To succeed, employees should avoid swimming upstream

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Companies everywhere are starting to drain the swamp. They have begun the process of redesigning themselves. Some are doing it gradually. They are slowly draining away the old systems and are gradually replacing them with new ways of operating. But others have pulled the plug more dramatically; the urgent demand of survival is the driving force behind the radical changes.

As the water line begins to drop, and the turbulence increases, some employees respond by staying on the surface, paddling like hell to stay afloat. Others dive to the bottom to hide. They hope they can stay below the surface long enough for the changes to go away. Unfortunately, however, as the water line inevitably drops, they begin to stick out like old tires and tin cans. No one can hide.

How about you? How do you respond to the changes where you work? Your willingness to be honest with yourself can make the difference as to whether you will sink or swim.

1.      Face your deepest fear. You say you're not afraid? To find out if this is real, ask yourself, "Am I showing any signs of anger, denial, cynicism or other forms of resistance? Fear is usually at the bottom of it. If you can look fear in the face and call it by name, you can then begin to take action to defeat it. For instance, are you afraid you could lose your job? Or, are you worried that your skills are out-of-date and you could look incompetent? Ironically, hiding from the changes, or worse, openly resisting them, almost always buys you a ticket out the door.

I remember doing a call-in radio show where a caller called in to bitterly complain about how technology was ruining good jobs. When I asked him what he did for a living he said, "I'm an elevator operator." In spite of obvious changes around him for the last 20 years, he stubbornly refused to accept the inevitable. As the swamp drained, he was at the bottom of it, proclaiming himself a victim.

Once you've been honest with yourself, the next question becomes, "What are you doing to make yourself impenetrable the threat?" If you look around your organization at the people who are confident and calm, they will probably have one thing in common. They are marketable. They aren't hanging on to their jobs for dear life. They know that no matter what happens, they will land on their feet. It allows them to stay clear headed and proactive.

So how do you defeat the fear? Eat it for breakfast. Take bites out of it a day at a time. For instance, upgrade your skills, even if you have to pay for it with your own money. Admit you need help learning how to be a different kind of manager and ask for coaching from your boss and your own employees. Stop using sarcasm as a weapon and start listening to what people are really saying to you. Get out from behind your ego and admit you have something to learn, even if you are an old dog.

2.      Go where the problems are. Swim up to the surface and lend a hand. Take the company's problems personally. Treat them like they are your own. That will give you the sense of urgency every CEO I know is looking for. They don't want "good soldiers" they want risk takers who are willing to try a new approach or pilot an innovative idea. They want swimmers not bottom feeders.

3.      Prepare for the future. Keep one eye on your immediate situation but monitor the bigger picture in your field and industry. The truly successful companies are the ones who operate on the edge of the trends, exploiting them before any other company even knows what hit them. You can do the same thing. For instance, look out to the extremes to see what's going on in your field. How is technology changing things? Where are the new jobs emerging?

For instance, a few years ago a physical therapist I know started paying attention to trends and changing demographics. She offered to start up a special rehab unit that would go to people's homes rather than make them come into the clinic. Needless to say, a few years later home health care exploded. Her rehab unit has grown dramatically and she is now heading up a thriving business unit, while some of her former peers are still grumbling about why things can't be like they used to be.

As the swamp drains, new opportunities will be abundant. Will you sink or swim?

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