As businesses are presented with opportunities to change, it’s smart to understand challenges at work. Sometimes we don’t try something new because we think it’s impossible, when it reality, it’s just difficult.
For example, several years ago, I suffered a pinched nerve in my right, dominant, arm. As a result, I was unable to use a computer mouse without feeling pain. In order for my injury to heal, I had to stop using my right arm.
Fortunately, I have two arms and I decided to try to operate the mouse with my left arm. This was not an easy change, as my muscles were not used to this kind of task.
It’s like trying to write with your non-dominant hand. At first, it was very awkward and progress was slow, as I tried to reprogram my brain.
But after a few weeks, the muscle memory set in and I could use the mouse with my left hand as well as I could with my right. To this day, I’m a “lefty” mouse user.
The challenge was not easy but it was achievable. In your world, you may be thinking about a challenge, that while necessary, will take you out of your comfort zone. Consider these tips to help you decide whether to embrace it:
Price for Doing Nothing
In life, there are a lot of things we don’t want to do but need to achieve. For your challenge, consider what happens if you do nothing.
Often, not doing anything carries a higher price than taking on the challenge. For instance, new software can be frustrating at first but ultimately leads to improved productivity.
On the other hand, sticking with outdated software, while comfortable, will likely lead to increasing problems down the road.
Time to Learn
Your success with a new challenge will likely depend on how much time you have to prepare and adapt to it. Overnight changes are possible but will likely come with frustration, mistakes, and decreased productivity. Not everyone learns things, like a foreign language, right away.
Consider whether time should be set aside for training. You may also want to have the transition occur at a less busy time. Department stores constantly make changes to their processes but rarely do them on the eve of Black Friday.
Talk to people to figure out how much time you may need. When leaders guess, on their own, they often underestimate the time needed. And sometimes, people need some training right away and later need another session to go over questions or issues that come up.
Attractive Benefit
Nothing motivates people better than an important benefit. From my pitched nerve situation, learning to use my left arm meant being able to use my computer without pain. It would also allow the injury to heal.
Being pain free and able to use a computer were attractive benefits of accepting the challenge.
To show you understand challenges at work, make sure your benefit can be easily understood and is shared throughout the organization. If it seems like it’s unimportant or a secret, then people are less likely to truly embrace it.
You want to do as much as you can to move people along the mental spectrum from impossible, to challenging, and finally to achievable.
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