Early in my career, I learned an important lesson about listening.
I worked in an organization filled with confident, talkative people who thought out loud and easily filled the space with their words. Conversations were lively, ideas flowed quickly, and the loudest voices often dominated discussions.
Yet one person stood out to me, not because she spoke more than everyone else, but because she didn’t.
As a senior leader, are you fully harnessing the power of your mid-level managers to lead change from the middle?
Your middle managers occupy a pivotal position during times of change. They can lead up, helping communicate the message of change to senior leaders, and lead down, building employee readiness and supporting adoption across teams.
The average human attention span has dropped to just eight seconds.
Eight seconds.
Does that number surprise you? I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than curling up with a good book.
Yet over the past few years, I’ve noticed the shift. My attention span has shortened, and my ability to stay focused isn’t what it used to be.
I’m not alone. Conversations with colleagues, clients, and friends reveal the same pattern.
We are losing our ability to focus.
How often do you launch a change, but it seems as if nothing changes? I hear that sentiment from leaders and employees on a semi regular basis. They are usually tired, confused, and frustrated over the numerous failed change initiatives.
The story starts the same, the change is implemented and things look like they’ve improved. But ever so slowly, everyone goes back to doing things the old way. It’s yo-yo change.
And it’s erratic, exhausting, and expensive for your organization.
Breaking the cycle of yo-yo change isn’t about more planning; it’s about creating new habits.
