– BY MADDIE CRAIG | 2023
Most people inherently resist change. Shifting gears, rocking the boat, or disrupting norms feels uncomfortable. Yet, in business and career contexts, sometimes upholding the status quo can be even harder on ourselves in the long run.
Remaining stagnant gradually diminishes passion, creativity, and excellence over time. Every successful leader recognizes those pivotal moments when resisting change becomes more painful than pursuing positive transitions.
However difficult in the moment, embracing changes that challenge us or take us out of our comfort zone often unlocks our greatest personal and professional growth.
Signs it’s Time for Something to Change
While every situation is unique, there are some common signals that indicate an area of your work or business may need proactive change:
Lack of Learning: You feel you’ve stopped acquiring new skills or pushing your abilities. A plateau suggests change is overdue.
Misalignment with Values: Aspects of your work conflict with your ethics or purpose-driven goals.
Toxic Culture: You dread interactions with leadership, team members, clients, or vendors.
Unsatisfying Metrics: Key metrics like revenue, productivity, or customer satisfaction chronically underperform.
Complacency Creep: You feel disengaged, running on auto-pilot without drive or creativity.
If one or more of these resonates, initiating change could be vital, despite difficulty or nerves.
Making Those First Moves
Jumping into changes like having a tough talk with leadership, leaving a secure job for a startup, or taking on an uncomfortable new skill can feel enormously intimidating.
Begin building momentum with small tangible steps:
Verbalize your fears to a trusted mentor. External wisdom can calm your nerves.
Set a timeline. Commit to regular check-ins on progress.
Break bigger goals into incremental changes that feel manageable.
Celebrate small wins; acknowledge attempts to change, not just outcomes.
The initial discomfort of altering the status quo gives way to a positive forward trajectory.
As leaders, we must keep evolving. And sometimes the bravest, most rewarding changes begin with simple, scary first steps into the unknown.
What stagnant area of your work or business most needs change? How could embracing transitions here allow for growth?
By asking these tough questions and seeking positive shifts from our comfort zones, we open ourselves to discover our full potential.
Meet The Author
Maddie Craig is the founder of Blue Cypher Bookkeeping, a detail-oriented bookkeeper, and definitely a “numbers nerd”! She is passionate about helping organizations understand the full story of their financials and using it to make more confident decisions and grow strategically. She has experience working with a wide array of clients, including small businesses and non-profit organizations. When not crunching numbers, she and her husband enjoy traveling, being active in the community, and sharing their love for good food with friends and family.