It was refreshing to hear the birds singing as the sun came up this morning. It is spring time. It has been a hard winter, but now it is time for something new. The seasons teach us that change is the one constant of life.
However, doing what we have always done can seem comfortable, but the danger is that it leads to stagnation. I call this performing. We follow a list of goals and check-off completed tasks, but has real changed occurred?
True power lies within transforming. A caterpillar can get across a road with its many legs, but if it transforms to a butterfly, it can fly across quicker with a much better perspective. Are you merely setting goals to perform or are you transforming to a greater potential? In your organization, are your people following a performance development plan or do they have a plan to transform?
Here are three components for transformation compared to performance:
Awareness of where we have been
A performance development plan will try to identify weaknesses, where there are needs, or what skills are lacking. A focus on transformation instead will focus on strengths and where the person has excelled and where more potential can be gained.
What are your strengths? Has there been an area where you can excel, but have not been?
Awareness of where we are going
A performance development plan will define a person by their role or function in an organization. Their development is then confined to meet a list of goals to complete a function and the organization only benefits incrementally. A transformation plan will help a person identify and focus on a personal vision and purpose. It will then help them develop outcomes on the change they need to become to propel them to their future potential, which always benefits the organization in expansive ways.
Do you have a role or title that defines your future? Or, do you have a personal vision and purpose that defines your future?
Awareness of where we are now
A performance development plan keeps a person focused on a task or goal list. A transformation plan keeps a person focused on priorities. They have focus for next steps for where they are going but are also aware of current opportunities. This keeps them in a flow of momentum instead of striving.
Are you working harder, not smarter? Are you buried under a task list? Are you aware of opportunities?
This past week I had the opportunity of working with a leader and her executive team to help them develop transformation plans, instead of performance development plans. This leader for the past two years has used a transformation plan that we developed in our coaching relationship. It has had such an impact for her that she is now having her team apply it. It was exciting to see the freedom that was breathed into each person as they gained a perspective on how they could reach their potential, benefit the organization, and enjoy the process. One person’s ending comment was, “I am excited to do this!”