Driving the CAR Through Change
You’ve heard the saying, “change is constant” or some analog of that - especially at work. Whether it’s market, competitive, social, or technology changes, leaders find themselves having to manage change at a relentless pace. This brings up all sorts of emotions, including fear, excitement, and sometimes confusion - all of which leaders need to navigate in order to stay productive. The most effective leaders have three key qualities in common, which help them - and their teams - drive through the messy middle of change and continue to deliver value. These qualities are courage, agility, and resilience (CAR).
When navigating change, leaders must be willing to take risks, make difficult decisions, and push their teams to embrace new ideas and new ways of working. This requires courage, a fundamental leadership skill set. I wrote a post on courage a few weeks ago. In it, I referred to courage as “facing fear, uncertainty, and discomfort head-on and moving forward anyway”. Courage is not the lack of fear, but a choice made powerfully - in the direction of one’s values and purpose - despite the fear. And when change is afoot, courage is not always the easiest choice, but it’s the daring choice. And as Brené Brown writes, “daring leaders choose courage over comfort”.
When I refer to agility in the context of leading change, I take it to mean “the ability to go through change well”. There are two key components of agility: adaptability, or the ability to mentally and emotionally adjust to new situations and circumstances, and flexibility, or the willingness to adjust one’s intentions, approaches, and actions in response to changing conditions or feedback. In today's VUCA* world, agile leaders must be able to adapt quickly to new circumstances and make decisions on the fly. They must also be able to pivot their strategies and plans when necessary, without losing sight of their long-term goals. By growing their adaptability and flexibility, agile leaders can transform failure into learning and come back stronger and wiser the next time around.
Finally, resilience refers to the ability to bounce back and recover from adversity, setbacks, and challenges. It’s the capacity to maintain mental, emotional, and physical well-being in the face of difficulties. Resilience is crucial for overcoming obstacles, learning from experiences, and maintaining personal effectiveness. Change can be disruptive and stressful, and leaders must be able to withstand the challenges that come with it. They must remain focused and positive, even in the face of adversity, to keep their teams motivated and moving forward. Resilient leaders also understand that setbacks and failures are inevitable, but they use them as opportunities to learn and improve. By practicing and modeling resilience, leaders inspire their teams to be resilient as well.
The title of this article, “Driving the CAR (courage, agility, and resilience) Through Change” is meant to be quippy, but also memorable. Leaders really can be in the driver’s seat of change by practicing these three core qualities. Like driving a real car, driving the CAR through change takes practice - lots and lots of practice. Change can be exciting, nerve-racking, and confusion, often at the same time. But wouldn’t you rather drive the CAR as opposed to change driving you?
*VUCA = Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
