Your business mindset can make or break your success as an entrepreneur or manager. A growth mindset focuses on becoming better at what you do, while a fixed mindset focuses on showing off how great you already are. The former allows you to grow and succeed over time, while the later leaves you stuck in place, unable to progress further and achieve new heights of success. So how do you adopt a growth mindset that will help your company reach new heights of success and establish itself as a leader and innovator in your field? Let us explain…
Why Change Is Important
It is no secret that a large number of founders end up leaving their companies by request from their boards because of their unwillingness to adapt to change. It requires a different set of skills to grow and scale a business than it does to start one, and it is not uncommon for business founders to blame their stagnant growth and sales on their team, rather than their own inability to embrace change. Most business owners fail to recognize that the importance of change is not just to keep up with the latest trends, but to be innovative and stay ahead of the competition. Leading with innovation is arguably the only way to keep your business relevant in today’s ever-changing world.
Overcoming the Fear of Change
Naturally, many people’s biggest fear when it comes to changing their business is whether or not they will succeed in doing so. The fear stems from the worry that their efforts put into making changes will not yield any progress, or worse – things will turn out worse than they were before.
Even small changes in the workplace can rattle employees, so it is understandable that owning a mentality of change can bring about a fearful response from executives as well. Acknowledging and accepting that change is crucial in the first step to overcoming this fear.
Stever Robbins, executive business coach, has a very practical approach to fear. He advises, “When you fear change, write down your fears on paper so you have them in an objective form and can stop dwelling on them. Then go through each one and jot down what you would do in the event that fear came to pass. Knowing you have a backup plan can defuse the emotional angst.” Sounds simple, right? This is only one practice, and as we mentioned, the first step is addressing the fear and also owning a plan of action in response to the fear.
Embracing a Growth Mindset
Leadership and employees must see the value in change before they can accept it. Show them the positive benefits of the changes to come and how the effects of these changes will create a more desirable future than their current reality. Highlight examples of businesses that have owned a mentality of change and how they became wildly successful when doing so.
In short, show them the opportunities for growth within the company, and how this pertains to each of them on a personal level. Once they allow themselves to overcome their fears and embrace a growth mindset based on a solid plan that the company has put into place, the easier the transition will be across every role.
Communication is Key
When presenting changes in your business, it is imperative to articulate the facts. You do not want your colleagues and employees to start imagining worst-case scenarios or engaging in conversations that spread misinformation.
Effective communication will help eliminate the fear of coming changes within the business and support your colleagues and employees in embracing a growth mindset.
Get involved
With change comes the opportunity to take on new challenges and exceed expectations. Owning a mentality of change means approaching what’s coming with an attitude of learning and flexibility. Even if you don’t necessarily like or agree with new ways of doing things in your business, by remaining flexible, you ensure that people will want to continue working with you and will also see change as an opportunity for growth.
You want to model the behaviors that you’d like to see in your team. Walk it like you talk it! In business especially, it is troubling for employees to see upper management not walking their talk. This can lead your team to believe that the changes you are advocating for are in fact not beneficial to the organization, breeding skepticism and doubt. You may have your own doubts, which is normal. However, owning a mentality of change is all about moving past these doubts and focusing on the end goal; innovation and growth.
Own a mentality of change, with BOLD Change
Owning a mentality of change is a core part of the BOLD Methodology(TM) because when you believe that change is possible, then transformation becomes possible.
If your organization could benefit from business transformation, contact BOLD Change, the strategic consulting firm that enables organizations to accomplish breakthrough innovations and transformative change.