What change would you like to CREATE?
Solve world hunger. Eradicate poverty. Create peace and harmony. Make life easier. Automate. Apply artificial intelligence. Be an employer of choice. Provide the best customer service. Be the best we can be.
All aspirational. All grand. Very noble.
Often people think they know what they want, but they only have vague ideas of what it is they truly want to have happen.
That is why not many people get to create the change they want.
70% of change initiatives fail.
That means out of every four initiatives, only one and a bit has a chance of success.
If you ask me, it’s all about being clear what it is that you want to change.
So let’s hack this and get ready to create change!
FOCUS ON OUTCOMES:
What Would you Like to Have Happen?
That is the key question to begin with.
I want you to stay with me. Be persistent. This is easier said than done. Let me tell you why.
When you ask people what they want, many will tell you what they don’t want.
The brain has a natural tendency to focus on what’s not working rather than focus on what you want instead.
I am tired of being stressed. I don’t want to be a slave to work anymore. I can’t take the toxic interactions. The silos are just getting in the way of our success. Managers don’t know how to listen. Leaders are not being strategic enough (whatever that means).
The list goes on. It’s all about what frustrates people, issues they have to deal with, barriers that get in the way.
These are all PROBLEMS.
Most consultants, MBA schools, even thought leaders, encourage you that in order to add value, you have to look for problems to solve. That doesn’t help doesn’t it? You are already being conditioned to look for problems.
Nothing wrong with that — I agree, one way to add value or create a positive impact in this world, is to offer a solution to a problem. That means you go looking for problems to solve.
But in order for you to CREATE CHANGE, you’ve got to take that one step further.
You’ve got to be able to…
REFRAME PROBLEMS into OUTCOMES
How do you do it?
Simple.
FIRST, LISTEN to what people are saying.
SECOND, PAY ATTENTION and determine if what they are expressing is a PROBLEM, a desired REMEDY to a problem, or a desired OUTCOME.
THIRD, ACKNOWLEDGE what people are saying
FOURTH, ASK desire questions in order to elicit an OUTCOME.
FIFTH, CLARIFY by, well, asking clarifying questions and eliminating assumptions as much as possible.
Have you ever wondered how much assumptions we make, thinking we know exactly what other people mean — when actually we have no idea?
On the flip side, we communicate vague statements, assuming others understand exactly what we mean, only to find out they’re on a totally different page.
Yes, that’s the drama that creates a lot of pain not just at work, but in our day to day relationships. Right there — with that lack of clarity clouded by assumptions hovering like a thick cloud covering the sun’s light — is how you just started a change journey on the wrong foot.
It is not enough to articulate an outcome, that outcome has to be clear and well-formed.
Lift the fogginess around the change you want to create.
ONCE YOU GET CLEAR, YOU BECOME CREDIBLE.
This inspires me, I love the concept of asking what is my desired outcome and thinking of the best possible scenario instead of the worst. I’m a believer in that my mind will look for solutions when I ask self empowering questions.