Dear reader: I’m mixing things up a bit. After writing roughly 250 long-form articles over the last 5 years, I’m experimenting with a different “quick hit” format. For the next few weeks, you’ll notice that I’m writing three short mini-articles instead of one longer one. Let me know what you think!

The Number One Myth About Leading Change

Leaders are often cautious or apprehensive about leading in a way that will cause or require changes. That fear is usually expressed like this:  “What if…?”

• • • What if no one likes the change?
    • What if I don’t like the change?
    • What if the change breaks everything?

  These are fears of the hypothetical. Fears of the imagined but unknown.

  It’s the contemporary equivalent of Medieval maps. The maps that imagine unknown and unexplored spaces where you are likely to fall right off the world or be eaten by a dragon.

  It’s not that the fears are without merit.

  Many change attempts fail. Or make things worse. Or are a lot of work for little to no return.

  Many change attempts fail, but rarely because of “the change.” They fail because of how they were led.

  Leading change isn’t a mysterious process. It’s just usually done badly.  There is no soft way to say that.

  I regularly help clients lead change processes. We have very high rates of success, with predictable time frames with similarly predictable results.

  You can too.

  Answering these three questions makes change processes easy:

  • • • Why? It’s the first question everyone has. So, answer it. Take time to explain why change is being considered or pursued. Accept that you may need to repeat this explanation frequently. A great deal of resistance comes from people just not knowing why. So tell them and keep telling them.
      • What is the benefit? Usually, this means, “How do I benefit from this?” But it can also mean, “How does something I care about benefit from this?” Either way, be sure to answer this question clearly, completely and frequently. People rarely resist change when they perceive a benefit to the change. Make it easy for them.
      • What is the process? Processes that feel fair, thoughtful, structured, and allow those impacted to have some voice or influence, tend to be successful. Take any one of those elements away, and you’ll have challenges.

  Consider these questions: How will change be decided and executed? Will people have a say or not? Will they have an opportunity to be heard and to influence decisions or not? Will the process feel fair to most people? Does it seem like there is a plan with intentionality or does it seem haphazard?

  If you struggle to explain (or to be honest) about why or what the benefits are, you’ll have a difficult time being successful in your change process. If your process isn’t clear or doesn’t feel fair to people, you should expect either resistance or passivity.

  Change isn’t complicated. It just has to make sense, bring benefit, and follow a process that feels right to most people.

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  Just Doing the Minimum Is A Lot

  My wife and I are in the middle of selling one home and buying another. As a result, there is a small army of contractors engaged to help with the process.

  It’s been the exception, not the rule, that they even work up to the minimum. In at least half of the cases, it’s a challenge to get them to even finish their job.

  This is true in most professions. It’s hard to get a tile guy to finish his work, or a doctor to listen to a patient, or a customer service rep to consider how they might serve a customer, or a CEO to communicate, or a board to consider the future.

  I’m not a fan of just doing the minimum. But if someone can be relied on to constantly do the minimum, they are already outperforming most others.

  Are you struggling to achieve the recognition or success you believe you deserve? You may not be consistently performing up to the minimum. The gap between your performance or consistency and the minimum likely explains that.

  Are you a perfectionist or a high achiever, yet you aren’t accomplishing what you want? It may be that you are investing too much in being unnecessarily (and unnoticeably) exceptional when the minimum would satisfy.

  Often, the minimum is already a lot.

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  The Secret Sauce Behind A Culture That Attracts and Retains Ideal Employees

  Have you ever wondered how some companies consistently attract and retain such amazing talent – while others suffer from regular turnover?

  How do they do it? What is their secret sauce?

  As it turns out, the ingredients to that secret sauce are available to any interested employer.

  I recently had an opportunity to sit down with Bronson Frye, who hosts the Build Alaska podcast. During our interview, we explored:

  • • • Who is responsible for 80% of the results in a typical workplace
      • What differentiates ideal employees from the rest of the workforce
      • What ideal employees are looking for in a workplace
      • How to create the kind of culture that naturally attracts and retains these ideal employees
      • What the best leaders do to build magnetic cultures

  To listen to the full podcast click here.

• Take good care,
• Christian
  

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  Opportunities

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  Executive and Leadership Coaching: Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you not getting the results you expect from the effort you are putting in? Do you find yourself facing similar challenges time and time again? Would you like to change specific ways of relating or reacting? If you would like to experience predictable, measurable growth, contact me.

  Profitable Exit Strategy Workshop: Are you a business owner or partner? Are you over 55? Are you starting to think about exiting your business or active management in the next 3-5 years?

  • • • Are you curious about what your business might be worth?
      • Would you like to discover the specific steps you need to take to increase its value and become highly attractive to a buyer?
      • Are you planning on handing it over to family or employees and you want to ensure long-term success?

  If so, contact me now.