Don’t Listen to the Change Fairy
Don’t expect the person who needs to change to change.
The Fairy Tale of Change
This is the way change DOESN’T work.
- Everyone knows something isn’t working.
- You spot something wrong. It’s even more dangerous to spot someone doing wrong.
- You tell everyone to do the right thing.
- Everyone starts doing the right thing.
- Everyone is happy.
- You get promoted.
Real World
People who need to change are masters of tenacity. Bombs can’t penetrate their rationalizations.
Trying to fix the people who don’t like to course-correct is like pushing a rope uphill, blindfolded.
In the real world, the people who need to grow the least end up adapting the most. People like you…
The responsible ones.
The reflective ones.
The ones who read leadership blogs. 😊
You end up adapting.
You’re open. You care. You’re flexible. You’re the perfect candidate to contort yourself into a box to accommodate Mr. Status Quo.
It gets even more frustrating. The more you adjust, the more people celebrate. Meanwhile, the original problem (or person) sits in the corner humming Yankee Doodle.
Embrace the Absurd
- Don’t fix the problem.
- Fix yourself.
- Go with early adopters.
- Fix the building’s feng shui if necessary.
Whatever you do—don’t expect the person who actually needs to adapt to do it. They probably won’t.
Bottom Line: When you know there’s a problem, congratulations—you just volunteered to solve it. It’s likely you’ll end up doing the work.
How does change work in your organization?
Stop Glamorizing the Pursuit of Excellence
This post is inspired by Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson.
I had to look up the term feng shui : ) / Great post – conviting on both sides.
I was teaching a class for educators when one of the teachers used the term, feng shui. I had no idea either. So I had to show my ignorance to a room full of educators.
The only time I was a successful “agent of change” was when my kids were in diapers. And even then, they usually screamed during the entire process. The moral of the story: folks would rather sit in the warm messy diaper than change into a cold clean one.
And no, they couldn’t change their own diaper.
Wow!! That’s beautifully said. I’m tucking that away for future use!
I’m a fan of the quote that says they were “… so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” The person in the corner resistant to the change might (just) be the voice to listen to (sometimes). Change for the purpose of change alone isn’t truly goal driven, it’s movement driven. Sometimes, it’s ok to stand still and take it all in.
Thank you for your comment. Change for the sake of change can be as damaging as resisting legitimate change.