Don’t do the Dodo

Don’t do the Dodo

My little girl and I were talking about animals that have gone extinct. First I had to explain what the word extinct meant and then give a few examples. We started with an obvious example: the Dodo bird. She tends to ask questions that I don’t know the answers to, and I usually end up Googling them. I came across a fantastic video explaining why the dodo went extinct. Contrary to popular belief it was not because the bird was stupid. It was because it couldn’t adapt quickly enough to keep up with the rapid changes human settlers brought to the islands they inhabited. They weren’t ready for the threats that came along with the new inhabitants and subsequently perished.

In our line of work, we have the privilege of working with people and businesses and helping them get unstuck. We often encounter people who are so resistant to change that they would rather face real threats like losing their jobs or even losing their lives than making necessary changes and adapting to the environments in which they find themselves. Let me just say, in my experience, that there are very few people who like change – most of us are on a continuum of readiness to accept change. Some people (typically a small group) can move very swiftly and adapt to change at a rapid pace. Others take longer (most people), and  others just refuse. The readiness and willingness to accept change is the starting point while making the change is often a whole other ball game. We know that it is in the process of moving from the known to the unknown that most people find themselves getting stuck and reverting to known patterns. This is where you need to (especially if you are a leader of change) make sure to continuously remind people of the reasons behind the need for change, even if it means highlighting the risk of not changing at times.

I thought it useful to share some tips on how you and your team can become more agile and adaptable:

• Be aware of what is happening in your environment: By no means am I saying react to every little thing, but notice when things are happening that could potentially affect you, your team, or the future viability of your business. For example, if you notice the area in which you stay seems to have more incidents of crime, perhaps put more crime prevention mechanisms in place or consider whether there may be a safer place to move to (in extreme cases). Or if you notice that the market in which you work is not growing, maybe it is time to get creative about your service offering or perhaps make a shift in your career. BlackBerry’s inability to notice the changes in the demands of the market almost sank their business.
• Listen to sound advice, but not all advice: Often when working with people who need to adapt or make changes, they are sure about what they should do. But then comes the expectations of the people who have given them either solicited or unsolicited advice and this leaves them uncertain and confused. Make sure to find a way in which you can critically evaluate and select the input you take into consideration.
• Know what you value: Your values are excellent grounding tools. They can serve as a roadmap and can help you be more confident in approaching change. Be sure to spend time solidifying them. It will aid in not becoming overly reactive and in evaluating the actual need for change.
• Weigh up the consequences of your decisions: But do it swiftly. I have deliberator as a top strength on my Clifton strength profile and as useful as it is, it is a real pain in the butt when it comes to deciding to change, adapt or move quickly. For those of you who aren’t well acquainted with the Clifton Strengths, people with the Deliberative theme are people who can make good and accurate judgments if allowed the time to think and reflect. They are excellent at identifying risks and making solid decisions if they are given the time to plan for unexpected events. This is because they carefully think about a situation from pretty much every angle. The key lies in knowing when you have enough information to decide and not to go into analysis paralysis. The other obstacle is that people with deliberative talent usually are rather careful and risk-averse – posing obvious challenges when it comes to change and adapting. Here it is important to remind yourself that the risk of not adapting could result in you becoming a dodo.
• Having a strong sense of identity also makes adapting to change easier. If you know who you are and how you contribute and add value – you can do this in different ways, in different places and on various platforms. You won’t feel bound by your environment to add value or contribute. You don’t have to change who you are to adapt to the changing world around you. A dodo would have still been a dodo if it had been able to learn to fly, lay its eggs in safer places, or know that predators exist even if they aren’t everyday threats.
• Changing your perception of change: When we come to understand that change is an important and inevitable part of life, we may become less resistant to it. But merely changing our perception of change will only be the starting point. When we couple this with a deep understanding of why the change is needed and the benefits we can expect in the future, it keeps us committed to seeing the process through until the end.
• Teach your children that being open to change and able to adapt are key survival skills in this fast-paced world we live in. No one is going to wait for them to catch up. We can do this by reflecting on the lessons we can take from the stories nature has to tell. Fish learn to morph and change so that they can survive at different temperatures and have new sources of food. Animals change the way they hunt and their feeding patterns to adjust to the environments they find themselves in.

Although we cannot evade, stop or predict change, we can shift our mindset to see it as something that happens through us and not to us. It is the process of struggle, of finding motivation, of becoming more curious about the potential benefits that help us bring about change that is positively disruptive and can make our world a better place.

If you are having a difficult time responding to change, or your would like your team to be more agile in their response to change, we would love to help, get in touch. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.