Does the word “change” cause your heart to race, anxiety level to increase or simply trepidation in your life? Do you wish you had a better response to change happening in your workplace? In this episode, Jimmy and Lori share their favorite strategies to dealing with changing leadership and vision in the workplace.
Episode Keys:
- Recognizing the impact of change in your workplace and how you can become a change agent instead of a victim of circumstances.
- How to face big changes in your career and flourish from the process!
- Why you must create your role in the change occurring around you and lead others by focusing on the future.
- One of the best strategies for tackling uncomfortable change and growing as a professional is to “run into the face of change” instead of avoiding it.
- Communication is the key to efficient and effective change in the workplace. Overcommunication is the confidence builder in the process!
Podcast Transcription:
JW:
Good morning out there in the world! Man, what a beautiful day. You know, we just had Easter here yesterday and I’ve got my co-host with the most with me today. And I’m gonna show her, I’m gonna tell you folks. I found it this year, the lucky egg Lori. Good morning. How are you?
LF:
Oh, the lucky egg. I get to be the lucky egg. I’m great. I hope everybody is having a fantastic morning.
JW:
For those of you that don’t know Lori and I do this podcast every week. And since she is the lucky egg, I’m a pretty lucky guy myself. I’ll tell you that for, And I’ll tell you what she brings it. And she just keeps bringing out the good stuff and, and makes me be a better me. And I appreciate you for doing that. Lori. Thank you so much. Oh,
LF:
You Jimmy, I’m you? The one I was worried,
JW:
You know, I gotta tell you I’m a sucker for a lady that knows how to keep me on my toes. Just like my wife folks, every time I think I gotta figured out boom change comes along and Hey, guess what? That’s what we’re gonna talk about today, Lori.
LF:
Oh, perfect segue talking about change this morning. Cause we’ve covered this topic a couple of times, but this morning we’re gonna cover it in a different what, what she, what shall we say? They refer to music in different genres. So we’re gonna cover a change in a different genre. If you will. We’re gonna talk about workplace change today.
JW:
Oh, I like that. So, so folks for those of you that like real good music. How about think of this as heavy metal change? All right, here we go. Yeah.
JW:
Head banging heavy. And when I say head banging, it may be your keyboard. It may be your desk, whatever you wanna use.
LF:
Wherever you are, improvise.
JW:
Yeah. But you know, Lori, nothing brings anxiety and concern to an employee or a team member. Like the word change. It just has ominous. Doesn’t it. There’s gonna be yes. Change
LF:
Such a heavy word.
JW:
It really is. You know, firmly five letters, man. It really, you know, cranks that six letters, excuse me, I guess. Right. Change just with a G.
LF:
Yes.
JW:
But what is it about this word that causes us such distress? You know, today Laura, I are going to explore some strategies and techniques that we utilize to navigate change when leadership has maybe evolved and new ideas, tactics, maybe even new people are injected into the workplace. And it’s one thing to be adaptable, Lori and another to be quote, I don’t know, maybe a little set in our ways and you know, where you’ve all probably been that way at some time. Right? Except for Lori. She she’s so flexible in what she does.
LF:
No, I too. Am I, am I too, am guilty of being set in my way?
JW:
So I’m gonna ask Lori to kinda kick this off this week with what are some things our listeners could do that have been through this silly pandemic and now maybe their world’s been changed and, and don’t take this wrong, but workplace has changed permanently for a lot of companies. What’s your thoughts
LF:
For a lot of companies and, and a lot of, you know, as we refer to it, brick and mortar, where you still go into the office day, even that landscape has changed greatly with COVID and with us coming out of COVID and going through a lot of change, obviously we’re the nation is facing what they refer to as the great resignation. A lot of the baby boomers are starting to retire and go on and to do all the fun things that I probably in my lifetime will never get to do. I think I’m gonna have to work for forever but one of the things is when you lose or your leader retires or moves on or goes on to a different position with a different company, or even takes a different role in the current company, if they stay with you all. So one of the things we’re gonna talk about this morning, that I think is really important is helping others through this process, whether you’re a team of five, a team of 500 or a team of 50,000 in a giant company, what makes work a great place to be?
LF:
Are the people, obviously we work because we want to make a difference. We want to earn money. We want to better ourselves. And we want to have the fruits of our labor. But in doing that, the relationships that you make with people along the way are the most important. And so really embracing each other and relying on each other and continuing to learn and grow and communicate are really, really important. But one of the things that I find that I’ve recently discovered about myself is I really need the people that I work with. I rely on them for humor. I rely on them for camaraderie. I rely on them for their expertise and I rely on them to help bring out the best in me. And they rely on me to do the same. And so really focusing on helping each other through a time of change through a time of turmoil or upheaval, those are the people that every single day are there to continue to further the mission of what you’ve set out to do.
