At least things that affect us personally. 

I for one am not completely against all change, I know lots of people who I wish would change. Change how they talk, what they think, how they look…I mean who doesn’t think the world would be a better place if everyone was exactly like me…or maybe you. 🙂

Since that’s unlikely to ever happen it would benefit all of us if we were a bit more open to change and the differences that come with it. 

Leaders drive change…or at least they should. But many leaders don’t realize how difficult change can be for their people. The leader knows it is a good idea (primarily because it’s their idea) but their people’s initial reaction is frequently one of loss. 

Leaders need to understand that the majority of people feel a sense of loss whenever change happens in their lives. Even if something better is around the corner it’s human nature to focus on the familiar thing we won’t have anymore. People who can’t let go of the familiar, even to receive something better, limit their potential for growth. 

Leaders would do well to keep that in mind and be sure they aren’t just ordering change. They need to be selling change. Especially the benefit of the change. If you’re in a leadership position and you don’t think it’s your responsibility to sell change then you may be in a leadership position but you’re not leading.

If you’re in a leadership position and you can’t think of a benefit to the change then you shouldn’t be changing. And the reason for the change should never be “because I said so.” 

Winston Churchill said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” Changes made by an organization’s leadership team should be in the direction of the organization’s vision and mission. When it is then the change becomes much easier to sell. If it isn’t then please reread the previous paragraph. 

Authentic Leadership requires a leader to be aware of their team’s struggles with change and communicate the need for change with compassion and empathy. Anything less and the leader will potentially create followers who work to make sure the change isn’t in the right direction. 

On a another subject…I’m trying something new on Twitter. It’s called “Super Followers.” For $5 a month, that’s 17 cents a day, people can follow a part of my Twitter stream that is for subscribers only. It features short videos of me discussing leadership topics, sales tips and ideas for better overall relationships. I’m assuming there will be far fewer Subscribers than the million or so people who regularly follow me on Twitter. That will give me the opportunity to answer questions more throughly than I can on regular Twitter. Most of the answers will come in the evening cause we all have day jobs, right? Think of it as ”mentoring on demand!”

My goal with Subscribers is to build a better connection, one where I can perhaps help more and have a greater impact. I’m hoping it gives me a chance to mentor to a wider audience. It’s still new, we’ll see how it works. It’s a $5 dollar investment that may be the extra “push” you need to get to where you want to be. I’d be honored to be able to help get you there.

You can find more information by clicking the Subscribe button on my Twitter profile page IN THE TWITTER APP. http://twitter.com/leadtoday Give it a try if you’re so inclined, and if you are, be sure to let me know how I’m doing and how I can be of even more help.

Sudden Change

Steve Keating 3 Comments

Change can come out of nowhere. As prepared as you think you may be for the unexpected when it arrives it’s still unexpected. But it’s vital that even in the swirl of unknowns you know this one irrefutable fact… you matter.

That means that you must embrace the unknowns and see the incredible world of opportunities before you. Even if at first glance it may look to others as if the rug has been pulled out from under you, always know that you can make the choice to use that rug as a flying carpet to your future.

All change brings with it a sense of loss. That’s perfectly normal. Grab on to that sense of loss, look at it from all directions, become good friends with it, get very very comfortable with it, and then discard it. There are just too many possibilities in the future for you to be concerned about what was in the past.

The world can be a very unfriendly place right now. So make certain that you remain kind. Kind to others of course but also kind to yourself. When sudden, unwanted change comes your way pay particular attention to how you’re talking to yourself. It is far easier to get past the hurtful things others say about you than it is to get over the hurtful things you say about yourself. So do not say them to begin with.

Be kind to yourself. Always.

Whatever you do don’t be mad at the change or the circumstances (or person) that thrust it upon you. Anger is an emotion that burns the precious energy you’ll need for whatever comes next. There is zero return on anger, it is an expensive emotion that no one can afford.

Make thoughtful decisions. Depending on the change you find yourself going through you may be tempted to make quick decisions. Quick does not mean rash. Be thoughtful in your decision making, the future is a long time so try to make your decisions for the long-term. Think things through, the better your decisions today the better all of your tomorrows will be.

Don’t blame others for the circumstances you’re in. Blaming others only slows down your transition to what will be. Change experts describe the time between what was and what will be as the transition phase of change. This is where the rubber meets the road. You will either slip into the past and risk living there or charge eagerly into the future, that choice is entirely yours.

The past presents the opportunity to wallow in a vast pity party. The future presents limitless opportunities for growth and prosperity. I would urge you to seek the future because your next success can only be found there, you’ll never find what’s next by looking behind you.

Many people won’t like to hear this but more than anything else, more than a person, more than circumstances, more then a deadly virus, it’s your past choices, good or bad, that put you in whatever situation you’re in at this very moment. It is the acceptance of that basic fact that will help you make sound choices for your future.

My Grandfather always told me that the most successful people find a way to make a good hand out of whatever cards they are dealt. Play the cards you have whether you like them or not because well, because they are the cards you have. Remember, a pair of threes can beat a pair of Aces if the person with the Aces is afraid to play them.

Now there are some of you who will say “all that’s easy for you to say.” To you I would say nope, not a single word of this is easy for me to say. I would also say listen to what I say but focus on YOU, focus on what YOU think and what YOU do. Remember how this post started…YOU matter.

Do what you need to do to take care of yourself because if you’re not taking care of yourself you can’t take care of anyone else. That reality will never change.

If it Ain’t Broke, Break It?

Steve Keating 2 Comments

You know, try as I might I’m just not a big fan of change. Unless of course I’m driving the change. But I’m also fully aware that perhaps the most dangerous words in business are, “because we’ve always done it that way.”

