Don't look back in anguish

Your attitude to change is your attitude to life.

You are the product of every decision you’ve ever made. Whether they were proactive decisions in situations you controlled, or reactive in situations you didn’t, you always had the basic choice of doing something or nothing.

What’s the issue?

1. Myself, I regret nothing, because there’s no point. That only wastes my time here and now thinking about the opportunities I’ve wasted in the past (get yourself a drink and pull up a chair...).
2. When we start out in life we have to embrace change because there’s no option. Leaving home, finding a job etc. But at some point, fairly early on in life, playing safe becomes an option for many people.
3. Jim Collins says that good is the enemy of great. But when I’m gauging the generally high potential of the leaders I work with, it's not uncommon that they haven’t even got that far. It seems to be more a case of ok is the enemy of good. That’s a rich seam of untapped productivity there as leaders restrict themselves to the safe zone, and the organisation lets it happen.
4. I worry that leaders are too pre-occupied with being wrong, being outcast, being removed etc. and as a result, are generally just playing safe. They’re not pushing enough to drive productivity for their organisation, and they’re not pushing hard enough to grab life by the horns of change.

Activities to consider

1. The world is changing quickly. I believe that everyone – everyone – who is a leader has no option but to learn to be comfortable with ambiguity and develop a higher risk tolerance. The universe will let you get away with nothing less anymore. Learn to embrace change now on your own terms, or be changed later without agency.
2. It isn’t about whether you make the optimal decisions in your life, it’s about whether you’re trying to.
3. It’s about pushing your own personal boundaries to find out who you are, and more importantly, who you could be.
4. It’s about imagining yourself in 10 years’ time looking back at this moment and wondering whether you would be happy with how you've played the game.
5. Change – even negative change – gives you the chance to experience life in ways the status quo can only dream of.
6. But hang on, what’s all this existential debate about the purpose of life got to do with leadership? Well, it’s because the difference between a leader and a manager is that a leader leads change. And your attitude to change is your attitude to life. And that’s why Adaptability is the most important leadership skill you can master.

Try this

Ask yourself this: are you pushing hard enough?

At HPC, we developed Adaptability Based Leadership with the express purpose of raising productivity through more engaged, better led staff. If that approach resonates, contact me and let’s get you started on the next phase of your journey towards mastering leadership.