Beware the Lure of the New: Sustainable Change

It’s been a hell of a few months. We’ve had to adapt fast, as the world around us has gone mad. For many of us, it hasn’t been all bad. COVID has provided the opportunity to accelerate change that’s been in the works for a while – digital transformation, more flexible and remote working are two biggies.

As Trade Me and The Warehouse Group slash staff numbers and shift their operating models, ostensibly due to the pandemic, murmurs from commentators tell a different story: those companies are seizing the opportunity to make changes that have been in the works for some time.

We’ve had that here too. Shifting to virtual facilitation and executive coaching has enabled us to speed up big new initiatives, providing the chance to hit go on more leveraged forms of delivery as we launch forward with training, licensing and distribution.

Take care, though: The lure of the new is powerful, but it can come at the expense of the now. When we get too tangled up in the new, we risk losing what’s working now.

I love the concept of “dual transformation”, described in the book of the same name. In Dual Transformation, the authors argue that when we’re faced with disruptive change (like, I don’t know, a global pandemic) we need to do two things at the same time: reposition our existing work by stabilising the core, while we build a new engine for the future.

I spent two days last week in deep facilitation mode, crafting a four-year strategic direction with the Board and executive team of a regional sporting trust. We took the time to get clear on strategic priorities, developing a carefully balanced path toward the new (connecting with new groups, activating new spaces and supporting emerging sports) while retaining the best of the now (the core relationships, programmes and events that create proven value for their community.) It was a brilliant couple of days, my first long-form in-person delivery since COVID, and a wonderful reminder of how much I enjoy working alongside committed teams that have found themselves stuck when it comes to the future.

On the trip home, I had an eerily parallel call with my mentor. As soon as Pete was on the phone, I excitedly described all the new things we’ve got on the agenda: my second book, the pilot for a new leadership programme, strategic conversation training workshops in Wellington and Auckland and preparation for the licensing of our business change accelerator. However, I didn’t get the encouraging reception I expected.

Instead, I got a kind warning: The new stuff is great, but, like all new things, it’s still unproven and uncertain. Without enough energy for sustaining our foundation, we’re taking on unnecessary risk.

The same is true for teams and leaders who are stuck in the now – without sufficient preparation for the future, we risk losing opportunities and relevance as the world marches on unheeded.

The nexus is in the next – what we need to try, and what we need to learn. When we build from a foundation of what we’re already great at, with a mindset of curiosity and experimentation, we minimise our downside while creating an exciting new future. Resisting the temptation to set everything on fire is one of my hardest leadership lessons, but it’s a critical one.

Get the balance wrong, and we risk not having a future at all.

How’s your balance right now?

Are you doing enough to stabilise your now, and to move toward your new?

I’d love to hear your stories.