Is change happening too fast or too slowly in your world?

We each have a rate of change that we like best.

If change happens too quickly, you can easily feel overwhelmed.

And if it happens too slowly, well that’s when boredom can very quickly set in.

IF YOU’RE OVERWHELMED:

Here are a few ways you can slow down change – or your sense of it:

– Pay less attention to others’ frustration with what’s going on.

Kvetching  and complaining can be the primary way that people choose to connect in various circumstances. But they may not realize how they’re pulling other people down around them, in the process.

There are some times it pays more to listen less.

– Tune out predictions of doom, gloom and failure.

You truly don’t know what’s possible until you try. Don’t accept predictions of failure. Give your best effort, in all circumstances.

– Narrow your focus.

Concentrate on the actions you are taking.

Pay attention to what’s going well, and the things that you are learning.

Notice what you’re doing better each day as you learn to adapt and still perform well in a time of great change.

– Right-size your to-do list, if you can.

You may not be able to take things off the to-do list, but if you can, do so.

Negotiate with your manager to reprioritize tasks, if necessary. Talk through what’s most important, and enlist his or her involvement in deciding what can move out or off the list…or move to someone else.

And if you’re the one who’s piling all the work on your to-do list, get realistic.

Learn to estimate more accurately what you can accomplish in a day, and then plan for that (this is a reminder to myself, as well)

– Pay attention to the tasks you’ve completed.

Notice the “already done” list just as much as you attend to the list of work that still has to get done.

– Congratulate yourself on any progress, however large or small.

IF YOU’RE BORED:

Here are ways you can add positive change and interest to your current circumstances:

– Pay closer attention to the details of the task you’re doing.

Check your assumptions. Boredom does not always mean you have the task mastered. It may mean you’re skimming over significant details.

– Notice what effort you’re putting forth when you say you’re bored.

For example, if you’re a student who’s bored in class and criticizing the professor for not making the subject interesting enough, stop to consider: what’s the quality of the effort you’re putting forth?

Are you doing things that can enhance what you’re learning in class?

Are you making the effort to make the subject interesting, yourself?

And if you’re a manager, criticizing the people who work for you, or an employee, criticizing the leader you work for, consider: are you putting in your best effort, and going the extra mile, to connect with others in order to make the results of your work the best it can be?

You own the outcome of your experience, whatever it is. You don’t have to be a passive participant.

– Concentrate on others’ perceptions of your work as well as your own feelings about it.

Don’t assume all is well.

You may be doing a great job now, even when you’re bored. The odds are, though, you may be providing less than stellar service in your current state.

Check with the people who receive the output of your work. There’s almost always a way you can improve the quality of work or service you provide.

– Focus on the long-term view.

Look for ways to grow, even in this now-frustrating situation.

It may be a perfect place to develop new skills that will enhance your readiness for the next job. Perhaps you can expand the challenges, tasks or responsibilities you have, helping you leap ahead in the future.

– Look for ways to improve something.

Taking on or leading an improvement adds challenge and makes the work easier, at the same time. These are skills you will always find useful, no matter what jobs you have in the future.

– Pay more attention to – and grow – the parts of the job you like or love.

Try to expand those parts of the job. You may discover new skills you want to use even more in the future, when you have the chance to.

Not long after college I had a job that included many tasks I hated.

Now, I know I should have figured that out before I took the job…but I only discovered it after I’d had the job for a few weeks, and found out what was really involved. There were other parts of the job that I really loved, and wanted to do more of.

I figured out ways to do the work I disliked faster and better.

My solution in that situation was to use the time I saved to grow the parts of the job that I loved. This gave me the opportunity to rapidly learn and practice new skills, which opened up great new opportunities for the next job, and beyond.

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Are you chasing customers away, unwittingly?

“Everything’s fine!” you assert?

You might be surprised.

Some large companies take their customers’ good will, and business, for granted. Some of these companies, once well-known for great service, let it slip to the point that they are cited by customers as a predictable source of hassle and frustration if a problem occurs.

Small businesses are not immune to this problem, either.

Recent interactions with a few small companies that provided great service in the past, but are in danger of growing out of control – even to the point of chasing customers away – have reminded me once again of the importance of:

- Knowing what your real goal is

- Being focused, staying focused

- Prioritizing

- Paying attention to the key details of your success

- Taking a fresh eyes look at your business regularly

Here’s more detail about each of these key steps:

1. Knowing what your real goal is

This isn’t complicated. But it does require a certain strength of spirit to be open to whatever you might find.

It requires open time, an open heart, and an open mind.

Do less, listen more…to yourself…for the answers that are true for you to emerge.

What others want for their businesses or careers may be entirely wrong for you. Don’t drive the wrong direction for you.

Are you listening…to yourself?

2. Being focused, staying focused

There’s only so much time in any day. And there are an increasing number of ways to be pulled away from your primary goal or path.

Take note of the distractions that are most tempting to you. Take note of the ones that deplete you, and step away from them. Don’t look back.

Now pay attention, as well, to the ways of pausing that you find most refreshing. Do more of those. These are the things that energize you, and make you feel more alive.

The way you spend your time makes a big difference in what you achieve, how you feel about the experience, and about yourself, ultimately.

3. Prioritizing

You’re always making choices about how to spend your time, attention, energy, and the other precious resources of your life.

Make those choices consciously.

Review the choices and their outcomes periodically.

Pay attention to whether you like the experiences you’re bringing into your life, or if something important has been sacrificed along the way.

Then take action to change, or maintain, depending on what you find.

4. Paying attention to the key details

There are many examples of people, and companies, who took their success for granted.

