What are the characteristics of a Change Agent?

A Change Agent is someone that thrives in the current environment of massive change. He or she does that with a vehicle that harnesses the power of that change when the change's flow is favorable. The Change Agent also has the tools to help recognize when to temporarily seek shelter from unfavorable changes. Most important, a Change Agent understands that absolute stability is an illusion.

I have spent most of the last year working on the concept of “Become a Change Agent”, drawing on my experience in the workplace. I am writing a Kindle miniseries on the subject. More about Parts One and Two at the end of this post. I was not always a Change Agent. I tried to cling to the “UsedToBes” in my business and it caused me to work harder and harder for a shrinking return. I did not learn to embrace change until I was well into my second career in Information Technology.

There are several characteristics that make anyone a Change Agent:

1.       A Change Agent holds Vision.  It is important to have and be mindful of a Vision. You need a Vision to know where you are going. Change Agents review thier Vision constantly to make sure that actions are consistent with the Vision.

2.      A Change Agent knows about change and harnesses its power. The title of Part One in my “Become a Change Agent” series is “Understanding Change. A Change Agent stays in the flow of change to amplify his or her effort. You must be able to understand the flow before you can harness it.

3.      A Change Agent is resilient. That mean he or she has the ability to persist, recover or thrive amid disruption. So do the groups that the Change Agent influence.

4.      A Change Agent inspires others, primarily by sharing an infectious Vision and expressing the appropriate amount of gratitude.

5.      A Change Agent leads by doing and example. The Change Agent does NOT sit in the corner office and bark orders!

6.      A Change Agent is able to humbly assume the role of resourceful follower when the situation arises.

7.      A Change Agent co-creates. Creative collaborations with others create strong interpersonal bonds. Unity is a powerful force for positive change!

8.     A Change Agent knows that adaptability is the new wealth. Change Agents constantly seek and choose options because they know nothing is permanent – good or bad. The ability and willingness to adapt conquers fear.

9.      A Change Agent produces more than he/she consumes. This is a cornerstone of personal responsibility. It is also the only way to ensure long-term sustainability of your customer base.

Here is a link to PartOne of my Kindle miniseries. Part Two is Now available. If you sign up for the mailing list, you will get an opportunity to download Part Two for free in early May!

Are you a Change Agent?http://amzn.to/VtNhV4

Multitasking versus focus and mindfulness

Multitasking is in many ways the opposite of focus and mindfulness. The ability to multitask has always been assumed (i.e. the ability to walk and chew gum) but it is seemingly REQUIRED in today’s workplace. It is severely overrated and it is the cause a lot of the dysfunction that is obvious without even thinking in “Dilbert mode”. Focusing with laser-like intensity is the way to accomplish the most in the least amount of time.

 

I once worked in a place where you were considered “out of date” if you did not take a laptop into a meeting. What I quickly discovered is that most of the meetings were unimportant. (Holding relevant meetings is a topic for another time.) The actual multitaskers inevitably wasted everyone else’s time with “I missed that, could you repeat?” Again, the subtle message was that the work being done on the laptop (and frequently, it was FaceBooking) was more important than the meeting.

Here are some important points to keep in mind about multitasking:

·         You are not a computer. The circuitry and code of a CPU is designed to rapidly change focus from one job/task to another.  The human brain is not. We must go through the process of finding our place with each switch of focus. This is actually time consuming (which means you can get more done by focusing on tasks one at a time).

·         Benefits of focus in problem solving. Focus allows us to do a better job of sorting out the facts. It might even seem like a focused individual is not doing anything during a very intense session of “figuring things out”.  In reality, they are channeling their inner Sherlock Holmes.  Maria Konnikova has just published an excellent book on the subject of thinking like the famous fictional detective.

·       If a face to face conversation is one of the tasks, doing anything else during the talk is a subliminal message that the other issue (IM, phone, filing papers) is more important than the other person in that conversation. Choose to be present. Choose to tell the other person that you value the fact they made the effort to show up “live and in person”.

