“The world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest about their lives.” – Armistead Maupin
Last week in the is space, the conversation was about letting go of what’s worked in the past in favor of what can work in the future. That’s a hard thing to do. And it makes sense that it’s hard. Why would we want to stop doing things that have always worked?
What makes less sense on the surface, but happens at least as often, is when people and organizations struggle to let go of things that aren’t working. Sales are sluggish, employee turnover is high, whatever the case – and yet they can’t stop doing what they’re doing. It can be painful to watch.
There are probably lots of reasons for that, but I think the most common one is a failure – or more likely, unwillingness – to admit that the things we’re doing are no longer adequate or appropriate. Part of that stems from pride. We might be the ones who developed the things we’re doing, and no one wants to believe that what was once their big idea is no obsolete.
The other is fear. Change is scary for most people, and most people spend their entire lives trying to avoid it. If you don’t ever admit that what you’re doing isn’t working, then you always have an excuse not to change. If you convince yourself that everything that goes wrong is out of your control, then there’s no reason to do anything differently. So that’s what people do.
Take a look in the mirror. Be honest with yourself as a leader. What are you and your organization doing right now that just isn’t working? Put your ego to the side and be honest. No business is perfect, and most businesses are very far from it. There are things that aren’t going the way you want. What is wrong, and what needs to change to make it right?
Unless you as a leader are able to be honest about what’s going on, you’ll never be able to lead the change that needs to happen to make it better. No real change will ever happen unless you’re on board. So put down your pride, and your great ideas from the past, and start doing things differently. And do it today.
