In this world of constant change, following a single system or model is foolhardy--the companies that succeed will be nimble and ever-changing. Global dynamics seem to be affecting every one of us no matter where we are on the planet. You hear about the new normal everywhere. The tales of woe follow a similar theme: lower starting wages, vanishing job security, pay cuts, furloughs, unpaid work, unaccustomed thrift, double-digit unemployment, five-figure job cuts and punitive new procedures for the lending and borrowing of capital. This scary environment of externals driving the enterprise is hardly a normal scenario by any definition.
A decade into the 21st. century, one thing has become clear: constant change is the new normal. The question is no longer if, but rather "how." Companies that have learned to ride these waves of change are the ones that will successfully compete in today's economy and beyond.
Change essentially means to make different. Change has been a huge part of our professional lives up until now, and traditional change dynamics are still here, although their cycles have become shorter and shorter. With respect to the global change curve, every context and continent has undergone change in the last decade, and managing this change hasn't been easy by any means.
Technology has played the single largest role in this change era. It has transformed our very lives. We are all connected. Not only do we enjoy our electronic companions, but most would also agree that we now need them. We need this technology to carry on everyday life in a new change, no service economy. We know that being constantly and continuously connected often fosters an inability to focus, to concentrate.
Also, how many of us will work our entire careers for a single entity? Very few. The "greatest generation" example of one job-one career was supplanted by Baby Boomers who averaged 11 jobs between the ages of 18 and 44. Who knows where the averages will end up for generation X, generation Y, and beyond.
In every new job change, give yourself the freedom to not have all the answers, and understand that soon you won't know enough to be the expert. Learn how to ask and what to ask. Have the courage and confidence to ask and not tell.
Today's leadership is all about asking. Not telling, asking. “Ask” is the keyword both for the leader or technical follower as coach and for the person being coached.
When someone knows that the leader is ready, willing and able to take the time necessary to talk about a subject important to that person, effective coaching can happen on the dance floor of conversation.
The leader acts as engager--as enabler--and this is the role that will successfully navigate the perfect storm facing us all. Securing and maintaining the connection between the organization and the individual is the leader's new role....and like our change economy, that role hasn't been able to gel yet. We don't know for certain what is coming and what will be required of us. We don't know enough to predict or control, if we ever really did. If we don't know, we will have to find out. To find out, we will have to ask.
Common sense tells us that asking works. Your people already know more than you about their role, their work, their reality on the job. You can't tell them what you don't know. Simply put, asking makes us more successful at influencing others. Those who ask how they can be more effective, adopt the suggestions they can, and follow through on resolutions for change see all their results improve.
As the catalyst, your interactions in the moment are what turn on added effort or turn it off. You can best prepare yourself to be more effective in the moment by making sure you fully understand the dynamics of human interaction by getting to know a simple anatomy of communication.
How assertive are you, and how responsive are you when you interact with others?
An individual's communication style can be determined, shared and enhanced (you can change it). In most self-assessment profiles, a primary communication style strength, one of four, will be evident. Depending upon the intensity, this single strength will control your attitude, action and responses up to 60 percent of the time.
For who you are and how you can "grease the skids" of communication, go to: http://www.coachingtip.com/2012/12/knowing-yourself.html
How we make decisions our need for people, our sense of urgency, and our attention to detail--these are variables that make up the anatomy of communication. Decisions. People. Pace. Detail. Classic DISC profiles will help you better understand your default behavior tendencies; by taking an online self assessment. For a directory of DISC self assessement, go the Self Assessment Center and scroll down to "DISC assessments" at: http://www.selfassessmentcenter.com/
John G Agno: Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge.