Spring represents the quintessential flipping point between the season of hibernation to one of rebirth and growth. It represents new ideas and possibilities. As we discard the old, it allows the new to take seed and with the right conditions, to grow and prosper.
What many people fail to see however, is success relies more on the conditions than on the seed itself. You take the same seed and put into two different types of conditions and you will have dramatically different results.
The question is, “How do you create the conditions for success in your organization?” Here is a starting point.
- STOP (Simply Take the Opportunity to Pause) – If you are caught in the busy of “right here, right now”, then you can’t see the forest for the trees. In order to create something new and different, you have to take the time to get clear about what you want to create. Being too busy to think means you are caught up in reacting to your environment and rarely does that allow for something different, than what you are already doing.
- Take stock of what is working – Too many times it is easy to focus on what is not going well. Flip this thinking. Ask yourself, “What things are working really well in your organization?” Make a list of the things you see that give you the hope you are on the right path. Go beyond simply a person and dig into the actions you see them taking and the decisions they are making.
- Recognize the existing conditions – Ask yourself the question, “What conditions have to be present in order for this to be happening?” Sometimes, we think that results simply just happen. This is not the case. Conditions for success have to be present in order for success to happen. Maybe it is how work is structured or in what is being communicated as important. Recognize the conditions you have created and even what role you play in them.
- Focus on creating new conditions – Finally, think about the types of conditions you would like to create in your organization. For example, if you want to create more collaboration, ask yourself what type of conditions would allow for that. In steps two and three you will have already been able to see how existing conditions and results are linked together. Now it is a matter of continuing to build those connections.
It is easy to see results or a lack of results. It is easy to want more and to hope for success. It is easy to look at the here and now and to be charged about things not working. The conditions you have created are dictating the results you have right now.
Focus on understanding the conditions that need to be present in order for you and the people around you to succeed and they will in spite of themselves.
