Support Over Change
As a leader, I started to reflect on all of the times that I had an opportunity to make an impact on people who needed to improve in their position. I specifically thought about how I approached those situations with people when they had things that they needed to work on. As a young leader I made plenty of mistakes and one of the biggest mistakes that I made in that process was my approach to helping those I was in charge of leading.. When I was focused on changing those people I was truly missing the mark when it came to what my job really was as a leader.
You see when we tell people they need to change the narrative becomes about their deficiencies however, if we talk about providing support it can become an entirely different experience. The narrative then becomes I see your potential and I want to be a partner with you in being the best you can be in all that you do. We should never be afraid of change, unfortunately we live in a world where people can be paralyzed by the very thought of making even the smallest change. So, why not reframe how we look at things instead of changing people, why not provide people with the opportunities, support and tools to improve. I would much rather be approached that way than immediately being told “Hey, you need to change.” Some people may feel that you need to be more direct or blunt when you want to see people do things differently, but I don’t think it necessarily has to be that way; it's not about avoiding an issue. It’s not about tip-toeing around the issue. It’s just about providing people with an opportunity and the appropriate mindset.
Something I’m a big believer in is positive self talk and how much of what we say to each other really matters. If I talk to people from a positive place I’m going to get much further with that person than I would’ve if I focused on them needing to make a change. I’ve said this before in other podcasts, blogs and daily messages that what you say and how you say, it matters just as much if not more than the message you are trying to send. This approach also helps us focus more on the standards of our organization and on our expectations rather than on the deficiencies of those we are leading. Ultimately at the end of the day like my good friend Ken Williams says “the standard is the standard” and that’s where we all need to be. This makes it more about the organization and less about the person. My call to action this week is for you not to be a change agent but to be an agent for support. Have a great week and remember that when your commitment is greater than your feelings you get results.
