Chaos and Opportunity: Friends for Life

The River is Wide, the Currents are Messy, but all the Water Ends up in the Ocean
- author unknown

Today I took a class called "The Driving Forces of Change" and it is one of the many staff offerings at the UI to keep institutional inertia at bay.  I spent the morning talking with strangers from other offices in other buildings in other places on campus and we all had one thing in common:  we want help with initiating and leading change.  Best practices for change management, I found out, can't really be put on a 3x5 index card and stored in your pocket.

It's a little more complicated than that.  People are involved.

When you want someone or something to change, you really have to look at the situation through their lens.  Consider what you are demanding people give up - their daily habits, loyalties, personal identity, ways of thinking, comfort zone, routine...as well as sometimes, control and power and their personal future.  Sometimes it's not this dramatic, but maybe that's just your point of view.

As a leader, you need to really reflect on the following four areas, from their POV:
1.  The benefits of the change (good part of changing)
2.  The barriers of the change (bad part of changing)
3.  The benefits of not changing (good part of inaction) - this one is huge!
4.  The consequences of not changing (bad part of inaction) - this can be a motivator!

People shy away from change for many reasons, but often because of fear, because there is no visible crisis, because we are stressed and busy.  Check, check! Guilty here!  Also, happy talk from management doesn't usually help. 

So how can you successfully lead change?  You have to recognize the key players who can help you with influencing the others.  Next time you're in the shower, think about:  Who are the champions around you?  Pay attention to "what's in it" for the people you need to influence.  And approach the inevitable resistance with this pointed question:  "What would it take for YOU to accept this change?" 

Change is scary and laced with uncertainty - so meet people "where they are" and acknowledge that they are probably focused on "What's in it for me?" and also "What will I lose?"  This is where the 4 Fs are important, so let this be your next meditation mantra:  Feelings First, Facts Follow.  Treat the past with respect while you acknowledge the other's loss.  Accept the grief that follows.  Give information again and again.  Mark the end and connect to the vision for the future.  And then, expect the chaos and see it for what it is - a chance to achieve something even better than any of you had imagined.

For more on this topic, as well as a plethora of interesting career development tools, go here:  http://www.mindtools.com

or read this:

Making the Most of It

There's this ongoing conversation I have been having, with trusted peers and adult children as they navigate the workplace, peeking into other opportunities and plotting moves.  I've also had this conversation, on various levels, with our team, as we're recently completed the annual review process (yippee!).

It's a fairly simple goal - let's get better at our jobs!  We have to be on stage, in place for so many hours a day, often foregoing our real passions, ignoring the seductive tug of personal distractions.  Most of us spend way more time with our co-workers than we do with our loved ones - this is disturbing, but a very different post for another time.

Many of the concepts posted here I've only recently put into practice in any intentional way; they are lifted from a Forbes.com article on the same topic - although I have put my own spin on their list:

1.  Anticipate your group's needs - pounce on opportunities to identify needs that your group doesn't even know they have yet.  It shows initiative, and in no time, management will appreciate that they can look away and depend on you to do MORE than your job.

2.  Get to know your boss better - since your boss decides your destiny (salary, opportunities like travel and training, additional responsibilities) it's probably a wise strategic move to get more invested, mostly professionally but also a bit personally.  And in your spare time, get to know your boss's boss.  It's all about building relationships, building rapport.

3. Positivity is a plus - whether in the workplace or not, this one needs very little promotion. 

4.  Stay current - keep up with changes in your industry and be a continual learner so you can talk intelligently, plan accordingly, and bring additional value to the table.

5.  Bring a solution with the problem - Are you one who can easily pinpoint workplace problems?  Management doesn't really want your complaints.  They may not even want your sky ideas.  They want clear and creative options from reliable sources (see #10 below) so their evaluation is easier.

6.  Coaching is key - everyone needs a workplace mentor, even if the relationship is informal.  That way, when a storm is brewing, you have someone to confidentially commiserate with and also to count on for guidance.

7.   Communication is key - okay, like coaching, this one is key!  It's important to address issues, to walk through conflict as it reduces stress, encourages honesty and absolutely slams down drama.  Ask the right questions to increase your understanding.

8.  Go above and beyond - all the time.  Do your job, of course, but volunteer for extra, especially if you have a chance to do something in another area.  It will increase your value as you will see the operational side of your business in new ways - all the other pain points, needs, and strengths of the entire organization.  It will give you a glimpse of the big picture.

9.  Get out of the office to gain perspective.  Taking a walk around the building can bring unbelievable clarity, often helping to set priorities for the rest of the day and week.  Try to work smarter so you still get out of the office timely. 

10.  Do what you say you are going to do - didn't we learn this one in first grade?  You will get management's attention if they perceive you as reliable, that you do what you commit to doing, and that your commitments are done with quality and timeliness.

I'm not saying all your dreams will come true, but leading yourself in the workplace can, hands down, be the most gratifying part of clocking in.

Moby Dick

So my technical expertise is my Moby Dick - and today that whale is gone.

I stood in front of about 40 IT professionals in my university community at a brown bag lunch today and uncovered something I was hoping no one had noticed:  this IT Manager really only knows a handful of things about IT.

I can blame it on a number of factors:

1) The pace at which the change is moving, driven by the consumerization and mobilization of IT, makes it a full-time endeavor to stay current on engadget, cnet, gizmodo, etc. - and sometimes, shucks, I would just rather surf on Zappos. 

2) I'm too busy with other tasks to swap out a motherboard or review the benefits of solid state drives, along with lots of other distractions that are fun but not fruitful for me. 

3)  That's not what I'm paid to do anymore.  And that's the key.  In most cases, we have the jobs we have because of our strengths.  Harry Kraemer, in the book From Values To Action, discusses the notion that, instead of berating ourselves for our weaknesses, we should focus on improving our strengths and also surround ourselves with people who excel in areas we are weak.  In my case, I no longer rely on screwdrivers and external drives as my tools.  My tools are self-reflection, seeking out differing viewpoints, knowing what I know and what I don't know, and keeping things in perspective.  The tools of leadership.  I'm more likely to be listening to someone who knows that IT is somehow involved in their problem or solution and my role is to connect them with the resources, the experts, the funding, the answers.

If you want to hear Harry talk about his book, sit back for three minutes, click on the following (if you can't see the video or are having any problems, close your browser and try again, or try another browser, or give me a call...I do know a THING or two about IT problems):

Harry made me realize that value-based leadership expects you to kill the whale in your life.