Are you living in a prison of your own design?
Do you feel like you know how to fix these problems, but nobody's
interested in hearing about it? Do you feel that you're not listened
to, that you have no impact, that you are powerless to effect any
meaningful change?
It could be that you are working in one of those top-down,
hierarchical or highly political companies where nobody wants to hear
about problems, and independent thought is not a virtue. But there are
fewer and fewer of these companies every day, because they are going
out of business. The world is changing too fast, and no
company can avoid change and survive.
So consider this: what if it's not your company that constrains you at all? What if it's you?
It might be time to look at your constructions. Try asking yourself these key questions:
1) Are you
really
powerless?
How much of your powerlessness is based on assumptions? Nearly
everything has been talked about before or tried before, right? What
makes today any different? Why should you succeed when others have
failed? This is an imprisoning thought process
. Today is always different, and you
can
succeed where others have failed; it happens every day.
2) Are you
sure
you want change?
Most of the time it's easier to talk about change than to do it. If you
really want things to happen, you have to be willing to put significant
effort into it. You may or may not be rewarded. To a true change agent,
the change itself is the real reward.
3) Are you talking or doing? Most change
agents don't ask permission, they just make things happen. And much of
the time, their bosses appreciate it. When you see a problem, do you talk about it
or do you
fix
it?
4) Are you willing to take a risk?
It's true that people sometimes get fired for sticking their necks out.
But it's equally true that people get promoted for the same reason. Do
you want to stay where you are? Then do your job, keep your mouth shut,
and live with the status quo. Do you want to go places? Stick your neck
out. Put your job on the line for something you believe in. No risk, no
reward.
5) Do you bring problems to the table, or solutions?
It's one thing to identify a problem, and quite another to be able to
solve it, especially with limited resources. If you want people to
listen to you, bring achievable solutions to the table, and be ready to
take the lead if asked.
6) Why not? This is one of my favorite
questions, both as a manager and as a practitioner. In my opinion it is
not asked nearly enough. Try asking it at your next meeting.
If you feel powerless, you are living in a prison. It could
be that the prison is real. It could be that you have designed it
yourself. Either way, it's important that you break out of prison, now
.
Think of it this way: if
everyone
keeps their head down and their mouths shut, and
nobody
sticks their necks out, the whole company will probably go down in the
end. So if you stand up for positive change you win either way:
– If you get fired, you leave a sinking company earlier rather than later.
– If you get promoted, both you and your company will be better off.
It's time to start planning your jailbreak [Communication Nation]