Degree of Difficulty

There could be a degree of difficulty.

Trying new things, working in new ways or joining new teams can present challenges. Not everything is easy, simple, clear or certain to ‘go our way’. Any time you’re working with or on something new, there could be a degree of difficulty with it.

Yes, just like athletes in diving, skating, skiing - and many other sports - there’s a grade or tariff in a technical skill.

As the world of work keeps changing, your role may change, the system may change, the leader may change, customers change. And with every change, there could be some challenge and difficulty.

Rather than resisting, blocking, denying or ignoring the new, try it. Practice it, try it out, and again. No great skill, insight or learning came from persistent resistance.

New ways of doing things are new to some of us because we haven’t done things like this, in this way, using this system/process/app/tool/method before. As we try to think and do things in new ways, be kind to those experiencing these degrees of difficulty.

We've all been there. Don’t push people down the ramp. Let them take it step by step.

Start slow

This sign may not be out the front of your new workplace or on the door of that meeting you’re about to walk into, but take its message on.

When you’re working in a new area, starting a new project, trying some new processes or initiating new things, start slow. There’s plenty we don’t know and can’t yet see or understand. Start, yes. But no need to go all frenetic and chaotic.

You can still be committed, interested and intrigued ... and slow.

Many people are frustrated with change, that it’s:

🌕 too fast

🌕 not fast enough

🌕 too much

🌕 never ending

🌕 yawn, just the same as last year.

Take care. Moving fast may indeed break things. And people.

You don’t need to hide, restrict or withhold. It’s not that. It’s care, caution and safety. For you first ... and then others.

Boo! It’s why the worst leaders are brash, pushy, rude and dangerous. And completely unaware.

Yay! It’s why the best leaders ask questions, observe and enquire, are curious and engaging, building up awareness, scoping it out … and then moving. 

Waiting until the facts are in

In times of crisis, smart leaders in customer-focused organisations know they can't wait for all the facts. Not ALL. They need to act based on what they know.

The same thing can apply in our work, business, as entrepreneurs, leaders, team members. Being in the red zone, waiting and hesitating, not doing anything until we know more is fine… to a point. But how much MORE do you need? At what point will you go with what you’ve got? What are you expecting will come along that WILL make you feel like you’re good to go?

It’s usually better to get started when you have a few facts, ‘enough’ to get going. Then you can adapt - green zone - as more information becomes available.

This ability and willingness to be more in the amber zone of acting with some knowledge, is part of newer ways of working. It means we respond and adapt when more information comes in, when more things are known.

For many it certaintly IS a new way of thinking and working. It’s about working in uncertainty and in a changing environment, to put perfect or expectations of perfect aside. It’s time to act… and adapt as things change.

What’s the new-A-U

Business as usual has been, well, business as usual (BAU) for ever!

In the business world it’s the stuff that’s done to make everyday operational activities happen.

So ...what’s the NEW A U ? What new things are happening that will bring about change? What’s planned up ahead that will continue to challenge thinking, challenge convention and bring a new mindset and behaviour to how things are done?

Whether you’re a leader of a team, a team member in an organisation, or a solo operator running yourown show, what's your ’new as usual’?

How are you bringing new things into your business regularly? The new can be scary, untested, untried. I heard someone recently say, ‘I’m not trying something new unless it's guaranteed to work’. But how will you know it could work, unless you try it?

New ways of thinking and working help you gain the benefits of those new ways sooner, delivering advantages and value to your customers, gaining the advances of first and early movers. Want to wait until more or the majority of people are doing something, because it’s less risky or safer? Great. Go line up and wait... over there. I’m moving along to NEW-A-U. See ya!

Dissing the new

In the area of 'new ways of working' there are opportunities to, you know, try new things. New ways of doing things are happening the world over, across diverse sectors and deep into different domains and areas of expertise.

So there is new. There are opportunities to look, learn and try out the new.

How wonderful!

It’s perplexing when of course some people - no, not you - but some people, dismiss the new.

They dis the new. They bag it, disrespect it, criticize it and claim it’s not for them. But it’s new! How can you dis it if you haven’t even tried it?

Ok, then if you have tried it or have done it, you have incredible experience and insight to offer. And it’s a shame and a waste when that experience isn’t invited, acknowledged, listened to or leveraged in organisations. Our experience gets dissed.

Looking ahead, will you dive in and try the new or will you stand back and dis the new?

How can we adapt to newer ways of thinking and working if we're too busy dissing?