Better We, Better Week- February 19, 2024: Why Agility is Required to Thrive

Great Morning Team,

Suffice to say, we have gone through a significant amount of rapid change as an organization these last few years transforming our daily work, conversations, and routines, shifting how we work and the way we work. We have been asked to develop and foster a Growth Mindset and to be open to considering different ways of thinking and doing. This was quite present for me in my recent experience working on our Blog project. The idea of learning WordPress, and then having the courage to try, test and experiment with this new technology I had never used before initially left me in a bundle of nerves. While we had the permission to go with a “safer choice” platform, which was presented to me late in the planning stages, there was something innate in me about not wanting to walk away from a challenge. Curiosity and FOMO were taunting me, (or should I say haunting me), to take on the test of utilizing new technology that intuitively, I knew would be better, even though I did not have the “know-how” right way. To add to the complexity of all of this, I needed to make the decision of which platform to utilize rather quickly, as individuals on the team were ready to develop the infrastructure in just a matter of days. After two consultative conversations with my Mentors, I knew what the right choice was, and ultimately, we made the decision to have the blog created on WordPress. Furthermore, given time constraints, I realized I needed to think differently and learn to adapt to different modes of communicating and collaborating, such as less meetings and more email to create greater efficiency.

In the end, I can say for sure being open and receptive to having the courage to try, think, and do things differently, to be open to change, to be agile, and step out of my comfort zone created greater self-awareness, and provided me the opportunity to test and eventually overcome my own assumptions, braking through the limitations I realized I had created for myself. I learned a great deal through this process and in the end, we as a team created this amazing structure that will connect everyone together and inspire thoughts, ideas, and shared experiences for our individual and organizational growth. Was I alone in all of this?  Absolutely not. I was surrounded by amazing talented team members in our organization to help and support each other and this project throughout the entire journey.

Now, image if we chose not to go the distance, didn’t have the courage to embrace change, and refused to be agile in our way of thinking and doing, resulting in not creating the blog in the first place? While nothing catastrophic would have occurred in the short term, it would have been one less structure built dedicated to our growth, which in turn, could have limited our experiences of idea sharing, innovation & levels of developmental thinking over time. (Ok, perhaps it’s “slightly catastrophic”.)  Let’s take this concept even further: What could happen if, as an entire organization, we refuse to be open minded, choosing not to adapt or budge in our thinking and way of doing things, despite our ever-present world of VUCA? (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity).  Enclosed is a case study of a heartbreaking and ironic story of what happened to one well-known business where the result WAS catastrophic: Kodak. They simply disappeared. It happened because they refused to change, refused to listen to those within their organization who thought differently, bringing new ideas and technology to the surface, and finally, refused to be agile in the wake of it all. Check out the article from Peoplebuilders, “Personal Agility: A Must Have Leadership Competency” to see the bigger picture of why agility is vital as a competency for each of us to embrace, enabling us to thrive individually and organizationally in our growth journey forward. https://www.peoplebuilders.com.au/blog/personal-agility-a-must-have-leadership-competency

Wishing you all a Better We, Better Week! 😊

Lori Beth