There’s a downpour of challenges and a drought of people ready to rise.
Why people don’t rise to new challenges:
People never rise to an ambiguous challenge. Before you call people to rise to new challenges, define the win.
“Let’s do better,” offends people who believe they’re doing their best. “Let’s work harder,” frustrates people who are working hard.
4 steps to defining the win:
- Go negative before going positive. Feel the pain before calling people to rise. Describe the future if you don’t change. For example, “What will be true next month, if we keep doing the same things? People need to feel the need for change before you call them to rise.
- Paint a picture of the rising sun. What will be true if we make this difficulty or frustration better? ‘Reaching the numbers’ isn’t a rising sun! A rising sun is about people. What will be true for people if you succeed?
- Focus on immediate opportunities. What does it mean to rise TODAY? You might ask, “If I walked into your area and saw you rising to this challenge, what would I see you doing?” Talk is important. Behaviors change things.
- Call people to rise to new behaviors. I hope you enjoy an unsatisfying present if you aren’t willing to adopt new behaviors. Be specific, relevant, and actionable. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t matter.
Challenge:
It’s delightful to talk about changing others.
We hide behind blaming others. You get to raise your hands in noble exasperation and say, “I can’t force people to change.” But you can CHANGE YOURSELF.
Why don’t people rise to new challenges?
What might you add to the four steps to define the win?
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This post was previously published on Leadership Freak with a Creative Commons License.
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Photo credit: iStock
