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Take ownership and stop blaming your predecessors

One of the greatest problems I see in organizations is a lack of ownership. The most popular excuse I hear for this problem is, “[My predecessor] should have done this but didn’t and now it is too big of a mess to cleanup.”

Guess what? It’s your job! Most of the time, I find that the predecessor did not mess anything up but the successor just doesn’t understand how things worked before and why things were done the way they were done, which is a totally separate issue. It’s a complete cop out to blame someone who cannot even defend themselves.

If you don’t like the way things are, don’t just sit there and blame someone else for your problems. Take ownership of your role! But, how in the world are you supposed to do that? Start with five “knows.”

Know that not everything that was done before is bad. Have an open mind and don’t shut everything out and try to change it all just because you wouldn’t have done it that way. This is a horrible epidemic in leadership. Every new leader comes in and changes everything. It’s rarely ever a positive thing. You think you’re making things better but all you’re doing is making your staff suffer. Before you start changing everything, do a diligent evaluation of what is working well and what is not before making a single change.

Know that it’s okay to change and how to do it right. Not everything you inherit will be gold. Once you do a thorough evaluation, begin the change process for things that need improvement. Don’t just sit there and whine about how your predecessor screwed it all up for you and how it’s impossible to change. Do something about it! Make sure to include your stakeholders though, particularly your employees and your customers. A new leader who storms in and just starts tearing things apart is not going to get much support.

Know that you’re not alone so build some relationships. New employees have what I like to call the “freshman syndrome.” They act like they’re in high school again and become paranoid that the more veteran employees are automatically going to pick on them. Well, get over yourselves! If you’re a new leader, I can assure you that your employees are just as weary about you as you are about them so why not make them feel better? You are the leader, after all. Make them feel welcomed and comfortable. Get to know them. Ask them questions, seek their feedback and involve them in changes.

Know that trust is earned – not just trust with you but trust in you. You’re not going to immediately trust everyone you encounter so don’t expect them to trust you right away. Show your team that you’re worthy of leading them. Embrace those who question you and challenge you; don’t punish them for it.

Know that you can make a difference. So, you don’t understand how or why things were done before and it just seems completely backwards to you. Then, fix it. Don’t be afraid to take some risks and turn things around for the better. If you do it right, you and your team can be extremely successful. Don’t blame anyone for the problems you think you inherited. Take ownership of it and you can make a real and lasting impact.

Here’s a bonus piece of advice – people who take ownership don’t flaunt it. They don’t need to talk about it – about their predecessors not doing a good job, about them turning things around or about how hard it is to be them.

Ownership is very noticeable. There’s no hiding it. Take ownership and stop blaming your predecessors!


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Focus on one: Quick transformations that stick

Have you ever been part of an initiative to make a change and it fell apart, did not last very long or was not enforced (so no one actually did it)? Silly me, right? Of course you have! We all have! Change is not easy. It is something that organizations have been trying to do forever and most have not found anything that works.

First, let’s talk about some methods that do NOT work but many organizations still insist on doing. Let’s save you some time because as my mother says, “You can often learn as much from others’ mistakes as you can from your own.”

  • Change it but don’t say it. It’s hard enough for people to experience change but to make a change and not tell them about it is even worse. Ask employees for their feedback, include them in the change and inform them throughout the process.
  • Say it but don’t change it. This happens too. Don’t say you’re going to make a change (especially if it’s a positive one) and then not maintain the change. This happens a lot with process improvement initiatives where organizations will make some efficiency changes and then a few months down the road, everyone resorts back to the way they used to do things. This can be frustrating for the staff who put a lot of work in making the improvement changes. Get buy-in and ownership and hold each other accountable.
  • Put it in the 3-5-10 Year Plans. Why is everything is a three, five or ten year plan? Successful transformations can happen in a lot less time than that. What usually happens with the 3-5-10 year plans is that by the time the deadline hits, there are new leaders in charge of the plans who end up making brand new 3-5-10 year plans. Therefore, nothing gets done, everything is a blame game and it becomes the cycle of operations.
  • Change it all. Organizations try to change everything at once. When you have too much change going on or too many initiatives in motion, people get confused. You cannot blame them for not buying in when they can’t even understand what is going on. You cannot change everything and expect it to happen quickly.

So, how do we solve this problem of unsuccessful change management? I have one solution and only one solution for you to try. Transform one thing at a time. For example, if you’re trying to shift the culture of an organization to be more team oriented, start with one department or one manager’s team. Survey only that one team, see if you can get to the root of the problem and implement your solutions with them. The problem is not usually with the plans or solutions that people come up with; it’s the fact that they are trying to implement that plan or solution at too large of a scale.

The same concept works when we’re trying to make transformations, in people or in organizations. If you can get one team to make significant transformations that last, other leaders will be knocking on your door begging you to work your magic on their department or team. Then, the larger impact will be felt and it will last longer. Plus, if you only make one transformation at a time, you can probably do it in less time. Forget the 3-5-10 year plans for change; make 3-6-9 month transformations one at a time. Focus on one to make quick transformations that stick!

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Engaging a Free Agent Workforce

We’re all free agents. We always have been but more and more, we’re seeing people take advantage of their free agency. So, how do you engage a workforce full of free agents?

