Don’t let fear hold you back from transforming

By Angie McCourt, Vice President, Transformation, Americas

Transformation is a mindset. It happens when we identify a desire and passion to change and open ourselves to new ways of doing things. That’s exactly the mindset we need to implement an organization change and evolve.

What holds us back? It’s fear. Fear of failure brought about by a compliant mindset based on our past experiences combined with presumed expectations, observed behaviors and a desperate need for approval.

Our own personal fear of failure prevents us from sharing ideas, embarking on something new and dreaming big. Yet, our teams are pushing through these barriers every day using a transformative mindset.  

Here’s how……

Dream big – Our teams are encouraged to dream big. We’re not on a journey of small incremental improvements. We are looking for big leaps. ‘If you can dream it, you can do it’ ~ Walt Disney

Challenge the status quo – Think about every item and email you touch daily. Did it halt in the process during the review? Why? There are many self-imposed activities that hinder process and waste time. Why not question whether those things are necessary?

"The value of experimentation is not the trying. 

It’s the trying again after the experiment fails." ~ Simon Sinek

Experiment – Without experimentation, innovation doesn’t happen, failure doesn’t happen and neither does transformation. The famous artist Picasso is known for about 100 pieces of art, but actually produced roughly 50,000 pieces. He created approximately two pieces per day, while also experimenting in rug and tapestry creations. We are seeing our teams experiment daily through the identification and delivery of amazing solutions. 

It’s OK to be wrong –Failure is essential for building resilience. It’s also inevitable when you engage in experimentation and risk-taking. In order to make progress, you must be fearless. The secret is not to avoid being wrong; it’s being willing to be wrong. Our teams think big and openly experiment. Some of their ideas don’t work as expected, but they move on quickly to the next solution or idea and don’t dwell or take things personally. It’s motivating to see this shift in mindset and actions.

You can use these tips to shift your mindset from fear to confidence and a willingness to experiment. That mindshift can make a difference in your day-to-day activities and your contributions to customers, vendors, team and company.