You have seen it throughout your career. Your primary responsibility is to generate revenue for your organization. You have a number that you are held to. Resources are provided and you are focused. And then you get new responsibilities or process added to your plate. These can be good changes like additional responsibility to groom you for further opportunities. They can be administrative such as adding or changing an internal process. Maybe your sales leader needs an additional hand to keep things running smoothly. No matter what type of change occurs though, the question is always the same: How can I benefit from this change?
Jeffrey Gitomer coined a phrase that has stuck with me for years: “Change is not a four letter word…but often your reaction to it is!” We know that change is a constant; too often we resist change because it is different. Change takes time, and pulls at our focus. People who embrace change quickly are the ones who stay ahead of the curve. But with everything else going on, how do you change effectively?
To successfully maximize change, there are a few things that you need to do.
Identify the change: Many times, the addition of new responsibilities seem very apparent. Success comes from not only identifying what is new, but how it will impact you.
Identify actions to change: Success in change management comes from understanding what actions need to be done differently. Clarify how your behavior needs to change. In a previous post, I discussed creating a “stop doing” list in addition to items to “start doing”. This is a good place to start.
Anticipate impact: For each action that you need to change, you must understand the personal impact. Items that will have a higher impact to your success should be prioritized. Identify the impact of each action and allocate your focus accordingly. If you discover that actions will not produce benefit, talk with your manager. It is their responsibility to help clear the path for you. Clarifying your rationale up front will make this conversation more valuable to you and them.
Judge the time required: Many times, we are given a new responsibility with a suggested time allotment. Most of the time, the suggested time allotment is wrong. Break down each new action and identify the time that it will take to complete each well. Understand the time impact that each has so that you can approach each accordingly. Approach each action in the time allotment that you decide. If there is a need to shift or lift the responsibility, you have the evidence you need to support your argument.
It is also important to understand the effect that change will have on you. Here is a depiction of the change curve.
Ideally, we would like to go directly from ‘Current State’ to ‘Ideal State’. Unfortunately, with any change, there will be a period of “pain” when you are adapting to the new approach. The key is to minimize the amount of time you spend in the shaded area. Download the Maximize Change Tool today to maximize the benefit of change to your role and minimize the time to get there!
