Spring and Easter remind us of new possibilities. Although many leaders proclaim they like and want new ideas, new methods, new understandings, new interpretations, new strategies. . . in reality, very few back up their words with action.
- Someone suggests a new way to make a process more efficient and is ignored.
- Someone offers a new idea in a meeting and nobody follows up with questions or discussion.
- Someone dares to suggest a different interpretation of a situation and is labeled as unrealistic or worst.
- The business environment seems to demand a different strategy but the leader is afraid to change what has “worked” for a long time.
Are you willing. . .?
In a post I wrote last year about growing something new, I said that you need to be willing and ready to embrace the new. Successful leaders today need to have the courage, drive, and foresight to do this. To see the possibilities of blooming flowers in the shooting tender plant that is shyly starting to grow.
It’s easier to act out of habit, to ignore the need for new ways of thinking and doing, to close the eyes to the business and global demands. When the whole of society is going through profound transformation, leaders need to understand and be willing to consider new things.
How to be ready for the new
Here are a few simple suggestions for been open to the new:
- Keep an open mind and open eyes to see new possibilities and opportunities.
- Keep alive the curiosity of a child.
- Listen to your people, to experts, and to others in different fields.
- Accept that change is the new “normal” and necessary.
- Take time to think, to notice, to question, to learn.
Remember. . .
Accepting that change may be necessary, in varying degrees, makes it easier to make a deep internal and professional commitment to change, critique, embrace and learn new ways. Use this revised professional mindset as you interact inside and outside your business.
You can meet the challenge to grow in new directions, embracing a new mind set and a new skill set that prepares you to keep pace with relentless business and societal change.
