Sometimes things don't go the way we planned them. The need for change is inevitable. How you respond to it as a leader will set the tone for your team to proceed with courage or caution.

Growth is an incremental process that usually feels slow, but the cumulative transformation can be inspiring when you step back. There may be extraordinary seasons of growth, but there are also those where you find yourself stalled out, burned out, or having just experienced failure. How do you agilely adapt to these circumstances?

Opportunity for Growth

These seasons may be challenging, but they provide significant opportunities for long-term growth. I say opportunities for growth because growth at these times is not guaranteed. I remember one of my early chances to lead a team. It was a group of 15 working for about six weeks in a cross-cultural context. Before the trip, my co-leader and I were planning out one part. We were unsure how it would go, and I casually said, “if it bombs, at least we'll all grow from it.” My comment was met with the response from my co-leader, “not necessarily.”

That day was the first time I identified the possibility of wasted difficulties and recognized their cost. Waisted difficulties dishearten, wound, and push people apart. Redeemed difficulties, where you learn from failure, can inspire extraordinary growth. But this kind of redemption doesn't occur without honesty, a rhythm of evaluation and a commitment to change.

Honesty

Humility is essential to growing as a servant leader, and I believe a critical ingredient is honesty. You need honesty about the past, present, and future. An honest appraisal of things leads you to see yourself more rightly. I know I contributed to the way things turned out, even when parts were out of my control. I can’t take credit or blame for those things out of our control. I am, however, responsible for how we responded to them.

When it's time to restart, don't miss the opportunity to lead your team to look back and evaluate. You can begin with simple questions like

1. What went well that we want to continue?
2. What didn't go well that we need to change?
3. What do we not understand that we need to learn?

Honesty doesn't have to be punitive. To goal is to honestly see what contributed to the outcomes the team experienced. The team will sense if your goal is growth or blame. The feedback from your team might be about you as a leader. How you give and receive feedback will tell the team a lot. Done well, you will invite their honest and constructive feedback. You are creating a culture where honest feedback can become the norm.

Rhythm of Evaluation

Adapting as a leader is an iterative process, and the cadence will depend somewhat on your context. Is there a lot of change and unknown? If so, you will need to evaluate more often. This could be a daily standup or weekly check-in. Maybe the work is more static and defined. Every two weeks might be frequent enough to evaluate if you're still on track.

Accountability is an essential tool for staying committed to a change.

Put it in the schedule. It can be so tempting to cancel or delay these meetings. Preset a regular time and protect it even when there is a ton of work to get done. Because if you're not on track, then whatever work the team is doing may not be the right work.

When an extended season like a quarter, semester or year comes to a close, schedule a longer time for evaluation and planning. If you've been consistent in regular evaluation and adjustment, then these "bigger" meetings will be easier.

Commitment to Change

If talking about change is complicated, then implementing it will be even more challenging. You must break through the inertia of how things have been done.

Accountability is an essential tool for staying committed to a change. Once your team has identified and committed to a change. Share it with your leader and peer teams. This bears fruit in two ways. People behave differently when people are watching, and if you've told others what you're going to do, they will be watching. Secondly, there may be potential synergy with other teams in the areas you want to change. This won't be discovered if you don't share your commitment.

Change isn't a one-time action. It will like require adjustment and potentially cascading changes to stay on course. Add a question to your regular reviews to see your progress in implementing the identified changes. This habit keeps your team focused, owning the change.

Change can be tricky. Sometimes it's not clear how to implement change. This is especially true when the change can't just be mandated but instead needs to be applied solely through influence.

The book Switch is an excellent resource for understanding how to bring about change. It uses a metaphor of a man riding an elephant to illustrate three areas to cultivate change.

1. Directing the Rider. The rider represents the rational, logical mind of people. Appealing to the rider is usually the default approach but will have limited effectiveness on its own.
2. Motivate the Elephant. The elephant represents our emotions. If not properly engaged, will steam role our rational plans every time.
3. Shape the Path. How can you change the environment in which the change is being made? Can you make the new behavior extraordinarily easy and the old one difficult or impossible?

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Staying Agile

When you drive, even on a straight road, you are continually course correcting. The same is true when you lead. You will always be making minor adjustments. Use honesty and transparency to recognize the need for change and a cadence of accountability to implement it.

Stay at it. Don't let fear of failure deter you. We often overestimate what we can do in a month but underestimate what we can do in a year or two. Commitment and focus will take you a long way.

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