As someone who spent her late teens and twenties living in Wisconsin, California, Texas, South Carolina, Minnesota and New York, I’ve always been pretty able to adapt to change. Change excites me, in fact. Last week I started a new gig at a 42-year-old agency. Not surprisingly, not everyone is as welcoming of “the brave new world” of marketing as I may be, though there are definitely some major bright spots. I’m not alone in my passions, and that’s incredibly important.
Personally, in my sometimes idealistic little brain, I think an agency — any agency — should be filled with 100% individuals who have massive intellectual curiosity and embrace new ideas, new technologies, and new people. But that’s indeed idealistic and I try to brand myself as a realist. So, instead, I am – to use a friend’s terminology – cultivating a garden of patience. I am heeding my pre-gig horoscope which warned: “You will meet with resistance if you are too pushy and bold.” I don’t believe one can be too bold, per se, but one, especially this one, can be too pushy.
My new mantra: small victories. Someone fixing the broken link on the agency blog. New, more strategic content on the agency blog forthcoming. A few people agreeing to use Yammer to share news, articles, research between agency offices. While I might hope for more, being the change hog that I am, that’s not a bad first week. I’ll take it and I’ll happily come back for more.
It will be interesting to see if this degree of transparency – which I consider far from “radical” – raises any hackles. I should be clear, I am not representing that this agency is “broken” and I am the savior, by any stretch of the imagination. There were a lot of good things happening long before I came along. Before I was born, in fact, and I am no Spring chicken. But I will also transparently say that there is a need for people to breathe in new life from time to time, in any organization. And where is this more true than in an agency, where we are responsible for leading a wide variety of brands into said brave new world?
So from my first week, here are things I’ve become acutely aware that I will need to do to be an effective-and-not-annoying “new life breather”.
1. Cultivate patience. A bumper crop of it.
2. With patience comes persistence. Small victories every week over time will add up to big ones.
3. Have both “gentle” mode and “bold” mode. They each will have a time and a place.
4. Do your homework, always. The more “proof” you have for your positions, obviously, the more credibility you will establish for the next time you suggest a change.
5. Lead by example. This has always been a favorite and, in my opinion, is one of the most important strategies for any successful leader.
6. Identify and nurture your like-minded allies, the ones who can help you make things happen.
7. Be an energizer. This requires a “relentless focus on the positive”. In my new role, I am relentlessly working on this.
There, of course, are more. These are the ones that are top of mind for me right now. Tell me please, what are yours?
Photo credit: David King
8. Assume you’re wrong, even when you know you’re right.
Good one, Tamsen. And one of the hardest! Humility is key. If everyone thinks you’re a know-it-all and hates you it’s pretty hard to get much done : )
A colleague of mine told me when I moved to the company last year to not lose my “alien eyes” – the ability to question everything because you don’t know “we’ve always done it that way”
It’s easier to question things when you don’t know any better.
Precisely. I spend a lot of time thinking, “how is this most likely to be heard?” 99% of the time, the way it’s most likely to be heard is NOT the way I would say / approach it if the world were filled only with me. I ask a LOT of questions, and usually hide my opinion in them. Success to me is when someone thinks the change was *their* idea.
Great point, Bob. Thanks for adding it!
“Sue(per) strikes again while us readers cultivate a garden of patience for her next post!”
That’s my headline. I also wrote headlines at the Onion newspaper, however most weren’t looked at and even fewer used. Sue, I’m glad you referenced Yammer, it’s a useful service I tried to pioneer over at the Onion, I wonder if they use it now. It would be great for headlines, and good ones come with patience.
Check out my latest post and tell me what you think too!
http://iheart.faqsnews.com/2009/10/renewel
I believe that your “gentle” mode can only occur after 6 beers.
Great post and comments, as always.
My favorite bit of Wisdom:
The more “proof” you have for your positions, obviously, the more credibility you will establish for the next time you suggest a change.
Amen.
Screenshots, numbers, success stories, examples from industry leaders, etc all go miles farther in changing hearts and minds than just telling someone your opinion.
Good luck and have fun on the new venture!
Thank you, Tim. I’ll bet you are an awesome change agent.
Proof, too, requires patience. I need to apply the “proof” point TODAY so thanks for calling it out.
I’m adding another one this morning. Don’t expect anyone to be perfect, including yourself. : )
9. Let someone else take the credit and praise. Your team will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Conversely, keep all the blame and negativity to yourself – no need to share that with your team.
GREAT advice Gerald. Thanks for adding.
Epilogue: It’s not even two weeks since I wrote this post, and it’s incredibly challenging to heed this advice, especially the “patience” part. And the “relentlessly positive” part. When you’re not getting enough sleep, and not getting enough exercise, and not getting enough time with your family, how, then, do you cultivate patience and remain relentlessly positive?
Take a deep breath, or 100 deep breaths, find a way to find more balance, and just do it…and count on your friends to give you a pep talk : )
Part of the nurturing in #6 should include generously sharing credit, which definitely helps build allies.