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Meaningful change


Many things changed when I moved from the field into the office.  The most significant from my perspective has to be my role as a "change agent".  Hey, chalk it up to me being a slow learner, it seems I still struggle to find the perfect set of conditions which make change enjoyable for myself and others, as opposed to just bearable.  I was inspired to create this post after a recent conversation with longtime friend Brian Pavloff. After our discussion I sent Brian the following luscious quote: "meaningful change is possible when you master the balanced delivery of relevance, passion and empathy". 



Wait a minute you said nothing about meaningful change! Certainly you have had an idea, correction a great idea, discussed it with a few folks and begin down the path of implementing. Ideas, without a strong connection to your business objectives or strategic plans, are just something you happen to think about when you are taking a shower.  Too many of this type of ideas unfortunately will drive your already apprehensive community even further into the depths of resistance. In my experience the key is really making sure that your idea is extremely relevant to the business and the current conditions impacting your organization.



I suppose another way to look at change would be to classify it between short and long-term impact.  Those of you who have a more dictatorial management style will absolutely achieve short-term results; however, I have found this approach as not sustainable. Instead a combination of passion surrounding the topic and empathy for those whose lives which will be impacted is really an exercise in emotional intelligence (EQ).  Leaders possessing skills in the areas of self-awareness; self-management; social awareness; relationship management are the ones which always achieve long-term success.  For me a combination of both has proven to be the most effective with one significant alteration, replace dictatorial with dependency on how your meaningful change will be woven immediately into the workers habit stream. 



The velocity at which our competition, markets, workers are dictating change should be motivation for each of you to reassess your approach and sincerely begin to embrace change. If you don't, I guarantee your competition will.





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Next post:  in the "people" business can you really measure performance?

See all of the "last mile worker" posts here:  http://lastmileworker.com

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