If someone asked me what I wanted to do in five years, I would say, “I have no clue.” That’s because I’ve switched roles every year for the past three years. My current boss probably has the 10-month mark on her calendar as a time to start getting nervous.
But if you asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up? I would say, “I want to have made a difference. And I don’t have to wait to grow up to do that.”
Now, I’m not talking about changing the world, saving the planet, or curing cancer. But I do want to make a difference in business.
Some goals of mine:
· Change how a company does business, helping to restructure their business model to be more successful.
· Help an organization with further international growth, incorporating new cultures into that of the company.
· Help women earn the same dollar every man earns.
These are within my reach. These are within many people’s reach. It’s about how you want to leverage yourself.
See, I like change. I love it. I look at it as opening the doors to new opportunities, and I get so excited. Sometimes, I even look for change, or make it myself. And I’ve always been this way in my personal life, moving back-and-forth across the country as a Navy brat (don’t forget to throw Japan in there, too).
In my work life, it started when change found me. A couple of years ago my boss walked into my office and asked if I was flexible with my plans for the next few weeks. I figured she had an extra concert ticket or something and wanted to bring me along. Nope, instead the company wanted to send me to Geneva for a few weeks to train an operations team there. I had to get on a plane in three days.
After that first trip, I went back to Geneva again, working with the team in addition to training. After Geneva, I went into sales, and now into marketing. But this idea of flying in, working intensely with a team for a few weeks, and then moving on to do it again was always attractive to me.
I may not be able to do that now, but the same principle holds for how I approach my daily work. I truly want to make a difference in how everything is done. I consider myself a Change Agent.
How do you become a Change Agent?
1. Be good with change. If you don’t like change, stop reading.
2. Volunteer for new projects. Start small and build credibility.
3. Be flexible. Change may mean new locations, hours, responsibilities, or all three.
4. Stay energetic. You may walk into horrible situations, but you’re there to help. Stay sunny!
5. Follow through. Keep in touch with the teams and find out how they’re doing. You may get new ideas.
What other ideas would you add to become a Change Agent?
The views expressed in my blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.
Graphic courtesy of Clipart
