By Steve Moran
In the last few days I have talked to several people who are leaving their current employment. Most recently, one quit, and the other was laid off.
Unless you are leaving a position for a better position (and maybe even when going to a better position), losing or changing jobs is stressful, which is why people over-persist in their jobs.
It is not the only place that people over-persist. It happens to leaders way too often — who over-persist in the way they do business, even when it is clear they are not getting the results they want.
- Their bottom line results are disappointing, and they keep doing the same old thing, hoping for better results.
- They have excessive employee turnover and do nothing to change the work environment.
- They have low occupancy and keep marketing the same way, selling the same way, telling the story the same way.
- They have grumpy families and residents and keep programming the same way.
We over-persist because it is what we know; it is relatively, easy even when it is counterproductive.
Making It Worse …
Persistence is not always bad. In fact, the right kind of persistence is critical to success. It’s what drives us to keep striving for better, even when things are tough. The big idea is that you may be so committed to one approach or idea that you’re unable or unwilling to consider other options.
Over-persistence can lead to wasted time and resources. This means missing out on better opportunities. It means we are wasting our own time and resources, and those of our team and organization.
Figuring It Out
We need to be willing to …
- Take a hard look at what we are doing that is not working
- Take a hard look at what is working but could be better
- Be open to new ideas and approaches
- Be willing to pivot and adjust what we are doing as circumstances change
Being willing to change direction, to stop persisting, can pay huge dividends for you personally, for your organization, and for those you lead.