 

So the first part of this post is written for me and those of you who share similar sentiments about change. We need to get the heck over it and realize that the pace of change is only going to continue to accelerate. We can either get on board that bus or that bus is going to run us over. 

 

Imagine the world if everyone lived with that “we’ve always done it that way” philosophy. No cars, no airplanes, no TV, no internet, and oh my gosh, no cell phones. (I guess no phones for that matter)

 

Obviously we only need to think for a few seconds to realize that change can be very good. The challenge for many people is stopping to think for those few seconds. The reality is that almost everything we use in our daily lives will one day be replaced by something even better.

 

If you can’t embrace change you can’t grow and if you can’t grow you can’t get better. The first thing you may want to consider changing is your instinct to resist change. Replace it with an open mind and at least a “we’ll see” attitude, you never know, you may just be pleasantly surprised.

 

Now for the second part of this post. It is written for those of you just itching to change stuff because you can. You should take a quick lesson from Winston Churchill who said, “there is nothing wrong with change, if it’s in the right direction.”

 

Change for the sake of change is seldom good change. Before you change what’s worked for a long time you may want to consider exactly why it’s worked for a long time. While I’d agree, there very possibly is a better way, make certain you’re not also discarding the part of a process that works and replacing it with an untested process that may not. 

 

“We’ve always done it that way” is a proven method of failure. “Let’s blow up what works and start over” often is as well.


Moving forward with little or no knowledge of your starting point is a quick path to nowhere. Go ahead and change, just be certain that your “better” direction indeed has a solid, realistic chance to be better.


Everything Changes

Steve Keating 8 Comments

Here’s a question for you to think about. Are you managing change in your life or is change managing your life? 

It’s one or the other because this much is certain: “things” in your life are changing. 

I’m a bit astonished at the number of people I run into who are still almost completely resistant to change. They expend tremendous amounts of energy fighting it rather then trying to figure out how to use it to their advantage. 

I understand why people may be a little reluctant to fully embrace change. Every change brings with it the possibility of something worse. To some people the risk of “worse” is just not worth the possibility of something better. 

People also fear failure. Changing your job, or changing your career or changing almost anything has the possibility of ending in complete failure and nobody wants that. 

Few people really embrace the unknown and every change brings with it a set of “unknowns.” No matter how well you’ve thought out the change there is likely to be something that you didn’t plan on. That’s more risk. 

Change also tells us that time is passing. We’re getting older. For the life of me I can’t find a single corner store with the penny candy that I so enjoyed as a kid. Now that I can buy as much penny candy as I want, without even asking my parents permission, there is no penny candy to be found. I can’t believe anyone would call that progress.

So, many people agree that for the most part, change is bad. 

But that’s because most people just habitually focus on the negative aspects of change. (Yes, I said most people and the fact that it’s sad doesn’t mean it isn’t true) We’ve all had poor experiences with change and it seems the bad outcomes are far easier to remember than the more common good outcomes. 

Stop and think for a minute about the last ten years of your life. So many things have changed that it’s hard to remember them all. Just 10 years ago the iPhone existed only in the developmental labs of Apple. Today it’s hard for many people to think of life without a Smartphone in their pocket.

It’s seems like half the people I know are now wearing some sort of fitness tracker. Just 5 years ago people would have said “a fitness what?” 

Some of us are old enough to remember getting the long distance bill. For those of you not old enough to remember that, it’s the extra bill from the telephone company for calling someone with a different area code. For those of you who are really young the area code is the first three digits of your phone number.

My how things have changed…. so many improvements we have forgotten most of them…and more things continue to change everyday. 

Today the gig economy is growing almost by the minute. A recent study by Intuit predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of American workers would be independent contractors. That’s an incredible pace of change that will affect the workplace for all Americans, not just those participating in the gig economy but anyone who works for a living.

The point is simple: everything changes with time. Everything! 

Accept change as a positive in your life, it means you’re still learning and growing. It means you’re willing to try new things and stretch yourself to reach your true potential. Accepting changes proves to yourself and others that you are willing to flex a bit as you receive new information and ideas. 

Pretty much everyone wants “things” to be better but many of those same people don’t want change in their lives.

There is no “better” without change. If you really really want better then don’t wait for change to happen, make change happen in a way that “better” is ensured.

The only way to beat change is to not fight it. Make it work for you and you’ll find it cooperates a whole lot more.

Can you Adapt?

Steve Keating 3 Comments

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ― Albert Einstein 

Can you adapt? That’s a pretty big question! Successful people and companies have proven that they can adapt, in fact, it’s a key to their success. They are willing to accept change and not only are they willing to accept it, they embrace it and use it to improve themselves and their organizations. 

History is riddled with the failures of organizations and people who had the ability and skills required to succeed but who lacked the willingness to adapt. 

Nothing hinders succeeds like the love of traditions. Traditions are great…. right up until the time they hold us back from trying something new. The unwillingness to try new things is a close cousin of unwillingness to try at all. I understand why most people struggle with change. All change, whether it’s chosen or forced, comes with some sense of loss. We may not even realize we are feeling that loss but it’s there and it affects us.

The only thing constant about change is that it never stops. Some change is so small we barely notice it, some is so big that it’s truly life altering. Big change can stop us in our tracks, it kills momentum and can have severe consequences….if…. you cannot adapt.

Since change is constant and often shows up uninvited successful people prepare for it by always, or nearly always, having a “plan B” ready to go. They may be forced to move in a direction they would be prefer not to (like being let go from their job) but that doesn’t mean they have to move without a plan. 

The most successful people frequently run “what if” scenarios in their mind. They plan for the worst case and then work to improve on the worst case. They may look calm but that’s only because they saw “it” coming before anyone else.  

Most everyone claims to want to improve, they forget the fact that nothing improves until something changes. If you can accept change and adapt then you can improve! 

The fact is, you can. The question is, will you?