Do You Want to Change?

How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?
None, the light bulb needs to want to change.

Yes, it is a corny old joke but it is, in many respects, true. In our management mentoring program at MIB Business Solutions we see the point of this joke. Entrusting us with your business leaders can make a huge change to the corporate leadership, productivity and attitude of your staff members as well as padding out the bottom line but effectiveness from one individual to another does largely depend upon how keen they are to modify or relieve themselves of old habits and adopt new ones.

What does change really mean?

When we discuss change with young people it is often interpreted as denying who they really are and pretending to be someone they intrinsically are not. I have seen the same response from many people who attend industry-specific sales skills training. Many of sales training programs of this nature teach pre-scripted lines and analogies to use with clients and so many times people come out saying that 'that is not me'. I understand this as I have been there before in industries from door-to-door sales through to real estate.

Change, real and lasting change, from our perspective requires two things to be working together in a synergistic manner. They are in, essence, thought and deed. Thought relates to all things of the mind, attitude is a big part of this with attention, focus and emotional responses as well. Deed relates to our activity or the things that we do. It comes down to adapting our actions to increase productivity, change our load balance and get on top of our plans for the future. Neither of these things force us to change who we are as a person because we can retain any positive aspect of our value and belief system and use it to propel us forward into even greener pastures.

Domains of Change

Business mentoring, by and large, is about making you more effective in your workplace capacity. That said though, it would be absurd to ignore other life aspects because there is significant evidence to suggest that life's challenges have a significant impact on workplace performance. This is why many mentors do not just address the career related needs but also put consideration to the family, physical, emotional, financial and spiritual needs of those they are working with. All these areas of life impact on our work ethic, our stress levels which we bring to the office and our ability to sustain focus and productivity when it comes to our daily agenda.

Within the domains of change there are usually two or three areas that could do with some tweaking. This is not to suggest that there is a problem in these areas but rather that there may be ways to deal with these life areas more effectively which, in turn, can boost your capability to perform at your peak during work hours also.

Are you ready to change?

If the answer is 'no' and your manager asks you to participate in a mentoring program then all I suggest is to attend to it with an open mind. Mentors are there to support you with whatever you throw at them. If you believe you are in 'peak performance' then discuss where that peak performance is likely to carry you in terms of your career goals and start working together with them on a plan to achieve that goal. Use them to your advantage whilst you have them.

If your answer is 'yes' and you acknowledge that there are areas of your life that could do with a tune-up then dive in and get them listed. It is far easier for a mentor to know what to work on with you when you have put the fore-thought into preparing a list of things that you want to improve. Even simple things like remembering where you put your keys when you need to leave of a morning is worth listing as they give you mentor an idea of your lifestyle and mindset across each work day.