Author: Dale Smith

Between the parallels

Today’s parallel started with 7am yoga. What seemed impossible one week ago in my first session, seemed to be more enjoyable this time and I allowed myself to roll into this session with a fresh perspective. I am clearly not a yoga master, nor will I probably ever be, however, I can still give it a go and allow myself the luxury of doing something for pleasure and not to win.

As I stretched and pulled my body into unfamiliar positions, my mind wandered to the way a team develops within an organisation undergoing change. We need to allow failure to be part of a success story and challenge our people to try new things with the mindset that the more we try, the better we get. Some incremental challenges can lead to bigger outcomes, but we need to have the space and freedom to try at our own pace.

Between the parallels

Following my experience yesterday, I started the day by reviewing in more detail the Whole30 timeline.

I thought that I might be a little more confident in the changes happening to my body if I better understood it from the perspective of those who have done it before.

Today I push through my blurry-eyed start and after my black coffee (no sugar or milk!) I had a great PT session with Tom. He did warn me that we were going to start upping the game… and we did.

Although hard – I did it! I felt as if my first barrier had been broken and it gave me a renewed energy to try harder.

In the parallel world, it is at this stage that we begin to see the first signs of better employee engagement and a fresh energy start to spread across the business.

Between the parallels

Wow: as the day moved on I started to feel a little fatigue and then – bang – I just hit a wall. It was like a wave of tiredness just suddenly came over me with an unexpected force. To help me better understand what had just happened, I referred back to the Whole30 website and looked at what the experts and others before me had tracked as some of their experiences. My feeling was validated, as days 6 and 7 are denoted ‘I need a nap!’.

With this little insight I no longer felt daunted, and in fact felt validated that I was on the same proven journey to success – this was just my first blip.

I then started to do the math on what this day would be in our parallel world of a year-long company programme; this would be month three. The time when we see the first signs of fatigue for the key internal stakeholders, as they have been working hard to drive the initiative into the organisation. Giving so much time and energy to others can be exhausting. This is usually short-lived as at the programme is taking root and they are also seeing real signs of change in their teams.

Between the parallels

I must say that I did have some concern about today being my first Saturday, as I did not have any of the Living Brand Project team around me.

However, I woke up early, feeling inspired and enjoyed a nice breakfast and some reading time; two things that I have not done on a Saturday morning for ages.

I spent a lot of the day walking Buster and really enjoyed watching him run and puppy-play with so many dogs. His energy is just infectious! I have to say, because of him, I meet some like-minded dog lovers and just random people.

It is so true that the energy you give is the energy you receive. If anything was learned today, and in drawing a parallel: if you invest in the relationship with those in your charge, you get amazing returns.

This may sound strange to some, but with the removal of stress and fatigue, it was like I was seeing Buster for the first time. ❤️

As leaders, we need to remember that respect is not something we command, it is something we project and then receive.

Between the parallels

It’s Friday and I feel great about the week. I have been enjoying better sleep and more focus.

However, today took a twist as I was presented with a new Apple Watch so that my performance can be tracked.  To ensure that we can monitor the incremental accomplishments and be able to set goals and measures for the future, this data is key.

From my perspective, I feel daunted by yet another new electronic system that I have to learn.  As if our new CRM was not enough this week – now I have one on my wrist.

Even though data and attention to detail on the numbers is not my forte, it must be part of all organisational transformations.

Setting appropriate benchmarks and measurements allows for better insight into what worked best and a clear view on the investment.

How can we know if we are getting to where we want to be if we don’t know where we’re starting from?

Between the parallels

As today ends, I am reflecting more and more on the habitual behaviour that I have fallen into and some habits that no longer benefit me.

With my new focus on healthy eating, and With Sharn’s support on ensuring that my fridge and cupboards are filled with the right food, I have been creating and cooking some amazing dishes.

When I look at this through the lens of a company transformation, it reminded of the number of times I heard employees say: “Ahh, we used to do that! It was fun, but we don’t do it anymore.”

From team lunches to collaborative meetings, the stuff that we once enjoyed is just not there to support our healthy workplace.

I have loved cooking, but the one thing that I have been missing is sharing my new creations.

However, I have to remind myself that it does not all happen at once and this week is about me establishing new ways, and it is for myself to feel the joy of my ‘me time’

Between the parallels

Today started with Yoga at 7am, and both the time and the physical exercise was a challenge.

If step one of any transformation is recognising the problem, then I think step two should be about breaking habits.

I was surprised when I saw that Max had put this in my diary; at the time I was not sure if this was payback for something mean that I had done or just him wanting to give me the kick that I needed!

Either way, I am glad he did, as with all change we need to hit the ground running and not passively look at change as something that will be happening under the radar – I found myself needing to transform because I let it all slide for so long.

So like all change programmes – come out with a bang. Break some habits early one and make them public! Also do not be scared to look a little foolish, as at this stage the introduction of new stuff is most important.