Find out what the key elements of your success, and manage them well.

For example, are the products and services you provide your customers especially easy, or fun to use?

Are they a great price?

Or are they far more effective than competitors’ offerings?

You can guess what the answers are, but it’s important that you check with your customers. Find out what their priorities are, and what they love about your current products, services and support.

What you learn tells you what your companies “crown jewels” are currently – unless, or until you change them in some way.

5. Taking a fresh eyes look at your business regularly

“Secret shop” your business regularly. Better yet, have someone do this for you a few times a year who can be objective about the experience.

For example, what is your customers’ experience of your current product and service quality?

How easy is it to find your products and services? How easy is it to buy and use them?

Are you, and is your company easy to find?

Is it easy for customers to get prompt, effective, acceptable resolution to problems, if they occur?

There’s lots more you can check when you have your secret shopper give your company a good check-up, but that gives you some ideas, for starters.

Don’t let your success slip away, simply because you believe it can’t.

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Focus and forward motion.

They’re hard to get.

And once you have them, focus and forward motion can be even harder to maintain.

If you’re the leader of an organization or team, you know how difficult it is at times to keep your team focused and moving forward.

One way to do so is to create a sense of team urgency.

But make sure the urgency is real, and the focus of it inspiring, if possible…not a false emergency you’re cooking up.

Have you ever been the victim of a false emergency aficianado?

You know that it didn’t work as way to lead you, once you found out what was going on. You probably lost respect and confidence in that would-be leader from then on.

It’s really a matter of the leader’s self-confidence, and respect for his or her team.

And life presents enough real emergencies, as it is, at one time or another.

People are dealing with stresses of many types, whether due to work, family, health, financial or other concerns. All that stress adds up.

Don’t pile more on.

Here are just some of the ways that leaders work against themselves and their teams by creating false emergencies:

1. They label everything a “rush” order, even if it’s not.

A colleague once worked for a project manager who categorized all information requests for a project as “rush” orders.

In almost all cases that “rush” was false. Once discovered, her “rush” orders were rarely believed from then on.

2. They yell.

This may be because they think yelling means they’re managing well.

But in most cases, it’s a sign of failed leadership.

Consider this: if you’re yelling, you:
- Didn’t have alternative skills or ideas to get the attention you needed from others to get the job done
- Didn’t try the alternatives you had
- Failed when you tried other approaches

There has to be a better way if you’re a leader who’s worth your salt…unless you really ARE facing an emergency and health and well-being is involved.

Sometimes emergencies ARE real and yelling is the only way – truly – to grab people’s attention and keep them safe.

3. They unnecessarily break people’s work flow and concentration.

I’ve heard this frustration from people in many different organizations.

This may be happening simply because managers have the power to break into people’s work flows and attention. Or they don’t realize the significant, negative impact on employee productivity and morale of what they’re doing.

Perhaps, like Michael Scott on NBC’s, “The Office,” they interrupt because they think it’s their job to stay front and center, commanding others’ attention, for its own sake.

If you want people to work well with and for you, treat them with the respect you want from a manager, yourself.

Leave the emergency route for emergencies that really count.

Choose inspiration when you’re creating urgency to get and keep your team focused and moving forward.

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Do you wish for stronger leadership in some part of the company where you work?

Or are you in a club or volunteer organization that just doesn’t seem to be getting much done, despite having many enthusiastic members or volunteers?

I have news for you.

You might just have to become the leader you seek.

Leadership often occurs formally. In these cases, it is provided by people who were elected or appointed, and fill their leadership roles fully.

But just as often, leadership occurs in a more subtle fashion.

Leadership can emerge informally in a nation, company or group. It can be just as powerful – or more so – than elected or appointed leadership.

Why is there sometimes a leadership void that informal leadership must fill? Here are just a few reasons:

1. The person who has the formal leadership role may not be up to the job.

Perhaps this leader did not have the background, training or personal skills to be effective in the leadership role he may have sought, and now has.

2. The formal leader may have wanted to “win” the position, but may not want to “work” the position, once they have it.

It appears to me that we see this type of thing with politicians, at times. It also happens with leaders in companies, at times, among others. It seems as if a person wanted to win the competition that gave them the prize of the leadership job. But once they actually have it, the work of the job looks far less interesting…and often, downright daunting.

3. The person who has the formal leadership role doesn’t understand how he or she is perceived by his followers.

He or she may not realize that it’s important not just to send leadership messages and set expectations, but to follow up on them. Or he may not realize how vital it is to monitor leadership communication and results.

Some of the most effective leadership is the informal kind.

In such informal leadership cases, leaders emerge.

They’re essentially appointed by followers when they’ve found someone they want to follow.

This leadership emerges, sometimes in surprising ways and in surprising people, in response to unmet needs rising up within the group.

These may include needs for:

- Common ground, including common or compatible values

- A common mission or goals

- Clear and easy ways of communicating well

- Clear ways of working together

In a related note, I was listening to the commentators after the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres to clinch the National League’s Western Division championship.

“Baseball is a game of vision and adjustments,” said Mike Krukow, a former major league starting pitcher, after the game as the champagne corks popped and the celebration flowed.

Leadership is like that, too.

It’s a game of vision and adjustments, and shared group vision, and more adjustments.

And sometimes if there’s a leadership void, someone has to step up to fill the role, showing the group what direction they can and should move to reach their common goal.

Sometimes that person is you.

If you found this post valuable, share it with friends and colleagues who can use this information, too. You’ll also like the free weekly newsletter I publish every Tuesday. Sign up for the newsletter here.

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