JW:
You know, that is just awesome stuff. So you’re saying basically in a roundabout way to help others, it might take your mind off the change that you’re dealing with, perhaps something not so easy to deal with, but you then E that you can bury some of that in your back of your minds. You’re helping others confront the same issue. And, and obviously during this time of disruption, we had to do that electronically, right? We had all these meetings on teams or, you know, on zoom, wherever you had them. And everybody had to find a way to get beyond their own challenge, to help lead that team, or be a contributor to the solution the team was facing of a problem. Right? so I, you know, I love quote Floyd. I’m always quoting somebody. Well, here’s another great one. I love from the great James Baldwin. And he says, not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it’s faced. So you can’t, you can’t make change happen in the workplace, even with the new leadership. So one of the worst things we can see happen is if somebody just throws their hands up, cuz, Hey, I’ve never, this is the worst quote. I hate to hear this phrase. We’ve never done it that way.
LF:
Yes. Oh, I, I have to agree. I, I do hate to hear that phrase. I, I look at it from a different quote when people say, well, we just do it this way because we’ve always done it this way. I always say, grow through what you go through.
JW:
There you go. I love that. I love that it’s important. And so be helping others. That’s one of our great strategies today to help you when you have a, a change in the workplace folks. And so think about the others on your team, think about your colleagues. Think about even your direct supervisor. I’ll tell you, everybody thinks those people at the top are calm, cool, and collected on these matters. And I’ve got news for you underneath. They’re built the same as you and I, and they are probably going, hi, I’m going to get Sally board with this. This is a big change for Sally. And so they’re, they’re struggling with some of those kinds of decisions to be made.
LF:
I was gonna say one of the other things that I think that we oftentimes underestimate, or maybe under anticipate poor reasons and big words this morning, I don’t even wanna know how many, I don’t even wanna count how many letters or that word, but let’s be realistic. And let’s be honest about organizational change in the workplace and let’s expect it to be difficult. And I know that that sounds counterproductive. And I know that that sounds negative. And we’re all about positivity here on this podcast, but I think it’s realistic to it to be difficult, not saying that you have to dwell in the negativity or get downtrodden in the idea that it’s gonna be difficult, but knowing that change is ever evolving and that it’s always coming. If we don’t set the expectations so high, that it’s just going to be easy and be a breeze, and we’re just gonna make it work, knowing that sometimes it’s going to be difficult is an okay idea to accept. We don’t settle. We just accept it. And we know that it could be difficult and we hope that it’s not as difficult. And if it turns out not to be great, but if we do have to struggle a little bit, we have to turn that into growth. And then that, that leads us to positivity.
JW:
You know, that is a great concept in world war II, Lord, you know, I love history war that that war time period of 1941 to 45 is just something in my brain. I can’t get off complete. I have to read and study all about it. But in world war II and the fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific, there were islands that needed to be taken that were critical points for bases and so forth to get the us forces and those Naval forces Marines closer to the Japanese mainland so that they could, you know, get our bombers there. For example, the strike squadron and so forth. There were some Hills that had to be taken. The vantage point was terrible. You’d be coming in on the beach, similar to what we had at Normandy, for example, but not quite as big. And they’d come into this beach and they’d just get mowed down if they sat there.
JW:
So if you sat there, you don’t finish. Well. I mean, you get hit with bullets as soon as you get to the beach. But what they found is as the colonels and the majors and the, and the lieutenants directed the men that day, they said soon as the landing craft hits the beach and that front floor run to the hillside run to get out of that firing line of those machine guns and other weapons. And what that really means is, is, you know, those men had to be scared, but if you do, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, if you have to do it scared, that just means you’ve overcome a great challenge. And she was a great lady, right? So she would know these things with challenges. She had her husband was well stricken with polio in adulthood. She literal really had to serve as the president’s aid decamp, if you will, and help with a lot of his platform.
JW:
But by point I’m making is and same thing in your job. So if things do change you know, face that change by running to it, not running away from it. So, you know, there’s two things of coping, right? We talked about active coping and escape. Coping, coping says, oh, I’m just not gonna deal with it. I’m just gonna leave. You know what? That may not be your best choice. Let’s assume you’ve got a lot of time in this company and you really enjoy the people you work with leaving doesn’t solve the problem that just makes you that person. Now take another problem to another position, cuz I will tell you that next position’s gonna change Lori. There’s no company gonna stay the same ever. So I have a little phrase I use for this and you’re gonna love this cuz Lori, do you like to eat pie?