·         Increased Stress. Constant, long term multitasking can overstimulate your “fight or flight” responses. This causes several hormones, cortisol, noradrenaline and adrenaline. The stress to your system of these “false fight or flight” responses is bad and there are all sorts of associated health risks that come with prolonged stress.

·         Exceptions that make sense. Simple tasks can be combined, especially if one of the tasks is waiting. A good example is filing while you wait on hold. You know exactly what the next filing task is, so there is no significant effort in finding your place.

Do you remember when multitasking made you mess something up or when focus allowed you to succeed?

Vision from a high fashion model

Kim Luret is currently an American living in Paris, an author, speaker, coach and owner of her own Paris-based modeling agency. She was an international high fashion model for over 12 years on the runways of Paris, New York, Milan, Tokyo and elsewhere. Kim worked personally with icons of the fashion design world including Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Gianni Versace. 

Helping the latest generation of aspiring models reach their highest potential has been a long time focus and driving passion for Kim. You can read her latest project, Kim Luret's Modeling Success Series, on Amazon Kindle.

Kim graciously spoke with Cliff by phone recently on the topics of vision and overcoming fear. Her story will be a case study in my upcoming book, Become a Change Agent: Drive the Positive Change You want for Yourself and the World! Part Two: Vision.

Cliff Collard – You described discovering your desire to become a model as if the desire “hit you between the eyes”. Could you elaborate?

Kim Luret – It was more like being hit by a mallet. I was 15 years old. When the desire hit me, I just knew it even though I had never thought about it before. This was a mindful revelation. I didn’t know anyone else with such a desire and it certainly was not mainstream at the time. It came out of left field. Prior to that, I said “Veterinarian” any time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

CC – Fear is such a powerful de-motivator. Do you have specific advice for young people to overcome fear?

KL - Everyone faces fear. It is up to each individual to make peace with it and accept it. Fear and jitters are the same thing. You need to put it behind you and remember that everyone is afraid or nervous. Spirit never speaks to us through fear. What can change is how we respond to it. It is OK to be scarred but you must act anyway. You will find that the sky didn’t fall. Overcoming fear increases your self-esteem.

CC – Anything specific for peer pressure or ridicule?

Kim – Remember that if people try to put you down, the real thing they are trying to do is tear you down to thier level. In most cases, if you remember that they can’t do it, peer pressure gets quickly put into perspective. People think mostly about themselves, they typically could care less about you.

CC – How about fear of the unknown?

KL – Accept the fact that there will always be the unknown. It is ok to have a problem. It is not OK to let the problem have you. Faith in God is an important key.

CC – Could you describe how you tried to kill your dream of becoming a model?

KL – Emmitt Fox said, “Take the unknown to the extreme, what if the world ends? Well, you won’t be around to care now will you?”

I was extremely self-conscious about my looks. “I’m not attractive. My braces are ugly, I’m too tall. My hair is frizzy.” I tried to ignore it. I only told 5 people and only my friend Marian was supportive.  Most responded with “Are you kidding? “So I drifted to college with no plans other than a degree in psychology and nothing I did caused me to get the “passion” bug. I let 4-5 years pass and time suppressed my interest in modeling.

CC – In the end, what (in addition to the Modeling School Director’s encouragement) triggered your inner voice?

KL – I really have no idea what the trigger was. I heard a voice, “Only you can make your dreams come true. Fan the fire of your dream. Own it. Never doubt it!” This Voice came out of nowhere and was clearly not my own, nor did it sound like anyone familiar to me. This happened as my roommate was dialing the number to set up her own interview for a modeling school. That voice made it imperative that I go to the interview as well. I then met the Director and her words of confidence made me understand the voice must be heeded.

CC – How do you encourage others, particularly strangers?

KL – I tell them you have to “Bring It” constantly. People will believe about you what you believe in yourself.  It is important to have a clear, strong self-image. This is the alpha and omega of making peace with and getting along with yourself.

CC – any final thoughts?

KL – Rumi said, “The one important thing in this life is your reason. If you accomplish 100 other things in this lifetime, they are only of peripheral importance”

CC – Thanks Kim! I think your experience will provide a valuable model (pun intended) for others.

KL - Thank you for your time and the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with you.