{"id":6734,"date":"2017-12-18T08:58:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-17T21:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/?p=6734"},"modified":"2018-05-14T12:21:54","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T02:21:54","slug":"making-a-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweringambitiouswomen.com\/making-a-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Making a Change: 3 Things You’re Forgetting to Do"},"content":{"rendered":"
So, you\u2019re making a change, perhaps in your business, your team, or your own leadership behaviour. You\u2019ve thought it through, you can almost touch the wonderful outcomes this change is going to produce. You know that you can expect some resistance, but you\u2019re clear on what needs to happen and why, so you should be able to overcome any barriers.<\/p>\n
And then you get to it. Things are fine for a short while and you can see some changes taking shape.<\/p>\n
Fast forward a few months: looking back you realise nothing much has changed at all. How can that be, after such a promising start?<\/p>\n
Change in itself is not necessarily hard \u2013 we all make changes successfully. But we often don\u2019t really know what it is we did that was so successful.<\/p>\n
There is no fixed recipe for successful change, but there are 3 key things most people forget to do, that dramatically increase the likelihood of a change being successful.<\/p>\n
When change is not successful we too often assume that it is because of a controllable factor, such as lack of motivation, willpower or self-discipline. We don\u2019t give enough \u2018credit\u2019 to the environment we\u2019re meant to make the change in.<\/p>\n
You see, our environment is often structured in such a way that it makes the unwanted behaviour so much easier than the new behaviour.<\/p>\n
Let me illustrate: my mum visits me regularly from the Netherlands. She\u2019s in her 70s, and over the past 20 years or so she has gradually put on weight and it\u2019s making her uncomfortable. After her visit she almost always notices, with some surprise, that she\u2019s lost weight while she stayed with me. And then adds in the same breath: \u201cAnd you never have anything to eat in the house.\u201d. Which isn\u2019t completely true, but she\u2019s right about one thing: I don\u2019t buy snack food. Because I know that if I have it, I\u2019ll eat it! It\u2019s so much harder to resist eating <\/em>snacks when I know they\u2019re there \u2013 my environment is enabling that behaviour \u2013 than to resist buying<\/em> them when I\u2019m in the supermarket.<\/p>\n When you\u2019ve made the decision to make a change, what is in your mind? Most people think about the end result and picture their slimmed down figure; smoke-free life; organised office; great relationships with their team\/manager\/peers\/family members; remaining calm in any stressful situation; – add your own change result here. And having a clear picture of what you want the result to be is important, it is your Why.<\/p>\n But \u2026.<\/p>\n When the going gets tough, that picture won\u2019t be enough to keep you going!<\/p>\n Every change requires a repetition of small actions and decisions carried out over a long period of time. If your change is to create better relationships with your team by being a better listener, the picture of the end result may not be helpful when you\u2019re under the pump, stressed to the eyeballs, and one of your team is interrupting you \u2013 again.<\/p>\n You need to re-focus on the very short-term: what small thing can I do in the next hour, half-day, or this day, towards my change? Trust that a string of short-term focusses will get you to your end result.<\/p>\n How do you feel about celebrating when you\u2019ve achieved progress? If you\u2019re like me, I feel a tad uncomfortable and usually don\u2019t make much of a fuss. And my natural tendency is to celebrate when I\u2019ve achieved something big (like winning a new client).<\/p>\nBefore you embark on any change:<\/h3>\n
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Re-adjust the focus<\/h3>\n
Celebrate<\/h3>\n