It’s not going to be easy but employers need to start thinking about customization and personalization. Each generation, each profession and each person may want something totally different out of their companies. The most forward thinking companies are trying out some different tactics to keep their best employees around. You should too!

Flexible Scheduling

Don’t just enforce a 4-day work week policy on everyone and call it a day. Flexible scheduling means that you allow for employees to flex their schedules as necessary so that they can have a better integration of their work and life. It’s about empowering people to do what they need to do and connecting the different pieces of their lives to make it whole rather than separate parts.

Service Initiatives

Offer financial and other resources for employees to support the nonprofit organizations and causes that they care the most about. Allow them to volunteer together. It builds teamwork and makes people feel like their values are aligned with the organization’s values.

A Sense of Place

With so many differing opinions, perspectives and values in the workplace, it’s never been more difficult to provide meaning for people at work. It’s the key to engagement, though. We need to be able to provide employees with a sense of place, a sense of belonging. Companies need to work extremely closely with leadership to ensure that employees feel connected to their work.

Regardless of the methods you choose to achieve the above factors, make sure that you are always re-evaluating to make sure that your practices are changing as your workforce changes. Customization and personalization are difficult things to accomplish but they are extremely important to engaging a free agent workforce.

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Your choice: Peer to fear or peer to pioneer?

So, you’ve been promoted. Congratulations, you’re now in charge of your peers and possibly, your friends!

Don’t panic! Here’s a recommendation you can follow to be successful. I call it the LASH OUT solution.

Layout expectations for everyone.

If you outline your expectations to your entire team, including your friends, everyone will know what they need to do. Be very clear about what results need to be produced.

In addition to the work, successful leaders define expectations for their teams related to people skills and team behaviors. Tell your team the kind of leader you’re willing to be and make clear what your expectations are of them, individually and as a team.

Avoid favoritism.

Don’t treat your friends better than everyone else. This sounds simple but it’s actually very difficult to do consistently. People are often afraid of breaking friendships if they don’t give their friends special treatment. As my mother would say, if they don’t want to be your friend for doing the right thing, they’re not good friends to begin with.

Now, I’m not a believer that you cannot keep your friendships or build new ones with team members. However, leaders need to constantly remind themselves of the line between friendship and leadership. Don’t let your friends on the team get away with doing less work, producing lower quality results or misbehaving. You’re only hurting yourself if you play favorites. Plus, it makes you lose credibility.

Spread the love.

Did you used to go out to eat or enjoy happy hour with some of the employees you now lead? No one’s asking you to stop but you might want to consider inviting the rest of the team sometimes or doing these same things with rest of your team members. If you can include everyone in the activities that build personal relationships, you may end up with a really awesome team who not only enjoys working together but genuinely enjoys each other.

Hold your entire staff accountable for team and individual goals and behaviors.

Remember when we talked about expectations? Don’t just set them. Hold people accountable for them. If someone on your team needs coaching, even if it’s your friend, coach them. Communicate to them that you want to help but that you also have expectations of them.

The goal is to get the most out of your team so that you can lead change, create positive results and make a difference together.

Opt out of all the gossip.

The days of water cooler chat are over when you’re promoted to a leadership position. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in the gossip. Not that it’s okay for your employees to be gossiping but when you’re a leader, you need to be the one who sets the example.

Understand your employees.

Get to know everyone on your team, not just your friends. Learn about what they like, what motivates them and what frustrates them. Use what you learn to personalize your leadership to each person. Just like people learn differently, people also respond to leadership styles differently. Adapt as necessary. Leaders must be nimble.

Take time outs.

You can disagree all you want but you are never too busy to take a time out. Time outs are for reflecting and re-energizing, Take time outs often to think about the things you can do differently to lead your team successfully and to get motivated to do them.

Use this LASH OUT model to ensure a successful transition from peer to leader. Ultimately, it’s your choice. Do you want to go from peer to fear or peer to pioneer? LASH OUT and pioneer change and great ideas!

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The power of learning to unlearn

There has been a lot of change in a small period of time in the workplace. Organizations are constantly making changes to keep up with competitors or become the next best thing. Even in industries that used to be steady and stable like healthcare and education, we’ve seen layoffs, closings and mergers in the past few years.

Through all this change, I’ve seen a vast array of struggles and coping methods. The most interesting to me, however, is watching people try to unlearn things. That’s right, unlearn. The beauty is that those who were able to do it survived some of the greatest changes in organizations.

Often times, people going through change have a hard time accepting new ideas, new work and new people and that’s to be expected. The problem I see is not so much that they cannot learn new things or that they don’t want to but more so that they have a difficult time letting go of the way things used to be – a problem with unlearning what they’ve known for years or maybe decades.

While most people struggle with change, I’ve seen a common theme in those who overcome their struggles and it’s the ability to unlearn things. They are able to make connections between what was, what is and what could or should be. They know how to evaluate the differences and determine whether a change is good or bad. Then, they unlearn what they knew previously if they think the new way is better.

The magic is in unlearning because they aren’t committed to believing that what they used to know is necessarily the right and only way. They can hear the reasons for change, understand it and thus, embrace it – if it’s a good change, of course. These are not easy things to do because it’s natural to gravitate towards the things we are comfortable with rather than unlearning them.

If we all focused on the power of learning to unlearn things when we are dealing with a lot of change, we may be able to better see the benefits of the change. How have you struggled with unlearning and how did you overcome that struggle?


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