Short change
And why it being January really means nothing to how you will work
You are not going to change.
When I say you, I don’t mean all of you. Someone reading this will have looked at the last digit rolling over on a calendar and decided that they a) needed to get their act together or b) decided to say goodbye to their current role and made a break for it.
For most of you, any change is merely cosmetic. A new project, a new job title – the same old you.
So why do I say that in the face of a million “new year, new me” updates?
In my time supporting and leading on change, I have come across hundreds of Delivery or Project Managers where the one thing a lot of them have in common, is that they are resistant to change.
Not other people’s change. They are good at planning, documenting and overseeing – or delivering – change imposed on others. They are agents for change.
But this tends to come top down.
A new process, system or approach is required, and they are tasked with leading on the implementation. They must deal with the fall out.
How do they do it? Through tried and tested methods.
They document everything. They create a massive PowerPoint deck. They rely heavily on Gannt charts. There is nothing whatsoever new about their approach. If it ain’t broke, don’t… well, is it not broke?
Did it work perfectly the last time?
Has their approach always been a success?
Is there anything they really should change.
Usually, the answer to those is No, No, very much so Yes – but if you’ve been on a course. Studied a book and had Exception Notes or Story Points hammered into you, it’s not always easy to back away from the principles and methodology that someone, somewhere, told you was the right thing to do.
Likewise, if you are rubbish at admin, documentation and day-to-day management, buying a “How to bullet journal” hardback or a new note book isn’t going to fix you (Nb: I got my new Notepad in November – Midori MD A5 Blank – for those of you that might be interested).
What you need to focus on is micro adjustments. Examples are:
Don’t instantly reply to ever email
Prioritise your actions based on risk/impact to you/the team/the orgainsation
Hold more 1:1s to understand what makes people tick
Celebrate even the smallest of wins – but don’t overdo it
Set effective reminders for when you need to get a report/document out
Don’t get distracted by too many reminders
Never think in terms of calendars, think in terms of new work and engagements – and understand how you need to change based on the way the last one ended.
And if you can’t do it yourself, seek support from a coach or mentor who can help you.
/END
On point as always Chris - and I'm completely with you on the fallacies that come around this time of year...every single fricking year!