…Thinking There’s So Much to Change That You Don’t Change a Thing
You know the feeling. You get inspired by a new idea you learn from an HBR newsletter or Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book. You’re intrigued by applying your learning to actually turning around that problem employee or creating better communication among your sniping team members. But how do you find the time to put it into practice? It doesn’t help that many of us are instant gratification junkies.
You are excited by the possibility of trying a new approach, but it feels like everything has to change at once. Or you may even resist being exposed to new ideas because you’re all-full-up the way it is. You feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water, and you’re paddling like mad. You have this nagging thought that if you had a moment to try a different method, you might actually make real change. You start to feel overwhelmed then paralyzed by the prospect, and pretty soon you put the possibility to improve things aside for another day… that never comes.
It doesn’t have to be that way. What I know is that one good place to start is by answering the question, “How do I want to be in this situation?“ Harried or calm? At loose ends or grounded? Trying to do everything asked of you, or making powerful choices? As much as you would like your situation to be different, this is an inside job. As much as you would like expectations of of you to lighten up, or your work environment to slow down, there is good news in the fact that the ball is in your court. At least it’s within your power to influence, as opposed to waiting for someone else.
The next step is to identify one high-leverage “small” change. For instance, your employees have been complaining that you don’t show them enough recognition or appreciation. You may think you have to develop a recognition team or system, or find more money in the budget – both energy-draining prospects. But, what is one thing you can do that is a small act, but large impact? Just as an example: at the end of each weekly staff meeting, you can express one thing you learned from each person in the room, or acknowledge a contribution they made to the meeting.
Obviously, context is important, based on your existing relationships, etc., but you get my drift about starting with “one thing.” Part of the beauty of this approach is that by maintaining sincere commitment and consistent action with this one thing, it begins to spill over into other areas. You get practice thinking this way, and one day you find yourself expressing appreciation spontaneously, and hitting exactly the right note, outside the staff meeting.
Remember, small act/ large impact. If we try to just “be more appreciative” it often doesn’t work because it’s too general. You feel like you need to carry it with you every minute of the day. Anything like that is too hard to keep on your mind constantly. It’s unlikely you are going to be successful by “willpowering” your way through it. But if you craft a contained, do-able experiment to learn how to think differently, it soon comes naturally.
Then the “high-leverage” part starts to show up even more. For instance, the contributions or attributes you are acknowledging in your staff meeting are telegraphing to your employees what “good performance” looks like. The Human beings who report to you start to respond because they want to hear how their contribution made a difference. They might even learn how to appreciate each other too.
You don’t have to change everything at once when you are trying to develop new skills or trying out new concepts. It doesn’t have to be in every moment. When you craft an experiment, “test” it under very specific circumstances. You won’t get overwhelmed feeling, and you’ll begin to see how other small changes can make a difference. [See more info on this from a guy named, Bill O'Hanlon, who wrote this great book called, "Do One Thing Different."]
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