Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M8 — Change

When was the last time you really took a step back and reflected on where you are in your life and what’s going on around you? How much change is taking place? I encourage you to spend some time with your journal today, responding to these questions?

Over the past year, what has changed in your personal life?

For me, change has been significant over the past year, but mostly internally. My work seems to flow in waves, with peaks and valleys, and I adapt as necessary. Internally, however, change has been significant. I’ve been on an intensely-focused journey of self-discovery and clarification of my passion, purpose, vision, values, and beliefs. It’s been enlightening, refreshing, and liberating. I highly recommend it!

Over the past year, what changes have taken place within your industry?

Over the past year, what changes have you witnessed within your organization?

Within any one, or more, of these areas, has there been a change you resisted or challenged?

Why did you resist?

What was the outcome?

What was the cost to you of resisting?

Was there a change you welcomed and embraced?

Why did you embrace this change?

What benefits have you received as a result?

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Intentional Leadership — D1, W1, M8 — Change

In his book, the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell tells the story of Henry Ford and his leadership style. Truth be told, he wasn’t an effective leader, because he needed to be in control, thrived on keeping his staff uncomfortable and on-edge, and actively worked to undermine them and cause disruptions between members of his leadership team. Be that as it may, he did develop an automotive company that was, at one time, the dominant automaker in the US.

Well, Mr. Ford pioneered the assembly line, thus streamlining automotive manufacturing, significantly cutting the amount of time it took to build a car, which also lowered costs. He made the automobile an affordable transportation option for the masses, rather than a luxury item only a few could afford. However, as his competitors began to copy his assembly line and mass produced their own cars, Ford made a mis-step. You probably all remember one of the famous quotes attributed to him about one of his cars, something to the effect of: You can have it in any color you like, as long as it’s black! This was in response to the growing demand of his customers who wanted cars in different colors.

His thinking was sound in one respect: black paint dried the fastest and could be used more efficiently than other colors. He missed the boat in understanding and acknowledging what his customers wanted: variety! Other manufacturers were more than willing to paint their cars other colors, and consumers bought those instead of a Ford.

This is a clear example of having tunnel vision; Ford was so focused on moving towards efficiency, changing the way cars would be built even today, but he couldn’t move back to a less efficient process, a different direction if you will, even when doing so would have been very profitable for his business. This is the danger of becoming complacent.

Sometimes, when we have outpaced, out performed our competitors and tasted some level of success, it’s tempting to think that it’s “good enough” and we don’t have to continue striving to get better; this is an extremely dangerous mind-set and will surely lead to one’s downfall.

As they say, if we don’t learn from our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. We should all be so wise as to study Ford’s leap to success and later to the back of the pack. It’s a lesson we shouldn’t repeat.

As a leader, it’s critical that we are in tune with what’s going on the marketplace, what’s changing in the minds of our customers and potential customers, to changes in technology, and especially to changes in thinking. If not, we will soon find ourselves at the back of the pack, and sometimes…it’s just not possible to recover from that position.

Take some time to think about a time when you ignored a necessary change and missed an opportunity. What was the situation? What signs did you ignore? What did you miss? How has that affected where you are today?

There is an assessment called the Kirton Adaptive-Innovative measure; it is designed to identify whether you are an innovator and maintainer (prefer the status quo, thank you very much!) or somewhere in between. It’s a revealing exercise to be sure. In the absence of having the opportunity to do this assessment right now, how would you honestly rank yourself in terms of your tendency to embrace change?

We’ll spend a lot more time with these thoughts this month.

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Intentional Leadership — M8 Intro — Change

Change: The process of becoming different.

In this, our eighth month of this Intentional Leadership* journey,  we will closely examine the process of change; which is, oddly enough, the only thing that seems to be consistent in today’s world! If you can count on any one thing, it’s that change is either on its way or already here! And how we adapt to and manage change will make an enormous difference in our path to success and satisfaction.

Change is happening at a dizzying pace that appears to be moving faster all the time. This is true in all aspects of life, including business, and if you aren’t able to anticipate, recognize, and adapt to change, as a leader, you will certainly fall behind. Not only is change a requirement for growth, it is actually necessary for survival.

Think back over the course of your lifetime and remember some of the things that have come and gone. I grew up in Southern California, and I remember buying actual ticket booklets at Disneyland. The “E” ticket was the most desirable, as they were for the best, most exciting rides in the park. If I remember correctly, there were a lot more tickets in the book for the “A-D” rides, and if you wanted to go on more than one “E” ride, you had to buy more “E” tickets! I remember rotary dial phones; cell phones as big as a shoe, and heavy as a boot! I remember when you could actually buy “penny candy” and a bag of M&Ms was 10 cents! This list could go on and on…and I’m sure you have one of your own, possibly similar to mine, or very different if you are from a different generation.

The point is, change is inevitable and we must be able to work our way through it, and remain committed to it, even when it appears as if nothing is happening. This requires leaders to be steadfast, holding tight to their convictions, willing to sacrifice for what they believe to be the right thing. Eventually, the transformation will happen and we will all easily see the benefits of having stayed committed.

To be truly successful in these ever-changing times, we must not only adapt to change, but we must welcome and embrace it. Our most valuable skills in these times are flexibility, resourcefulness, and resilience. To take it one step further, leaders who are able to anticipate change, and prepare for it before the need becomes obvious, are much better prepared for what’s to come.

As we get started with this new month, new focus, take some time today to ask yourself these questions:

How can I be more flexible to the changes happening around me?

In what areas do I have opportunities for growth in terms of changing the direction of my leadership, that will allow me to work through change more effectively?

What changes have you made in your life, to-date, and what growth do you attribute to them?

How has your self-confidence changed as a result of successfully navigating change?

Much more to come on this topic. “See” you tomorrow! In the meantime, have an intentional day!

 

*From the Intentional Leadership booklet by Giant Impact. 

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