Great Questions for Change Leaders

The only constant in life (and in business!) is CHANGE! So, especially these days, we ALL need to be change agents - taking personal responsibility for improving our own performance in whatever part of the business we operate.

To stay on top of some of the elements that we need to monitor, here are ten key questions for Change Agents, based on an idea from Harvard Business Magazine...

1. Do you see opportunities the competition doesn't see? Do you look for different ways to see the world and your customers?

2. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas? Do you tap the brains of your team?

3. Are you the 'most' something (most efficient; most creative; most caring; etc)?

4. If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why? Who are your raving fans?

5. Have you figured out how your organization's history can help to shape its future? Learn from the past to create a better result in the future!

6. Can your customers live without you? What would they do if your product or service was no longer available from you?

7. Do you treat different customers differently? If so, how? If not, why not?

8. Are you getting the best contributions from the most people? Are you accessing all of the potential of all of your people?

9. Are you consistent in your commitment to change? Do you recognise that change is a journey, not a destination?

10. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing? What are you doing to increase the speed of your learning?

Use these questions as an audit of your attitude to change and take action on any that are real gaps in your change strategy. Remember, a positive attitude is always the best place to start. Believing that there will be a good outcome of the change program is half the battle!

Are your attitudes contagious?

Listening to the media meltdown about the dreaded Swine Flu, and experiencing the impact of people's responses to it, has me thinking (again!) about the contagious nature of attitudes.

Coming from the Australian Swine Flu capital (Victoria), I'm distressed at the media stories suggesting that the whole state is infected (one story had one in every three people with the new flu - which, by the way, is less severe than the everyday variety!). Our tourism industry is being hammered; hotels and restaurants are feeling the pain. From a local's perspective, it feels like a very big 'beat-up'.

So, thinking about this pandemic, here are a couple of important questions for you. Is there a contagious "flu" of negativity at your workplace? And who are the carriers?

As a manager, you need to make sure your attitudes are strong, positive and healthy because you are more likely to be contagious - people will be looking to you for guidance on how to respond to all the storms that are racing through the business world at the moment - GEC, Swine Flu, etc, etc.

If you start 'sneezing' - sending out bad vibes - before you know it, everybody will catch a sniffle. If you notice symptoms in yourself, or others, take immediate action. Your prescription is to take two smiles (do something that makes you happy!) and call me in the morning!

And if you have the flu, of any type, I hope you feel better soon!