Every now and then, I bring myself back to a story written in 2014 by Soup Company Campbell’s CEO. It’s called “The Main Ingredient of Change” and offers a snapshot of the massive change and reform the company went through as they diversified into new markets. I particularly love how honest the story is and how it is still completely relatable a number of years on. (A link to the story is at the end of this article).
Yet I still imagine some of you would ask what a corporate company selling packaged food has in common with the work you are doing. I could talk about how marketing, sustainability, and sales are applicable to all organisations. But simply put, the reason why the key message in the story is so relatable is because of the nature of people. All organisations rely on people to get them through change. The human element speaks volumes about who Campbell’s people were in relation to their change, and perhaps shows where many organisations struggle today.
The biggest lesson is that it is through courage that organisations succeed at managing change.
Some people may think of bravery when we say the word courage. But don’t confuse the two. Bravery is the ability to face something that has the potential to harm us without any feeling of fear. It allows us to seem bigger than the crisis, whether we are more powerful than the situation or not. It is the absence of fear.
Courage, on the other hand, is very different. It is the ability to undertake an overwhelming difficulty despite the presence of fear. It is about stepping up, taking risks, moving towards something no matter how much you want to stay back and hide. It is about seeing past the negatives, even though you know they are there.
What leaders often fail to realise is that their people don’t need to be brave to face change. They need courage. There needs to be an acknowledgement that it is scary to go through change. It is particularly frightening facing the possibility of failure. But if leaders establish a culture where employees are inspired to be courageous, they not only engage employees, but they heighten their chances of succeeding in creating change.
Here are seven ways you can inspire courage in your team:
- Create an atmosphere of trust- This happens when the leader demonstrates that she or he does not have all the answers. Reveal your imperfections! Ask questions instead of giving answers all the time. Answer questions transparently and honestly.
- Allow Employees to fail and celebrate the effort- Courage is built through failing, learning, and growing. Leaders who tell their employees that it's okay to make mistakes and prove it with their reaction towards failure create an environment that fosters creativity and innovation and radical change. Learn from failures and move forward quickly. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is only focusing on the end result. But this leaves teams afraid of failing because the only thing praised is the success. If you want more courageous people, celebrate the effort and reward results.
- Understand what connects people to the cause- People will act courageously when they have a reason to. Leaders are responsible for creating a compelling mission and vision and communicate it. But it's also important to learn the individual "why's" of your team and help them connect with those reasons on a more personal level. Understand your people by listening to them and their fears.
- Be a courageous example- Just like Campbell’s CEO, if you want your team to take risks, show them how it's done. Encourage your team through your own goals and actions. The energy of the team always starts from the top!
- Create an atmosphere of connection- Resilience is built through connection with others. I spend a good amount of time working teams to help them connect with each other. Employees who are less emotionally connected are unwilling to do any more than necessary to keep his/her job. Connected employees stand by each other.
- Create points of certainty- People are not afraid of change, they are afraid of uncertainty. Be sure to highlight the things that aren’t changing, so that the team has some certainty to hold on to.
- Have fun – it is physiologically impossible to be frightened when you are laughing. Create an atmosphere that encourages silliness and fun.
Courage doesn’t eliminate fear, it answers it. After all, fear is an emotion and courage is a choice.
For Campbell's Main Ingredient of Change, please follow this link.
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