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Change for the better
By David Thomson, CEO, Close Invoice Finance
Having taken over as CEO relatively recently, change management is uppermost in my mind, as you would expect. Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the subject and those of leading commentators.
Change is inevitable. Change is constant and never ending. And while we can't control much of the world changing around us, we can control how we respond. We can choose to anticipate and embrace change or resist it. Resisting change is like trying to push water upstream. Generally we're quick to point to others who resist change. It's much harder to recognize or admit to our own change resistance.
Some people call change "progress" and celebrate the improvements that it brings. Others curse those same changes and wish for the good old days. Same changes, different responses. The choice is ours.
Embracing Change
For me, embracing change has some key characteristics:
1. Vision and values. Our vision or imagination guides everything we do. Helen Keller, the blind / deaf author, once said, "Nothing is more tragic than someone who has sight, but no vision." Our thoughts often pull us toward the reasons why we can't succeed rather than the many reasons we can. To increase our effectiveness, we need to be focused and clear about what we want to achieve. Once we know this we can attract more of what we want and discard the rest. We can then develop a set of core values. Without a strong set of core values, passion is weak, direction is lost and commitment is soft. Core values provide a context for continuous growth and development that takes us forward. Our core values project forward to become our vision.
2. Outlook. Holding on to destructive emotions is slow suicide. Studies show that stress from negative emotions presents a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than smoking cigarettes or high cholesterol foods. We must take responsibility for our actions in response to circumstances for which we are not responsible. The only thing we can control is ourselves, so when we choose our thoughts, we are choosing our future.
3. Seek authenticity. To create something we must be something. For example, becoming a parent is easy; being a good one is tough. We can't teach our children self-discipline unless we are self-disciplined.
In the same way, we can't help build strong teams unless we are strong team players ourselves.
This principle applies to every facet of our lives. We can't help develop a close community if we are not a good neighbour. We can't enjoy a happy marriage if we are not a loving partner. We won't have a supportive network of friends or colleagues until we are a supportive friend or collaborative colleague. Business commentator, David Whyte writes, "All things change when we do."
The big (and often painful) question is: What do I need to change about me to help change them? Instead of just wishing for a change of circumstance, I may need a change of character. Good intensions are useless if they stop there. One of the biggest differences between mediocre managers and authentic leaders is action. Real leaders make it happen.
4. Be disciplined . A key difference between real leaders and those who struggle to get by is self-discipline. As Confucius wrote, "The nature of people is always the same; it is their habits that separate them." Successful people have formed the habits of doing those things that most people don't want to do.
Good and bad decisions or habits are tiny daily choices that accumulate. By the time we realise we have either a good or a bad habit, the habit has got us.
Most of our daily choices are made automatically without even thinking about them. To change our habits, we first need to be aware of them. Then we need to work backward from the habit to the daily practices that form it. To change the habit, we need to change those practices.
Discipline is a key factor in creating and managing change. Less successful people can't pass up instant gratification in favour of some prospective benefit. It's much easier to live for the moment and let tomorrow take care of itself. But it takes discipline to forego the immediately pleasurable for an investment in the future.
Discipline means having the vision to see the long-term picture and keep things in balance. A Chinese proverb teaches: "If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." We all want more patience - and we want it now! Discipline is what keeps us going when the excitement of first beginning a task is long past.
5. Grow and develop through choice . Most people see others as they are; a leader sees them as they could be. Leaders see beyond the current problems and limitations to help others see their own possibilities. It's a key part of their own growth and development.
We continue to grow when we help others grow and develop. The cycle of growth and development has two parts, and the first is our own growth and development, since we can't develop others if our own growth is stunted. These two parts depend upon and support each other. We develop ourselves while we're developing others. By developing others, we develop ourselves. It's a growth cycle that spirals forever upward.
Another part of the growth process is seeking to be more effective. As the pace of change quickens, it's easier to fall into the trap of confusing "busyness" with effectiveness. Like the woodcutter who's too busy chopping to stop and sharpen his axe, we get caught up in a frantic pace that may be taking us to the wrong destination. We must reflect on our progress. To be more effective, we need to step back, take time out, and assess our direction. It will help us grow and keep up with change.
Change forces choices. It's all about focus and being able to make the right choices. Change is part of life. Successfully dealing with change together, as a team, means choosing to grow and develop continuously. Failing to grow is failing to live.
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