Change Yourself to Change Your Business

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about change.  I'm involved in a project that I don't really want to deal with.  I believe in the mission of my organization, and I know the project is necessary, but I don't like how we got to the point of needing this project, and I'm resisting full participation.

How can I change my attitude?  No one else is going to do it for me.

At one place I worked, we used to say “Change is good . . . You go first!”  That saying was indicative of how hard change is.  It’s easy for a leader to say “we need to change.”  It’s much harder to get people to really change.  And if you can’t get yourself to change, how are you going to get the people you manage to change?

Last week I read a post on TLNT: The Business of HR that was titled “The World Has Changed – So Why Isn’t HR Able to Change With It?”   People have been asking that question since I was new to HR decades ago. 

The answer then, as now, is for HR managers to get out of their silo and work with the business leaders to move the business where it needs to go.  But that, of course, requires that HR managers change, that they actually learn about the business and not just learn more about HR. That's what I need to do – focus on why this work is needed and learn from the organization's leaders.

People resist change.  A recent post on the Fulcrum “Build Best Bosses Blog”  talked about six steps to dealing with resistance:

     1. Consciously acknowledge to yourself that you are encountering resistance.
     2. Center yourself – whatever works for you.
     3. In your own mind, consciously grant them permission to take the position they are adopting.
     4. Explore, investigate, become curious about their resistance – enter a dialogue.
     5. Declare your own perceptions, expectations, requirements and rationale.
     6. Resolve/decide/act as you see fit.

Maybe these are the steps I need to take with myself.  Maybe I need an internal dialogue about why I feel the way I do, then declare my expectations of myself and act accordingly. 

Changing myself to change my leadership . . . the theme of a third post I read last week by Mary Jo Asmus of Aspire Collaborative Services.

What are you resisting in your work today?  How will you counter your own resistance?