Last week I posed a challenge to my colleagues on a change management discussion board: Let’s stop saying “change is hard.” It received a resounding “YES!” I admit I was surprised as I’ve watched as many of my peers misled executives with that exact phrase. It’s scare-mongering and just plain wrong.
Some change is hard, but the reality is that we are highly malleable, adaptive individuals who navigate change regularly every single day, without even thinking about it. But tough changes stick out in our minds because they come with pain, making it easy to think that all change is hard and that people hate change. It’s a biased perspective worth rejecting immediately.
If you haven’t already, take ten minutes to reflect on all the ways you, your team, your organization, and your community have adapted – sometimes radically – over the past year. What would happen if you made that the rallying cry for your staff this year? It won’t be another year of tough slogging, but another year of triumph. Yes, some of that change will be challenging, but we’ve demonstrated such resilience already, how can we not succeed again and again together?
Sports psychologists agree that the mentality with which we approach a task influences the outcome. Visualizing success promotes higher levels of performance. Realistic optimism sets the stage for winning. Don’t plan for resistance; Plan for success.
2023 is going to be another year of dramatic change and dramatic adaptation. Innovation will surge as we endeavor to move beyond the drudgery of a nagging pandemic, and people will embrace it readily. We already know that. Let’s set them up for success with the right mindset.
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