LF:
Oh, I love pie. Every type of pie. I love pie almost as much as I love coffee.
JW:
Yeah. And I gotta tell you I’m one of these guys, Cool Whip can only, you know, taking up a notch with me.
LF:
Yes, oh, absolutely.
JW:
So here’s what I tell myself. I want to eat the crust first.
LF:
Oh no, no, no, no, no.
JW:
No one does. Right. We all start at the point of the triangle. Right? And we start with the soft, good stuff of the pie, work ourselves toward the crust and finish it off. But if you think about it, turn that plate around the next time you’re having a piece of pie and into the crust and the reason being, that’s the most difficult part of the pie to cut and eat. It’s the crust. If you do that, the rest of the pie is gonna be what easy and enjoyable, same thing with these challenges we haven’t changed. Right?
LF:
I will never be able to look at pie ever again the same way eve eat the of crust first. Oh, that’s so true though. And, and going a little bit deeper into that topic. I think that when you do take that challenge, of course the crust first, oh Jimmy. Now it’s gonna be stuck in my brain for the rest of the week. I think it’s worth noting too, that in an environment where you’re in a workplace environment, it’s, it’s okay to have conversations even with the person that’s leading or the person that’s in charge. And that person coming into that situational change or is probably just as nervous or just as intimidated as the people that are there. They’re walking into a brand new situation. They’re walking into a room full of people that they may or may not know. They may not even be familiar with the current philosophy of the company or the, you know, motto of, of how the mission is accomplished.
LF:
So rather than, you know, making the assumption that this person is coming in with their own vision and their own motto and their own way of doing things, maybe it’s an opportunity to create a future vision. Everybody collectively working together to have that conversation about where we’re going, what we want to accomplish, where we see ourselves in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, even a year. It’s important that to be clear about that, that the conversation is open ended and that it’s a respected conversation of everybody that’s involved. If you’re not in a work environment like that, I would highly, highly, highly recommend that you might wanna decide if this is somewhere where you wanna gonna continue to be, you know, GRA the grass is not always greener on the other side, but in the same sense, hostility is never a good thing. If you dread going to work every day, if it’s complicated, if it’s difficult or you just don’t feel like you’re being heard or that you’re not being able to contribute in a positive way, that’s gonna move people forward. Maybe that vision is not you, your vision, but having that conversation to create a future vision where we can all work together and be on the same page is just as important as showing up every day and doing the work. I think,
JW:
No, I agree. Totally. And keep in mind that anytime we’re casting a new vision that has to come from the leadership for that organization, that’s why that person’s being hired. So that absolutely CEO or chief vision officers, I like to call them when they get ready to cast that vision, it’s incumbent on them to communicate it properly and explicitly with the team that’s gonna be charged with, if you will, the capability to get the vision to reality. And at the end of the day, you’re absolutely right. Sometimes, you know, my ad has a saying too, and I love this quote too. He’s always told me, he said, son, the grass may be a little greener on the next hill, but that just means it takes a lot more maintenance. In other words, what they’re saying is if they’re gonna pay you more, they’re gonna expect more.
JW:
Right. And so I just be careful when you go that route. But my point here is, is to say absolutely face it and embrace it is the term face it and brace it. So if you have that mentality, like you’re suggesting here to find your place in that vision, what competencies may I need to grow or, or maybe even new ones to learn? What do I need to do in communication to my team? Will I even have the same role with the same team? Will we have to make changes? One thing we’ve learned is is that with the pandemic, people have gone to more hybrid workplaces. I E they don’t have desks in offices anymore. They work from home. They work from wherever and our workforce has now become more global, right? So we actually have on our team at compass capital management, people that never really come to the office, right? So we, like I said, I wanna hire them for their brains and their creativity and talent. Not necessarily their body sitting at a place at a certain time. Right? And so at the end of the day, think about what this is doing for the workforce in our country. So that’s a change that we adapted to, or rather quickly, why couldn’t we do the same with others? So, you know, face it and embrace. It’s kind of a thought I have.
