No plan, no matter how beautiful, thorough, sensible, and practical, survives contact with reality. No blueprint, template, model, road map, or script will survive contact with your change initiative. Let me be clear: there’s a place for a solid model of any process. And let me be even more clear: I am 100% a systems-and-process person, and I’m 100% in …
“Want to” or “have to”?
Want to change – or have to change? Which one is it? Which one is driving your change? People love making blanket statements. One I saw recently was that we only change when we think something is – or soon could be – wrong. Is that actually true? I suppose one could say that I started doing certain types of …
Did someone say “doodlepop”?
“Doodlepop.” “Said Cat.” Sometimes the smallest, most inconsequential things become … something meaningful. About nine years ago, we briefly rented a house before buying the one we’re currently in. The rental agreement included a clause about “damage caused by said cat.” We’ve referred to Flicker as “said cat” ever since. Not quite eight years ago, we took our then-puppy for …
Are leaders control freaks?
What can you control? As leaders, we like to think we can control everything. Spoiler alert: you can’t. Sure, it’s obvious when I write it like that. But how much of your leadership time is spent trying to figure out how to control all the things? Especially if you’re creating change, which is inherently uncertain and unpredictable. A colleague is …
Did you “communi-tell” your team?
Communicate! It’s important! Explain change! Tell your people what’s going on! See what I did there? TELL. Tell your people about the change. Tell them about the goals and objectives. Tell them what’s expected of them. But telling ain’t communicating, it’s announcing. Even though that’s how so many leaders approach the all-important and admittedly essential need to … communicate. I’ve …
The system is working as designed
The system is working exactly as designed. Mental health. Burnout. A lack of resilience. Toxic culture. Employee disengagement. Manager disengagement. And so on – and on – and on. We talk about these problems a lot. And a lot of the time, we talk about them as if they’re individual issues – “they” need more resilience, “they” need mental health care, …
Projects aren’t widgets
“You don’t manage people, you manage things. You lead people.” (Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper) That quote is at the bottom of every page of my website. Somewhere along the line, we got this mixed up. It was probably literally on the line – the assembly line – where the confusion started. On an assembly line, people pretty much are managed …
Is Change the New Black?
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” I don’t think that’s true any more. I think things are becoming rather extraordinarily different from what they’ve ever been. More relevant, in my view, is the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Because oof, are these times ever way “interesting”! and it’s dizzying and disorienting. And with all …
The improv approach to change leadership
I’ve always wanted to take an improv class, but I’ve never actually done it. So why am I writing about improv as it relates to change leadership? Well, if you’re even slightly familiar with improv, you know one of the primary principles is to say “and” instead of “but.” Resistance to change often shows up as “Yes, but!” Whether that’s …
Frustration kills brain cells
I had an important meeting to attend. With plenty of time, I hopped in my car, pressed the power button, and… oops. That horrible crackling noise? Dead battery. Engine trying to turn over, to no avail. Nothing to be done, except … growl at myself for not taking action on that little niggle in my head that said something’s not right. …