The World Is Evolving
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Thoughts While Changing
Change. We change our shoes, change our hair, change our approach, change our job and sometimes even change our spouse. Change is a reality of our life. The pace of change is simply getting faster and faster. With all this change, we should find it easy to change our behavior.
WRONG .
Behavior change is some of toughest work coaches do with clients. While the process starts with building awareness, there are many twists and turns for client and coach to arrive at the golden destination of sustainable change. Can positive long-term change happen? Of course.
The change we experience is often a result of inner shifts in mindset, values, or habits. Not a light switch but a process. A process that is running in the system of our natural work environment.
Marshall Goldsmith is a renowned executive coach and author. It is no great surprise that studies by Goldsmith state “Development of leaders is a contact sport, not a closet sport.” Lasting change is most successful when the client’s people system is part of the process. “People system” equals the client’s natural work team.
There must be space in the system for the client to change, as taking on a new behavior requires the system to change as well. And team members in the client’s system will need to accept and support the change for it to last.
This is where classical 360 tools fail us. Feedback is delivered, often without context, and it is up to the client to decipher the whole story and change quietly. On the other hand, this is what I love about using the Shift Positive 360 with clients.
The process engages the client’s people system both to identify specific behaviors they want to see more of and individual’s commitments to take an active role in supporting the client to make lasting change. Change happens from the client, but can only last if nurtured and accepted in the system.
This is a unique approach to conducting leadership 360s where the leader not only gets a true narrative picture of strengths and areas for improvement, but also gets a commitment of support towards positive growth from key stakeholders. Happy to share more – just reach out!
