Phone: ​ 215.805.5551
liz@lizbywater.com

Liz Bywater, PhD

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Consulting & Advisory
    • Team Accelerator
    • Speaking
    • CEO Community of Peers
  • Results
  • Testimonials
  • About the Book
  • Thought Leadership
    • Articles
    • Columns & Quoted
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • Videos & Podcasts

Control, Influence, or Adapt: It’s Your Call

By Liz Bywater | Thought Leadership | 1 comment | 13 December, 2018 | 0

You’ve heard it many times. In fact, it has been said so often it’s become a cliché. Change. Is. Hard.

Yet it’s true. Change is hard, for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. And here’s why: What was once familiar and comfortable terrain is no longer… The path to success has changed. The future feels fuzzier. Relationships and roles shift and clarity can suffer. Communication may be sparse while long-standing modes of operating give way to new approaches and different objectives.

But it frankly isn’t all that bleak. In fact, there is a palpable upside to major change. Here’s where you, the leader, can have a major impact. Your attitude and approach will make all the difference. So you need to decide: Will your organization endure change (e.g., an integration, reorg, shift in leadership) feeling white-knuckled, agitated, and ready to bail? Or will they embrace change with a feeling of optimism, alignment, and purpose? The choice is genuinely yours to make.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent the day with amazing client John Cuomo and his leadership team at KLX Aerospace Solutions, a Boeing Company. We spent the day delving into the meaning and anticipated impacts of their recent integration into Boeing. We candidly explored many of the key challenges and opportunities ahead. I offered my advice and I provided the group with my Slow Down to Speed Up® toolkit to help them get clarity on how they will develop key stakeholder relationships, manage time amid a busy workload and conflicting demands, align on what’s most important, and remain centered, healthy, and accessible to their families.

The biggest takeaway of the day was what I call CIA: Control, Influence or Accept and Adapt.

The Team at KLX Aerospace Solutions, a Boeing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ve read my book, Slow Down to Speed Up®: Lead, Succeed and Thrive in a 24/7 World, you may recognize the following list of events and decisions that may not be in your immediate control. Which of the following rings a bell?

  • Your company has been acquired by a larger corporate entity and the rules of the game change—a lot.
  • There is a hiring freeze and you can’t extend an offer to a stellar candidate.
  • Your manager retires, and now you have to learn to the style of a new boss.
  • Your top new product fails to gain regulatory approval.
  • Your best performer decides to pursue another opportunity, leaving you with a major gap and no clear successor.

You get the idea. The key to success lies in spending your time, effort, energy and resources in the right places—and letting go of the things you can no longer control. Here’s some of the advice I gave John and the KLX leaders:

 

Protect time to pause and reflect on what’s happening in your business through the lens of CIA: Control, Influence or Accept and Adapt. This tool will help you make decisions and get things done, quickly and efficiently, while reducing wasted energy and undue stress. Consider each decision and ask yourself: Is this a C, an I, or an A?

C: Is this a situation or decision over which I have direct control? If yes… How will I exercise that control, and what outcome do I really want to achieve?

I: If I don’t have direct control, can I influence the decision, approach, or outcome? And how can I most effectively exert that influence? Who needs to be brought into the discussion? How can I make a compelling argument?

A: If I have neither control nor influence, can I accept the reality of the situation? What can I do to make it more palatable and even turn it into something positive for myself and those who work with me? And if I can’t accept or adapt . . . what then?

Don’t waste resources, time, and emotional bandwidth trying to control decisions that are out of your hands. Instead, be like John and the KLX leadership team. Use CIA to help you get better, faster results with fewer mistakes and far less stress.

KLX Aerospace Solutions was recently acquired by the largest and best aerospace company in the world, Boeing. Change is upon us. The KLX Leadership Team took a strategic pause to focus on achieving our results amidst our growing pains, and leading ourselves and our teams through the challenges and changes ahead as we embark on our integration journey.

Dr. Liz Bywater led us through a great day together and provided sound guidance and practical and easy to use solutions. The team left more cohesive than ever, energized and ready.

– John Cuomo, Group Vice President and General Manager, KLX Aerospace Solutions, a Boeing Company

To learn more about using CIA and a host of other pragmatic tools for success, read my new book. Slow Down to Speed Up®: Lead, Succeed, and Thrive in a 24/7 World is a powerful resource for leaders from the C-Suite to the front line. Filled with innovative new approaches, pragmatic tools, and real-life success stories, SDTSU tackles the universal challenge of achieving better, faster, more sustainable results in a world of non-stop demands and constant connectivity. Get your copy today!

 

 

 

 

No tags.

Liz Bywater

Dr. Liz Bywater has been called a one-of-a-kind leadership expert. Working at the intersection of business and psychology, she brings together practical experience (advising top executives across the Fortune 500), advanced education (she’s earned a PhD in Psychology) and a dynamic personal style to inspire, engage and advise her clients.

More posts by Liz Bywater

Related Post

  • Slow Down To Speed Up® in 2017!

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    2016 has, in many ways, been a challenging year. It is the year of Brexit. The year of a highly divisive US presidential election. The year of profound unrest and violence across the globe. TheRead more

  • Liz’s 5Cs of Leading Change

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    We in the US and across the globe stand at the precipice of major change. Political, economic, social, cultural — change is upon us and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. For some, changeRead more

  • Liz’s Five Cs of Leading Change: Creating Context and Clarity

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    In case you missed out on my last newsletter, here is a quick refresher on the first of my five Cs of Leading Change: [Crystal Clear] Communication. As a senior leader, your job is toRead more

  • Liz’s Five Cs of Leading Change: Casting the Challenge

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    In case you missed out on my last article here is a quick review of the first three of my five Cs of Leading Change… see below for my fourth C: Challenge. 1. Communication. As a senior leader, your job isRead more

  • Change and Consequences: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    So let’s talk about consequences. If you’ve already read my recent newsletters, you can review or simply skip past the first four of my Five Cs of Leading Change — and check out my tips on change and consequences. First, theRead more

  • Are you sowing seeds in the wrong yard?

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    A funny thing happened in my backyard last week. I was at my desk, reviewing recent conversations to be featured in my book, Slow Down to Speed Up®. I was “in the zone” and paying little attentionRead more

  • Politics in the Workplace: Healthy Debate or Toxic Stew?

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    There’s just no getting around it. It seems wherever you turn these days, deep political and socio-economic churn are at the forefront of conversation. Across social media platforms, in social settings, and even in theRead more

  • Bridging the Execution Gap: Three Ways to Get Up to Speed

    By Liz Bywater | Comments are Closed

    In my advisory work with CEOs and other top executives, I work with extremely talented leaders. These executives have vision. They develop winning strategies. They recognize talent and organize top-tier teams. They delegate the work, empowerRead more

Copyright 2019 Liz Bywater, PhD. Bywater Consulting Group. | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Consulting & Advisory
    • Team Accelerator
    • Speaking
    • CEO Community of Peers
  • Results
  • Testimonials
  • About the Book
  • Thought Leadership
    • Articles
    • Columns & Quoted
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • Videos & Podcasts

Liz Bywater, PhD