Leadership

A coupe of weeks ago I was working with a company that is going through a comprehensive software change. Almost everybody was very frustrated with the implementation of the process. The stress level was very high. As a result, people were having a harder time learning the new skills.

In our interaction with different groups over the week, we encouraged a different kind of conversation. At the start there was a lot of negativity, the mood was: “this is too hard; it will take us forever to master this program.” As we moved the focus to sharing the small gains that everybody was experiencing, the mood changed to cautious optimism: “We already know a lot more today than we did one month ago; maybe this will be a good thing after all.”

It's easy to become discouraged and abandon change efforts when you look at the steep learning curve ahead. It looks daunting and never ending. Continue reading »

The second obstacle to change I mentioned in my April 24 post is Exclusion. Today we are going to see how the simple idea of inclusion changes everything.

I believe one of the reasons so many change efforts are failing is because we are trying to make 21th century changes with a 20th century mindset. We are in a different era of Globalization, where the Internet is a way of life. Continue reading »

Around us each day are little and great possibilities for wonder that we tend to overlook. They could be human inventions or astounding natural wonders. We rush through life and zoom through our routines, and we miss out on the pleasure of noticing interesting and beautiful things. We miss out on wonder. Continue reading »

This past Saturday we had very strong winds in Delaware. Riding in the car with my husband, who is a retired pilot, we got to talking about winds, airplanes, piloting, and change. Here are some of our reflections.

Strong winds require high alert

When there are strong winds, a pilot needs to constantly check course, speed, possible obstacles, and loose objects.

Leaders in a fast changing environment can't conduct “business as usual.” They need to be on the lookout for possible danger. Many leaders are not scanning the horizon specifically enough to predict how market conditions will evolve. Or they are not making decisions fast enough to implement solutions, thus putting their organizations at risk. In this uncertain times, you need to be alert and "on your toes." Continue reading »