The fact is – modern businesses are constantly burdened by long-term problems. These problems don’t go away. They don’t change. They’re not getting any better.
The problem is – not that we lack the courage to confront these problems, we lack the skill. People tend to act like “copers”, rather than influencers.
The outcome is – we develop complex coping mechanisms and justifications to deal with these problems without creating lasting change. Our business plans do not execute as expected, and we have trouble motivating individuals to follow through with goals.
The solution is – to recognize our ability to influence problems. To be an influencer, we must focus on a small number of “high leverage” behaviours, and apply these to our interactions in order to develop superior performance.
The question here is influence. Why do some organizations seem to resolve their issues, while others remain stagnant? What does it take to influence employees in order to get a solution implemented?
The key is to understand that you, as a leader, have the responsibility to find out what motivates your co-workers and apply that knowledge to get results from them.
There are two kinds of companies in the business world. One kind of company has leaders who are continually meeting new challenges, while the other has leaders who resign to dealing with an ever-shrinking list of challenges “within their control”.
One set of companies is innovating and seeking to deal with its problems. The other is setting up barriers to its own accomplishments.
One organization has influencers, the other has leaders who develop coping mechanisms.
It’s so easy to be the second type of company. That’s the company that labels its challenges as “out of its control” or “impossible to resolve”. It is the company that accepts the status quo. It is the company with a group of leaders who don’t understand influence, and haven’t taken the time to see how they can motivate others to perform.
