Haris Ahmed, a Chicago Consultant, Talks About Cultivating a Corporate Culture That Embraces Change

For Haris Ahmed, Chicago-based executive coach, business consultant, and CEO of Pragmatium Consulting, Inc., change is inevitable. Hasn’t it been said time and again that “change is the only constant in life”? Whether in the workplace, home life, or friendships —these will go through changes; and how you deal with them will determine your experience—including the benefits and losses. For first-time visitors, this blog site is all about change: adapting, adopting, aversion, acceptance, as well as the rewards and repercussions.

On the outset, change is such a scary, big word. Who wants change when you’re perfectly comfortable where you are right now? Never mind if you’re not living up to your full potential, or your company isn’t at the top of corporate rankings in your industry. So long as you’re surviving, you’re earning profits, and you have enough cash flow to cover operational and overhead costs, you’re in good waters, right? Why disrupt all of these when you’re not even sure what that change will do for your company, not to mention, your people?

But here’s the thing, unless we learn to adapt, adopt, or innovate, we’ll always be in the same boat. Soon enough, you could find your business lagging behind companies in your industry that you didn’t even consider as worthy competitors years ago. That’s the problem with not embracing change, you stay stuck; almost immovable.

Now that you’ve acknowledged the importance of embracing change, in business or even in your personal life, how do you cultivate a culture in your company that embraces and encourages change? In my opinion, the first thing you must do as the leader of your organization is to be open to change yourself. Remember that you, being the leader, set the example to everyone in your organization. If you give off the vibe that you’re not entirely open to change, and appear quite vocal about trends and shifts in your industry, harping on all the negative scenarios that could happen, then guess what? Your employees, soon enough, will pick up this vibe and follow your example. And those that don’t? You can expect them to walk out the door to look for a company that they feel they can grow with. Change is an effective tool that can grow your business by leaps and bounds, but only if you accept it and take positive action.

I mentioned here that being open is a key component to embracing change. And by being open, I mean communicating with your teams. Everything starts with proper and effective communication. Remember that communication is a two-way street; you talk, they listen; and when they talk, you listen too. Hear what your teams have to say, take note of their inputs and thoughts, welcome innovations that they may present to you, and then discuss, plan, and strategize.

Cultivating a corporate culture that encourages change is a team effort, but it all begins with you, the organization’s leader. What are your thoughts on this? Please feel free to share them with me, Haris Ahmed of Chicago, in the comments section below.

Please stay tuned to this page to read more posts on leadership from executive coach and consultant, Haris Ahmed.

 

 

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