Next Level Leader: Originals – Agents Of Change
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It’s a familiar adage: “The only constant in life is change.”1 Even if you argue that life has more “constants,” most of us can agree that life is ever-changing and that in modern times the pace of change is ever-increasing. As Next Level leaders, you understand not only the inevitability of change, but are often asked to promote it. Leaders are more effective when they are looking for new ideas which they can develop in order to help enhance their company and the people served through it. To be a successful agent of change, you need to think like an “Original.” In his book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World,2 organizational psychologist and professor Adam Grant outlines several traits of these change agents, including their innate curiosity and how they deal with risk. ORIGINALS QUESTION DEFAULTS: An Original’s favorite question is: “Why?” It is such curiosity that fuels ideas. The Original will always be asking, “Why?” when it comes to processes the company employs, the decisions the company makes, or the products and services the company provides. For instance, photography in the 1940s required photos to be developed using a darkroom and processing lab—it was the accepted standard. However, one sunny afternoon Edwin Land was vacationing with his family and took some photos of his daughter, Jennifer. Unaware of the standard, she asked, “Why do we have to wait for the picture?” Years later, Land recalled in a speech his thinking at the time: “Why not design a picture that can be developed right away?” That question led to Land’s five-year quest to bring to market the Polaroid Instant Camera, which changed the world of photography.3
Win Activity Consider the routines at work or the accepted standards within your company or industry. Think of three “Why’s?” that are worthy of investigating at a deeper level. #1 #2 #3
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