Be Your Best Self

Michael Jackson wrote a song ‘Man in The Mirror’ which was released in 2008, the lyrics include: “I'm gonna make a change

For once in my life

It's gonna feel real good

Gonna make a difference

Gonna make it right,

I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could've been any clearer

If they wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change.”

I feel that the lyrics of Michael Jackson and those of Mahatma Gandi are equally true for those who desire improvements in their work. Looking to leadership and blaming them for the work experience is the wrong place to look. Now, we may feel that we are powerless to make change, and that by raising problems we may be met with distain, and that may well be true. But to sit and work within broken processes does you, the organization nor the customers you serve any good.

It takes courage to be an improvement leader. I was recently asked advice by someone who had stepped into a role that removed her from the frontline to an entry level role in Continuous Improvement. She wasn’t in the role more than a few weeks when she called me disheartened by her experience. On the frontline she executed her work, and she felt her work was valued by the people she served. She explained that the purpose she moved into the new role was to support the needed changes for her frontline peers. She explained how disconnected she felt her new peer group was from the frontline they were there to support. I explained to her that to truly influence those around her she had to remain who she was and act as she knows she should, and if complacency had in fact engulfed those she worked with, she was not to fall victim to that which seemed to be plaguing her new teammates. She could make a difference.

We all need to take ownership of our actions and by self-awareness, both internal and external, we can make choices that foster the atmosphere for change. My experience is that those who are likeminded in the values and goals that are quick to see that and can become a cohort and catalyst for positive improvement.  Know that you can make a difference. That difference begins with self-reflection and being the change you want to see.