Dave-ologies: Own Your Change

Like t-shirts, Harley-Davidsons, and Jeeps….there is not one path that is best. As the lead person responsible for the 18,000+ employees at Gannett/USA TODAY NETWORK – I am consistently asked about development and like the things I just mentioned, there are many paths each of us can follow to stay at the “top of our game.” Sure, there are traditional approaches such as coursework, school, projects, mentors, coaches and seminars. But to develop – we need to “own our change.”

I will break my thoughts down into three or four buckets. The first bucket is in your head - mindset. If you feel like you are “owed” development, you are “waiting” for development, or you are “not responsible” for your development…well guess what? You are already behind. To grow and learn we must be open to growing and learning. We need to seek out new adventures – both large and small. We need to embrace change. We cannot be satisfied that we have “achieved”. There is always room for improvement. The key is your MINDSET.

The next bucket is more tactical – do something. Read a good book, follow a blog, subscribe to an industry publication, search out “white papers”, take a challenge, find a passion or hobby, write a letter with aspirational goals, write down that bucket list, seek mentors who are different from you, quit that vice, start a new habit, take up chess or photography. The key is to START.

The next bucket is to reprogram – change your patterns and habits. Wake up earlier, start to exercise, challenge your fears, go to sleep earlier, break out of your comfort zone, go after feedback, come to terms with your deficiencies, reduce your “screen time”, offer the “olive branch”, think differently, act differently. The key is to be BOLD.

The last bucket is you – your psyche. Be positive (even when you want to be negative), stay away from negative influences, confront your issues, learn from others (peers, bosses, team members, friends), challenge yourself, forget the past, forget the grudges, set two achievable change goals, help others, be kind. The key is to “FIND THE GOOD”.

Everyone has their own path to follow. As Robert Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both. And be one traveler, long I stood. And looked down one as far as I could. To where it bent in the undergrowth… I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” His poem speaks to someone who habitually wastes energy in regretting their choice: regretting the attractive alternative rejected.

So …..with this said, take on the day. Define your change, write it down, commit, begin your development today.

Dave Harmon

People Division

“Kindness is Currency”

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr