Growth Requires Change & Here’s Why
What’s the most feared word in the English language? Change. Unless it was your idea to change, then it’s good. But when someone else proposes a change, we get nervous. We worry about what could go wrong. We wonder if our job is safe. We think about how hard everything is going to be from now on. So it’s no wonder that people hate change; it’s uncomfortable and scary! But what if we could learn to love change? What if we embraced it as an opportunity for growth? That would be something worth striving for. Great leaders are always agents of change.
Why do leaders need to be change agents? Because the world is constantly changing. Markets change, people change, culture changes, technology changes, and most importantly, needs change. A good leader recognizes these changes and adapts their strategies accordingly. They know that what worked yesterday may not work today or tomorrow. That’s why being flexible and adaptive is so essential in leadership. It’s also why leaders need to be constantly learning new things. The world is continually evolving, and those who wish to lead it must keep up with the times.
Here is a leadership truth: Growth REQUIRES Change.
Don’t be fooled by the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The only way to get better results is to change something in the system. Growth will always require you to change something. You cannot go to new levels without changing. In fact, your systems, processes, and way of doing things get you the result it is set up to get. You cannot get a different result without changing something in the variables. As the traditional definition for insanity goes…doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. The only way to improve your results is to change something in your system. A + B will always = C unless you change A or B. Then and only then will your result get you further down the line to D, E, F, G, etc…
Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” So, to get a better result than you currently are, you have to think at a higher level. You have to operate at a higher level. You have to change. And this takes an immense amount of conversations, thinking, analyzing, and experimenting with new ideas. If you aren’t changing, you are likely not growing. Many owners bring me into their organization to provide leadership coaching for their employees because they realize they need to change their people to increase their skills, productivity, and engagement. Because of that investment, we begin to see much better results from those who receive coaching than those who don’t. So, what do you need to change to start experiencing growth?
Here are a few areas to help kick start your thinking about what you can change:
- What needs to change in my relationship(s) in order to have a better one?
- What needs to change in my schedule in order to be more productive?
- What needs to change in my skills in order to improve my performance?
- What needs to change in my communication to be more effective?
- What needs to change in my habits in order to be more healthy?
- What needs to change in my meetings in order to increase engagement?
Always ask yourself, “What needs to change in my __________ (fill in your area) in order to improve?” The answer to the change question will lead to a higher level of thinking to solve problems and experience growth.
So here’s to your growth in the new year!