LF:
I like it face it and embrace it. Whether it’s in person at a, at a conference table or it’s through zoom you accomplish that same style of pro progression. I mean, and that’s the thing it’s all about moving forward. And, and we want everybody to, to move forward positively and feel good about the work that you’re doing, because ultimately if we spend 40, 45 50, hopefully not more than that, but obviously people put in a lot of hours, but if you’re not making it something that you love and enjoy every single day, it’s going to get more difficult and you’re going to feel failure and you’re going to feel setbacks and you’re going to feel downtrodden. And it, it leads to dread. And that is absolutely something that we have no room for. We want to make sure that everything that we’re doing is speeding our minds, soul, and body in a positive way. And that’s what we’re all about here at live life by design.
JW:
Absolutely. Hey Lori, I’ve got one last strategy. Tell me what you think of this one. I’m the leader bringing the change. It is vital that I over communicate to my entire team. Does that mean sending more memos, more emails? Not necessarily. Let me tell you what I’m thinking here. I’m thinking I need to take each of those critical direct reports. Those ones that are in charge, maybe a certain particular activity or action. It’s got to take place. It’s integral to the success of the organization. I pull them aside and maybe I just have lunch with them a couple, three times a week for the first two or three weeks. Maybe I have written down certain areas of discussion about their particular role in that vision. I’m wanting to paint that person. And in my vision, as I said earlier, we want to have a place they can identify not only that find their themselves, but also to how they will see themselves moving forward to success. Right? So you have to define as a leader, what does success look like? And let those people know that. So they have that if you will, to mark, to run through, right? Like if I’m running the race, I wanna know when I’ve won. And so to me, that’s vital that we over communicate what our expectations are, what the challenges are, but also where’s the finish line.
LF:
I absolutely love that strategy. And I, I think that over communication in the beginning certainly leads to better inclusion. Anytime you have an organizational change, oftentimes that’s when people feel scared, they feel excluded. They feel not needed or not wanted or not valued. And I think if you lay that expectation out very clearly from the very beginning, that gives them a sense of, you know, stability. It gives them a sense of, like I said, inclusion, and it gives them a sense of freedom to know that, yes, they are still part of the team. And this is the expectation, and this is what I need in order to accomplish whatever we are doing in those first weeks or months or days.
JW:
Oh man, that is awesome too. And you can over communicate in many ways. I mean, it’s not just necessarily in verbal form talking to them, I’m talking about you, you, you write down your vision. If you’re the leader, Hey, what do I want this company to look like? Or what do we wanna do in the market? We’re in, how do we want to achieve that? You can write this down, hand it to all of your direct reports, your entire team, let them absorb that. And then let’s talk about it at the weekly team meeting or the team, or we call it, talk about what’s going on. What are your concerns? What are you excited about? Hey, where do you see gaps in this vision? Let your team help build it. Cuz once they help you build it, Lori, they own it. And that’s where you want your entire team to be, take that proprietary role and own it. And then it lasts. You’ve got a team that has a vision, not just a leader with a, a vision.
LF:
Absolutely. So who’s ready. Who’s motivated. Who’s ready to go out and accept, change and deal with it. Head on with the strategies that we’ve given you this morning. I’m pretty fired up and pumped up this morning, Jimmy, I don’t know. I’m ready to take on the day.
JW:
I’ll tell you. I am too. And one of my big challenges day, I’m gonna get a piece of pie and I’m gonna turn that crust around. Lori. Just tell me right now, lunchtime, bring it on.
LF:
Bring it pie backwards. Everybody do it today. And if it’s not pie, it can be pizza pie.
JW:
Yes, you eat the crust first. Turn it around. Hey folks, thank you for joining us here on Live a Life By Design, your Monday morning moments of motivation. We hope that we bring you each week. Something that enlightens your world makes you think about what’s you’re doing in your place in the world, because see, we only ask that you bring the bigger, better and bold you to the world each day. You know, you gotta realize you have importance to this world. You are needed to be your best for us to have the best world possible. So don’t sell yourself short set, those goals, those BHAGs. If, if you will set them as high as you can stretch them and then go out and laugh at everyone that you see when you accomplish it and conquer that big goal that no one else thought you could ever do. Lori, take it away on our challenge. This week,
LF:
The challenge this week is to go out and accept change. Whether it be small, whether it be large, keep a clear vision, keep a positive attitude and just keep living positivity day in and day out.
JW:
Woo man, I like that. I got goosebumps. If you could see right here, Lori, I’ve got some goosebumps from real, real goosebumps right here. Hey folks, thank you for joining us this week. And from Lori and me, we sincerely mean it when we say we only want you to-
Both:
Live a life by design!
