5 Reasons Middle Managers should Shake Things Up

As a manager and leader, you’ve successfully overseen projects and process until you can execute them to perfection with your eyes closed. They run like well-oiled machines.

After several iterations and some much-needed tweaking, you can sit back and watch the wheel spin.

Or will you think of another way to spin that wheel? How long will it be before you start to feel that itch which you cannot help but scratch?

It’s not broken, so why fix it?

It’s not often that a manager – or anyone – messes with a process that is working well. As the age old adage goes – “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! (If you’re like us and wonder who uttered these sorts of lines in the first place, then here’s your answer: this was popularised by Bert Lance, an American businessman who served under President Jimmy Carter.)

Ask yourself:

– Is it running smoothly and well?

– What does good look like?

– How long should it go on for?

– What signals indicate that it’s time for a tweak?

– Or is an overhaul required?

5 benefits to shaking things up

While tearing up working processes that you’ve trained to perfection is not for the faint of heart, there are several benefits to shaking them up.

1. You force yourself to find a different and possibly better way to do something

The last thing you’d want is to see cobwebs grow on your ‘baby’. Give yourself the permission to experiment and try new things. You don’t have to pull the rug from under the carpet. Try changing a few parts of the process, or if that’s too much to stomach, then start with one.

2. You can give others an opportunity to have skin in the game and be more vested in the change

Since you’re a team leader, this is a great way to test your team, and also hand off some of the responsibility to them. Get them to own the change by implementing their ideas, testing them, and rolling them out.

3. You pique participants’ and other stakeholders’ interest with something new

We don’t know about you, but we get excited when we’ve got an update to share – especially when it’s something we’ve worked hard on.

4. Be daring and go into the unknown. You never know what you’re going to discover

French novelist Marcel Proust penned, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Don’t be afraid to look at your ways of working with new eyes. You might see things in plain view that were hidden before.

5. It’s a great way to reignite your spark

If you feel like you may be plateauing at work, shaking things up is a great way of getting new spark in your role. Check out our article to discover other ways to find your mojo.

As always, there are no guarantees. You may make a mistake and your new implementation may not work. But as Neil Gaiman said in a 2012 commencement speech: “If you make mistakes, it means you’re out there doing something”. (Go to 9:20 in the video)

Here’s one thing we’ve learnt from years of experience: you won’t learn anything new through inaction!