If you’re in a leadership position and want a specific part of your business to improve, don’t wait around for something to happen. It’s up to you to direct the change. Leaders don’t always know where to start the change process, and that’s where Dr. Joey Faucette comes in. Faucette, a best-​selling author and consultant, shared his expertise on positive work cultures and management with us during a recent Manage Smarter podcast.

The Challenge of Change

Change doesn’t happen all at once and it isn’t easy. Many managers, once they get a peek at the huge effort required to implement change, might decide to go with the flow. If you truly want to make a difference, Faucette encourages you to be prepared. You must “expect adversity, engage adversity and endure adversity.” You can’t throw your hands up in the air when the department head whose cooperation you need rebuffs you. What you need is a plan and a commitment to “perseverance and endurance.” Here are a few key points from Faucette’s plan. 

Core Principles

If you want to stay organized and on track with a plan to lead through change, Faucette’s strategy will have you touching on a core principle every day of the week.  For example, Monday is the best day to perceive the problem that needs attention. You’re fresh from the weekend. There’s no point in continuing to deny the truth. Maybe you need to reorganize your customer service department or challenge your sales team to sign up 50 new accounts before the quarter ends. Whatever issue you’re facing, tackle it on Monday.

Perceiving and accepting that there’s a big problem can freeze up many managers. Instead of taking action, they sit around and worry. To get past this stumbling block, surround yourself with people you know will support you. Look for positive team members, the ones who will commit with you to improving the organization. And to reinforce the commitment you’re making, take a few minutes to write down the positive action you took at the end of the day.

It might be tempting to kick back and relax at that point. Don’t! Your effort has just begun. You must follow up on Monday’s action with a Tuesday action. For Faucette, the definition of Tuesday is conceive. Once you’ve defined your problem, devote Tuesdays to conceiving your solution. 

Check out the rest of Faucette’s daily recommended actions by listening to our podcast. Don’t let fear of failure stop you from making the changes you know your organization needs.