7 Benefits of Leveraging Change in the Workplace

“A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.” ~ Denis Waitley

Leveraging change means doing more than simply making the change.

Leveraging change means you will seek ways to intentionally grow your influence during the change.

You will benefit greatly by simply embracing change and choosing not to resist.

When you move from resisting change to embracing change, you move from being viewed as reactive to being viewed as neutral. But, if you choose to leverage the change, you will move from being viewed as neutral to being viewed as proactive.

When it comes to change, who will have the most influence with their leader? Someone who is reactive, neutral, or proactive? No doubt, the proactive person will have the most influence. As you begin leveraging change, there will be many benefits that will help you grow and advance your career professionally.

7 Benefits of Leveraging Change in the Workplace

1. You will be noticed for taking initiative. The first to help always gets the most recognition. Quickly implement change and be sure to suggest change that will benefit the process, team, or business in some way.
2. You will build strong relationships with the game changers. When you embrace change, you are attracting others who embrace and initiate change. The best advertisement is word of mouth advertisement. What are your co-workers and leaders saying about your business (YOU)?
3. You will get to learn more about how the business operates. As you interact with more game changers, you will build trust. Be sure to ask questions to learn the thought process behind the change. This will most likely increase your influence in the future.
4. You will have more input in implementing the change. When you get involved with making the change happen, you will be given a voice. You will be asked your opinion, and others will learn how you think.
5. You will have more input in future changes. As you build relationships and interact with leaders during change, they will begin asking your opinion about future changes. At this point, you’re gaining valuable influence.
6. You will become more valuable. When leaders start to benefit from your support and your ideas for improving the processes and moving the organization forward, you become more valuable to them and the organization.
7. You will be considered for promotions. Those who make an impact helping the leaders implement change will be more quickly considered for pay increases and promotions because of the strong supportive relationship they have built with the decision makers.

As you begin to realize these and other benefits, you will have leveraged change.

Those who are neutral or resistant will never receive these benefits. As you already know, most people don’t like change and put their energy into resisting and complaining.

When others are moaning, groaning, and whining, it’s easy for you to start shining.

When you choose to be proactive when everyone else is being reactive, that mindset is already allowing you to leverage change to your benefit. Look for those opportunities when there is a change. Be the first to support the leader not only privately, but also publicly.

Loyalty publicly leads to leverage privately.

This is another way to intentionally leverage change for your benefit. When you support those responsible for change openly, in a way they know you are behind them, you will increase your influence with them when you meet with them privately, perhaps to recommend a change of your own. 

When you leverage change, you’re essentially building trust. The more trust you have with the leaders, the more influence you’ll have with them. As Amy Cuddy says, “If someone you’re trying to influence doesn’t trust you, you’re not going to get very far; in fact, you might even elicit suspicion because you come across as manipulative.”

When you’re leading (influencing) others, your goal should be to motivate, not manipulate.

When you are motivating, all parties benefit. When you are manipulating, only you benefit. Therefore, as you begin to leverage change for your benefit, you must do it in a way that allows the leaders to benefit. And, if possible, those on your team. When more people benefit from your actions, you will gain more influence.

The ultimate test of a leader is to produce positive change.

Leading change leverages change.

Read and/or download (no email req’d) the first 5 chapters of Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change and other books at https://bluecollarleaders.com/download/

Do you have a desire to change your culture? Discover how in Mack's newest book, Blue-Collar Leadership & Culture: The 5 Components for Building High Performance Teams, released 7/13/19:

“We just can’t find any good people,” is a phrase Mack Story hears far too often as he speaks to and interacts with leaders all across the USA. If you or a member of your leadership team has ever spoken these words, this book was written specifically for you. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Blue-Collar Leadership? & Culture will help you understand why culture is the key to becoming a sought after employer of choice within your industry. Culture matters because those who work there will determine who wants to work there.

Becoming a sought after employer means, “People who don’t work at your organization have a strong desire to work there.”

Becoming an employer of choice means, “People who already work at your organization have a strong desire to continue working there.”

Mack wrote Blue-Collar Leadership? & Culture specifically for leaders who want to become THE sought after employer of choice within their industry and in their area of operations. Sought after employers of choice attract great people and don’t spend their time and resources constantly searching for good people.

Mack has logged over 11,000 hours leading leaders and their blue-collar teams through hundreds of kaizen events, process improvement, organizational change, and cultural transformation and speaks with his wife, Ria Story, on personal growth and leadership development throughout the USA as they help leaders transform their cultures and develop high performance teams.

Although leaders in all industries at all levels will benefit greatly from this book, Mack structured the content specifically for the top leader who has never led a cultural transformation but is curious to find out what will be required. He’ll help you not only discover why you should transform your culture, but also what to do and how to do it. Therefore, Mack includes many references and links to additional resources throughout the book that will support and accelerate your cultural transformation.

Blue-Collar Leadership? & Culture is intended to not only teach, but also to serve as a tool, a guide, and a transformational road map for leaders who want to create a high impact culture that will become their greatest competitive advantage. It’s a starting point for those who don’t know how to start or those who want to become more intentional and methodical as they take their team to the next level and beyond.

In Blue-Collar Leadership? & Culture, you’ll also discover how to leverage the components of The Transformation Equation to create a culture that will support, attract, and retain high performance team members. To learn more about The Transformation Equation, visit GetTheTransformationEquation.com

“My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been a part of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called ‘Leadership-Training’…while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide…100% of the team that attended said that they were ‘blown-away.’” ~ Sam McLamb, VP/COO