Talkin' Bout an Evolution

Forgive me John Lennon and the Beatles, but just a little play on the title wording. Brian Brim is the coauthor of Strengths Based Selling, and I found a few of his thoughts in the Gallup Management Journal this week that you may find helpful too. His ideas, and those of David Liebnau, Executive Coach with Gallup, offer some insight as we evaluate change opportunities and growth here in the North Jefferson area. I was encouraged and reminded that real change takes time and persistence. In their words, we should be more patient. More will be accomplished through slight shifts than massive immediate changes.
According to Brim and Liebnau, everyone has their special way of doing things that is comfortable, your own special groove. Stepping out of your way of doing things and into another can feel a bit like putting on someone else’s shoes. Not too comfortable and certainly not that efficient. The challenge it seems is to appreciate the difference between actions and practices. Now stay with me here.
According to the writers, actions are the behaviors that you do with little thought. The actions a leader usually takes are determined by the "groove" he or she has developed over time. But how can you grow as a leader if you're forever contained in this same groove? You can't, and that is where practices come in. Practices are interventions that enable you to establish new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. They are essential to expand and develop your identity. To grow as a leader, you must slowly and steadily expand the groove. Adopting new practices which are slight shifts from what you already do enables you to access a different level of possible actions and create new opportunities. It is evolution, not revolution.
You don’t get out of your rhythm of what works, you just expand it.
This type of change is called slight-shift practice. It may be fairly easy too. But that's the point: When leaders are asked to do something they have the confidence to do and they see immediate success, they gain confidence from the positive feedback. Confidence and success drive them to repeat it. That's how sustainable development and wider grooves are created, and that's how great results happen. It is like a slow lazy stream that with time and persistence can become the Grand Canyon.
What small changes can you make this week that will lead you to a sea change of possibility? How about pushing back from your desk and talking with your team more about their ideas for improvement? How about dealing with problems immediately, instead of putting them off? How about delegating more to allow someone else to grow in a skill? Can you accept the challenge to just get things done without regard to whom gets the credit?
Now think about this idea in the context of our communities and growth. Think about it in the context of economic and professional development for yourself and the company that you support. Each entity be a company or a community has its own opportunity for development, and each has its own groove for certain. But what would happen if the groove or rhythm started to widen, just a little?
Will our opportunities expand if we take a few actions to partner more, to trust more, and to be more transparent? Once these first easier steps are taken, then and only then will you be able to really talk about creative change, innovation, and thoughtful risk taking.