Leadership – the willingness to think differently and the courage to act on it.
From Gail Baird, Publisher, Creative Bound
Forget the word “challenging.” The inescapable changes we’re living daily in our business and personal life can be frightening. How can we, as business leaders & managers create meaning—and preserve sanity—in work environments where chaos seems rampant?
For twenty plus years, Janice Calnan has provided meaningful answers for senior managers and industry leaders who must deal with growth, change and quality issues that if not addressed can paralyse even the most successful organizations. “People and their organizations need to see things differently before they can do things differently,” claims the leadership specialist and principal of Ottawa-based CALNAN GROUP. When a company is managed with human potential in mind, employees are motivated, trusting, creative, innovative and willing to take risks to improve quality. All of these skills are required as companies are driven to respond faster, cheaper, with fewer resources and higher quality—all to satisfy greater customer demands. These demands, of course, slow the search for an improved work environment, which in turn creates a greater profit. People are our next frontier. This dynamic demands a significant paradigm shift on the part of the leader.”
In her book SHIFT: Secrets of Positive Change for Organizations and Their Leaders (Creative Bound Inc., 2001), Janice presents simple steps to help leaders slow down, notice how they contribute to the work environment, and then move forward in a more effective, purposeful manner. Her 21 chapters are concise and focused on key precepts, among them:
- The hierarchical structure of most large organizations isolates. It keeps people from speaking with those who can make a difference in the work that must be done on a daily basis. Creativity and innovation is unintentionally discouraged.
- What we focus on expands. The risk to a company that is “downsizing” is that as the executive team think about saving money, they create the very environment they are trying to avoid, one where fear prevails and innovation disappears, along with quality and timely delivery of products and services.
- The best practices are close at hand. It pays to find best practices in our own organizations and not in our competitors’. Employees have their own best answers about how to make improvements. Encourage their passion! Invite their participation!
- The process of change is straightforward; most of us complicate it with our thoughts.
While Calnan’s coaching has made her sought-after by North American organizations in sectors as diverse as technology, aerospace, automotive, health-care, education and defense, Calnan believes she has uncovered some “constants” about change. Here’s the top one—that organizational change is all about personal change. “You’re it. Look inside the box,” states Calnan. “Being a leader in today’s economy takes courage to discover what’s going on inside you, to recognize it as a reflection of what others are experiencing and to speak about it especially to those above you. Change happens when you change how you think.”
Janice may be contacted directly at (613) 721-5900 or janice@janicecalnan.com
Leave a Comment