Joy@Work #8
– Change Maker you!
By Vanda North
For the better part of a year I have been sharing ways to increase your joy at work, I do hope that you are experiencing an increase in your joy quotient. As I look back over the topics that have been covered, there is a central theme of managing change, supported by how the small things can make a big positive difference. So, for this final chapter, I will continue with the change focus as it is so very important.
Making a choice to develop the skills and qualities to become a ‘Change Maker’ can set you ahead for work and life in general. Do you feel that you are a Change Maker? I know that you are already one and what follows will allow you to appreciate yourself and thrive in any situation. There is a full profile you may take called The Change Maker Profile, available here: (https://www.thechangemakergroup.com/thechangemakerprofile which will provide you with an in-depth assessment, what follows here is an introduction. There are five roles to change making and they are:
Game Changer Strategist PlayMaker Implementer Polisher
Game Changer
– who composes the original music, new arrangements and new ideas
The Strategist
– who conceives and controls the whole show, concerts to contracts
The PlayMaker
– who coordinates who is in the orchestra and conducts the music
The Implementer
– who causes the actual instruments to be played to make the music!
The Polisher
– who completes and refines all the details for a quality performance.
Which are you? You may be a combination of two of three, but there will be one role that will attract you most. The important point here is that ALL of them are crucial for change to happen. No one role will make change happen: it is like an un-round wheel, very bumpy and inefficient.
There are three aspects to developing your Change Maker roles, they are:
- Conviction
- Confidence and
- Commitment
Conviction
This is your belief, certainty, faith, position, passion, sentiment or persuasion.
It is a strong feeling that you are able to achieve or attain a specific goal.
You can see it in your mind’s eye – you can almost smell and taste it.
It is the filter through which you see all your life, the opportunities, the focus, your raison d’etre. Your convictions will shape what you do, how you do it and why those around you respond as they do.
Have you thought about those things that you are convinced about?
It may well be that, rather like the relationship of the fish and water, it is so all about you that you haven’t given them much conscious attention.
A friend, partner or relation may be a help here. Ask them to note when you have particularly strong views about something. What gets you shouting to the TV?! What groups / hobbies / avocations really get you stirred up?
Conviction is a robust energy, it can make you feel ‘alive’ and if you are consciously aware of it and work / play with your convictions, you are unstoppable.
Confidence
Next is your confidence or self-esteem level, how would you rate yourself?
I am not talking about a braggadocios, bombarding personality (which like bullying is often trying to cover a very low self-concept) but that quiet, strong, self-assured feeling of, ‘I can’,
‘I am able’ or at least, ‘I will find a way’.
How to develop that? There are two main ways, best to do both at once! One is from the outside in – how do you look? Being neat, looking ‘cared for’, shoes clean, hair trim, all show that you have taken some trouble over your appearance. How do you move, walk and hold yourself? All these can help you to feel more confident on the inside.
The other is from the inside out – and that is more incremental. In the Mind Chi Basic 8-minute routine (www.MindChi.com) step number 4 is to take one minute to go over all your successes, big and small from the past 24 hours. Done every day you build up your success bank, you become more aware and realise all those things you can do and even do well!
Commitment
As David Lloyd George says ‘You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps’!
Don’t make the decision to commit lightly, mull it for a while and then one day it will feel right, and you will commit. When you do it is often almost a relief – you have decided – you know where you want to end up. Even if you feel a bit scared, that too is a good motivator. However, if you really think ‘Oh nooooo!’ then return to the mull stage.
When you have committed, then tell people, they will ask you how you are progressing and even more, may make connections, introductions and share ideas to help you achieve your goal. People generally admire and respect a commitment. A great quote, sometimes accredited to Goethe, about commitment is: Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.
Bespoke resilience strategies for the five Change Maker roles:
Blending the 8-steps of the Mind Chi Basic routine with the five roles of the Change Maker you will see below examples of things that often happen in the work place can either be a resilience booster or sucker. What is your environment like? What can you do to make sure that you have more resilience boosters in your day than suckers? How can you support your team members, how can they support you?
One of the great tenants of Joy@Work, is that frequently a small action will make a very positive outcome for yourself and for those around you. Very worthwhile I hope you feel. I wish you much Joy@Work, home and in life.
Vanda North, The Resilient Warrior