Embracing Change: A Leader's Perspective for 2024
As we head into 2024, I can't help but think of the quote that says, "Change happens only when the pain of staying the same is in fact greater than the pain of change."
And that particular statement rings true not only in our personal lives but in our corporate lives as leaders as well.
So, as we step into 2024, let's take a deep dive and look at what this actually means for us, not only as corporate leaders but also as individuals.
The need for change
Firstly, we need to understand that the need for change is a necessity. It's not a choice.
With everything coming at us in '24, with the impact of AI, increased competition, pricing pressure, along with everything else that's going on in the world at the moment, we need to understand that, as leaders, we often find ourselves at a crossroads. It's a time and place where the astute among us realize that our current modus operandi, the way, and the current methods that we are using to bring about our results may not get us the results we've budgeted for in the new year.
This means looking at the facts. This means looking at reality and not putting our head in the sand!
When one comes to that realization, well, that's a powerful catalyst for growth and innovation.
To do more, we need to be better
It's all well and good for a business to say, "Let's put an extra 5% on our number for next year." But as Tom Hopkins used to say, if you're going to increase your sales by 5% or 10%, then you'll need to be 5% or 10% better.
Innovation versus repetition
Did 2023 feel like a replay of the same stuff—the same challenges, the same approaches as in '22? Then, hey, it's time to embrace innovation in the new year.
Here's an example:
Of course, you may not require a complete overall plan; maybe what your team needs is a new focus, refinement, and improvement in areas that can have significant impacts.
So when you have your leadership conference at the beginning of the year, take a look at everything you do and ask each other, "Okay, where can we squeeze the orange to get more juice? What auto systems are out there that we haven't explored that could dramatically increase our production capacity? What do we need to do to raise our standards of customer service?"
Remember: It's not just going out and increasing your number by 10%; ask yourself: How can you be 10% better?
Navigating the change in leadership.
Change is not straightforward; it never has been. Just look at your own personal change efforts and see how hard it is for you to change aspects of yourself you aren't happy with, be they finances, health, or relationships.
Well, change is especially hard in leadership. The fact is, as human beings, our brains are wired for familiarity. We are encoded for the recognisable! Change engages our amygdala: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. It signals that we are unsafe. (Example: What happens to your heart rate when you get a message from your boss saying he/she needs to talk!)
However, embracing change is essential for our growth—for the growth of ourselves, for the growth of our people, and for the growth of our companies.
Change is an essential requirement and normal part of the leadership journey. Unfortunately, few leaders actually know how to manage change, which, by the way, the statistics for corporate change management are so awful.
Even despite significant investment and literature on the subject, most studies still show a dismal '60–70% failure rate for organisational change projects. Its interesting to note that this statistic has remained constant from the 1970's to the present.
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As leaders, we really need to understand the mechanics of change, change management, and why so many people get left behind or get caught in the crossfire.
The role of hope in change.
Hope is a powerful motivator. Here we're talking about "What if...?" Asking what if encourages us to try new approaches. So as we set our strategic direction course for '24, ask yourself,
Transformation and transformative changes will most often start by taking small and consistent steps forward. This starts with a "What if" question.
The challenge and reward of change?
Sadly, most change is reactive. Real change often requires a lot of discomfort, often even pain, before we'll take the necessary steps to a brighter future. It's easy to set a NEW YEAR's resolution; it's a whole different ball game to ensure it sticks!
Most of the time, it's only when the cost of continuing in a detrimental manner actually becomes really clear—when we reach our lowest point—that we determine to implement real changes into our lives. It's only after we've put in the hard yards of the change that the reward of making the change becomes apparent.
Upgrading your future vision
The quote "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" is often attributed to Henry Ford. And it was Buckminster Fuller who said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
So we really need to take a long, hard look, really examine our current reality, and then look at our future vision and determine all that it will take for us to achieve our future vision, and then commit to doing what we agree to do.
Personal growth in leadership.
Embracing change doesn't just mean losing your essence. It's about enhancing your leadership skills, mindsets, and qualities, opening new doors to allow new opportunities and people in. It calls for different strategies and tactics to meet the new demands. It means holding ourselves and our team to a higher standard.
Remember, real change is a process. And like it or not, it's often tedious and challenging, but the journey is really worth it.
So the question is, are you really ready for 2024?
Are you going to take the same 2023 business, people, style, systems, processes, and performance into 2024?
Because if you are, you can probably expect pretty much the same as what you've been getting, if not actually going backwards.
And again, it's not just about putting a number out there. If you're going to put a number out there, whatever the number is, you'd better be sure that your systems, your processes, your people, and your skills are 10, 20, or 30% better.
Stepping into 2024, we'll require a shift in mindset; we'll need to challenge our current norms.
Yes, the road may be tough, but it's going to be worth it. Besides, what else did you have to do?
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