How to Survive Extraordinary Transitions

Watching people you love navigate change is hard, and initiating it yourself is even harder. Whether you are preparing for a disruptive career move or planning to shake things up at the highest level of your organization, I can tell you that we’re more or less in the same boat, and good change is achievable when we dedicate ourselves to three elevated priorities.


Priority #1 - Cultivate the Conditions for Peak (Human) Performance

As human beings, we all want and need certain working conditions to bring out our strength and resilience, so if you are already envisioning a good, disruptive change, ask yourself:

  • Does my team have the physical, mental, and emotional capacity to elevate our performance? And do I?

  • If not, what support (or permission) do we need to recharge and regroup?

  • What simple efforts will strengthen our capacity and resolve to stay in the game?


Priority #2 - Let Resistance Shape Your Strategy

Because career transitions and professional ambitions disrupt the status quo, they tend to be met with a lot of resistance, so before you fight back or back down, ask yourself:

  • Where is the resistance coming from, and what basic human fears are driving it?

  • Are we willing to learn more about those relentless fears?

  • What insights must we integrate into our approach so those fears don’t go unaddressed?

If you can answer these questions with some curiosity and compassion, then you can make sure your strategy not only reflects your good, disruptive ideas, but also reflects your commitment to acknowledging discomfort and working with it.


Priority #3 - Help Your Team Outperform Their Expectations

Emerging strong from a period of disruptive change has less to do with flawless planning and execution and more to do with resilient relationships because plans will be rewritten and mistakes will be made, so if you ever find yourself wondering if this will all have been worth it, ask yourself:

  • How will I remind my team how remarkable they already are?

  • How will I continually elevate expectations and their respect for one another?

  • How will I challenge them to think like owners and outplay the game?

…because if your team can keep showing up and collaborating on a goal that’s bigger and better than ALL of you, you will be unstoppable.


 

Elevated leadership can help you learn to navigate extraordinary change

My 6 month Coaching Program is fully customized to help you and your team cultivate conditions for peak performance, so they can outperform expectations and you can make your next big move.

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