Change doesn’t have to be painful

The challenges facing government employees are HUGE but the solutions don’t need to be painful.  Change is only hard when we are unwilling to let go of the past.  We all have this weird need to justify the “rightness” of past behavior.

Who we have been and what we have done has nothing to do with who we are now unless we choose to chain ourselves to our history.

We are not our actions; we are that which acts and
we act based on our best awareness AT THAT TIME.

If we hold on to the past we also limit our ability to see current possibilities.  We don’t see reality; we see what we expect to see.  If you doubt the science of this fact I encourage you to read Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.

Case in point: The Partnership for Public Service hosted a panel entitled “Leadership Beyond Limits: Breakthrough Practices for Increasing Employee Motivation” at Excellence in Government Live on Sept. 6^th.  The key “breakthrough” takeaways were:

1. 1.   Remind employees why they came to work for government in the first place. 

2. 2.   Connect employees to the mission.

3. 3.   Mentoring and coaching are key.

All three are important, but what struck me was that they are all top down approaches.  Each one is a “Telling” solution to an “Asking” problem.

Government employees don’t need to be told more, they need to be listened to more.  Employees tune out tellers, but are engaged by leaders who ask.   The single greatest predictor of employee engagement is whether they “like” their immediate supervisor.  The best way to show someone you care is by listening.

The ONLY way I know what’s truly important is by watching how people respond.  This is what makes live presentations so much more powerful than webcasts and tele-seminars.

Share your thoughts and I will send you a Change the Buzz™ medallion.  It makes a great paper weight or ball marker, but more importantly it is designed to remind you to be conscious of your “Buzz”.

Where we are, what we do, what we have and how much we enjoy all begin with the conversations we have with ourselves.  Notice the stories you tell yourself. Are they tragedies, mysteries, horror stories, or are they stories of success, accomplishment, opportunity and encouragement?  Are you the all-powerful protagonist or the ever cynical antagonist?  It is not your workload that determines your stress but your stories.  Change your stories and you change your life.  Change your life and you can change the world.