Let It Go to Remain Relevant

As circumstances and needs change, our approaches must follow suit. Extra weight can include beliefs about things we may have held true and got us to where we are, methodologies or principles we view as “the right way,” and practices that may have been the best practice in previous years, but we have since learned much more. As more research and situations evolve, it’s time to evaluate these beliefs.

To remain relevant as an organization, leader, or professional, consider these themes:

Abandoning Disproved Beliefs

These last few months have taught some hard lessons about how mindsets can keep us equipped or left in the dust. While some leaders claimed for years that employees working from home couldn’t be trusted to perform, those same leaders quickly came to rely on remote workforces. Those mindsets existed despite research on increased productivity. But we’ve long known facts don’t always change minds.

The leaders who tested assumptions well before COVID knew they could trust their employees to be productive, and witnessed employees performing better and with increased commitment and satisfaction.

Those who were already practicing remote work before sanctions hit are now further ahead because they know their talent can come from and work wherever. Anywhere.

Zoom is Zoom, whether at the office or in Tahiti. Also, remote work offers greater access to a diverse candidate pool. Diverse teams tend to make decisions with more accuracy and objectivity, and organizations with more diverse management teams have more robust financial returns.

Employers now have a HUGE talent pool and can be selective with talent and take comfort in knowing that some of the best talent is interested in coming to your organization.

Change Must Happen with Agility

For years we’ve been taught the Waterfall approach of change management, which is to do phases one at a time. The result? Projects take longer than necessary with cost and opportunity implications. Instead, we MUST adopt to Agile change management or change at warp speed.

In our fast-paced economy, a month later to market means your competitor is now leading, and with that went your revolutionary idea, market share, and anticipated revenue. Change can’t be about comfort and ease; it must be about confidently and swiftly making stuff happen through clear, ongoing, and direct communication and planning!

Risk Aversion

Yes, you need to make calculated decisions and follow legislation, but are you saying no because of the following risk-averse statements:

• Overreliance on data: “We can’t decide yet because we don’t have all the information/data.”
• Buy-in assumptions: “Our shareholders probably won’t be on board.”
• Strategy shift apprehension: “That’s not what we do here.”
• Market gloom: “The market’s too vulnerable.”
• Fear of turnover: “People have enough going on, and it’ll push them overboard.”
• Tolerating the jerk: “We can’t let that person go. They bring in results.”

In talking with an HR leader about an executive at risk of termination, the jerk risk aversion scenario surfaced. While the executive brought in a lot of revenue, he consistently yelled at staff, lacked integrity, and had a surplus of ego; this led to low morale and high turnover.

The HR leader said, “What should we do? He produces results.” My response: “Which results are you referring to?” In a survey conducted by ASU, 66% reported decreased productivity, and 80% lost time worrying about encounters when asked about the impact of incivility at work. We know our decisions and operating norms define our culture. We must be ready to move forward, consider our gut as another datapoint, accept what’s likely the worst-case scenario, and amp up our appetite for risk.

Good, Better, Best

There are many good things we can be doing but rarely is the case that all necessary resources align. The options we say “no” to are just as important as what we say “yes” to. We need to dig deeper to categorize opportunities into buckets of Good, Better, or Best. This clear delineation helps us decipher through benefits, level of effort, the approach of depth or breadth, anticipated return, what moves our culture forward, or attracts more of our target market (both customers and talent).

In commercial aviation, it’s deciding cost vs. amenities, managing weight restrictions by limiting fuel, cargo, or passengers. We can’t do it all, so decision making should consider the reality that whatever we say “yes” to, we’re saying “no” to something else. And we should then confidently be able to articulate BEST and deliver BEST.

Let it Go, Let it Go

The old adage says, “Knowledge is power,” which is half-baked at best. Application of knowledge is power because it facilitates intentional mindset and decision-making, which then creates change and generate outcomes. It gets us unstuck from our stubbornness or unintentional ignorance. As you hear Elsa’s voice urging you to “let it go,” name your opportunity. Deciding how you’ll let it go releases you to pick up what will get you where you and your organization need to be to remain relevant.