Change is everywhere. It’s all around us every day.
The important thing about change is not the change itself but how we deal with it.
What do we mean by change?
We all experience change in our personal life and in our business life. There are two categories of change
Change done to us – outside changes that impact us
Change done by us – changes we initiate.
We have a great deal more control over the changes we initiate.
We need to react to changes done to us to maximise the opportunity or minimise the impact. Below are examples of some changes in these categories – this is not an endless list and I am sure you can add many more to these.
Change done to us Change we initiateBusiness Pandemic
Economic slump
Currency Fluctuations
Tax increase New LegislationInstalling a new system
New employee
Letting employees go
Strategy changes
Product development & Launch
Winning a new clientPersonal Relationship breakup
Price rises
Children changing schools Relationship breakup
New purchases
House improvements
Fitness
Diet
What we eat
Agency Owners – you are Change agents
The whole purpose of an agency is to provide services that will CHANGE your customers in some way. You are change agents.
So understanding change, how to implement it successfully should be a paramount skill to be able to deliver your services efficiently and effectively.
Creating a vision, managing resistance, managing people along the change journey. You many not think of it as ‘change’ however it is exactly what you are doing day in day out. Developing a new brand to change a business – building a new website to change how they communicate – copywriting to change they way the talk to their audience – these are all examples of how you as a marketing agency are implementing change.
Dealing with change
Whether it is change done to us or by us there are two important elements to consider when dealing with change. Amanda Page talks about the Emotion and commotion of change.
Firstly the outcome. How do you get the best possible outcome for you / your business and for others? Having a knowledge of change, how it works and how can effect it are vitally important. The second is the emotional side – the impact it can have on ourselves. How we manage change emotionally has a big bearing on our mental health.
Knowledge of Change
This is why we are focusing on change at Agency Local this month. We are looking to ‘skill up’ our members to be able to manage and cope with change better. This is a wonderful skill to have as an Agency Owner, it will help you manage your business through the natural changes that happen as a result of trying to grow your business.
Having an understanding of how change works is the starting point. Having a model to work with when managing change is really important. Amanda page has outlined the Change Cycle in her learning video.
Understanding the impact on others when change happens is vital. This allows you to effect change through others (most change is driven by other people), knowing how you can take them on the journey with you is key to success.
Amanda has also shared her 6 Trade Secrets for Change which will transform how you lead – again this is all part of the learning content available in the members portal where Amanda explains each one in a short 3 min video. They are:
#1 Future proof your people. Your vision starts now!
#2 Vision + People = Direction. Make it real!
#3 A compelling reason to change. We all love a great story!
#4 Resistance is futile. Embrace it!
#5 The brain and change. The perfect match!
#6 Ways to measure change. Strive for progress not perfection!
The book of the month in the Agency Local Bookclub has been recommended by Amanda and is called Beyond the Wall of Resistance by Rick Maurer. This will add yet another layer to your understanding.
Turning knowledge into actionable skills. The Outcome of this month’s focus on change.
The aim is to equip you with skills to manage change. The starting point is this new found knowledge – however knowledge alone will not have the desired impact. Transferring that knowledge to a new skill in your business armoury is when the impact will happen.
The Inspiration Circle is the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice.
When this is put into practise I am expecting three main outcomes:
Increase your confidence to manage change
Increase your resilience to change – to embrace change
To achieve better results and better outcomes when managing change.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Amanda Page who has worked with Agency Local to orchestrate this month’s focus. Amanda runs Change Tempo a change consultancy and she is happy to work with individuals and teams to better understand, manage and lead change.
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