Change for positive influence

            Positive influence is one of the most rewarding actions that anyone can have in life.  El Horizonte New has created a perfect platform to positively influence our readers, friends, advertisers and our entire Latino community.

            Through this column I will be making logical connections and sometimes not so logical ones to topics learned and unlearned in my personal and professional life. Women and men who have managed to build a modern family shared with going up the ladder in their professional careers have always had simple and complex challenges. Therefore, it requires managing the five pillars of the human being.

            Recently watching the movie "Chasing Mavericks" with my son, I realized it uses the five pillars to teach a challenging sport like surfing the biggest waves in the world. It's a film that I recommend to see with the kids because it gives the opportunity to talk with them, stressing these pillars contrasted to other anti-values ​​depicted in this movie.

            The five pillars are linked to the cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, physical intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and cultural intelligence. Many experts have written about it and some with their variants. For the late Steven Covey (2004), in his book The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, a person with leadership means taking into balance and harmony the four intelligences: the physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual. Clint Sidle (2007), the leadership program director of The Johnson School of Management at Cornell University, refers to five intelligences and develops his essay from the wisdom of ancient cultures such as Native American, African, Celtic, and Tibetan, among others. He recognizes them as the five leadership intelligences ranging from intellectual intelligence, emotional intelligence, intuitive intelligence, action intelligence, and finally, all are connected with spiritual intelligence. In more down to earth concepts, it is to consider how we are experts with our knowledge, our emotions, our health, our friends, acquaintances or our networking, and finally all linked with our spirit. The important thing is that these pillars are connected together like a wagon wheel and in the center of the wheel is the spiritual connection. As leaders in our families and our workplace, we can be vehicles of transformation as well as positive agents of change. It is all about a moral leadership that it is much needed focusing in doing good from every point of view.

            In order to handle in equilibrium these five pillars, one of the best lessons I have had in my life is to accept change. Transformation is a force that can impact positively or negatively depending on how one manages the force. Those who accept the change or promote change give the sign needed to positively achieve things happening. While those who reject develop a negative change in the actions that often counteracts or find it difficult to achieve their personal and professional goals.

            Managing change is critical in all aspects of our lives. Professionally there are corporations that incorporate change management as one of its core corporate values. In successful companies like Target, Apple, IBM, Microsoft, among others, the change is a fundamental foundation of its corporate culture and new products and services are often a result of projects that promote change.          

            On a personal level, we have always been involved in major changes during the course of our lives. Sometimes we are leading actors and other times you are part of the cast. Latinos living in the United States have experienced the change as a result of our decision to migrate from our countries of origin. In my case, my family already has moved four times. The first two included the whole family and the last two involved only my daughter to pursue her graduate studies and thereafter to her permanent residence as she found a new job. As a family and as a team, we manage change in a positive way, always being flexible, joking about the struggles and adapting to our new lives.

            An easy way to see the positive change is through understanding the process and its phases. There are three stages: the need for change, the change in action and the desired situation (Lewin / Schein). A good leader uses multiple tools to make change happen. Among these tools are the following: analysis of the situation; anxiety management; vision and common values; communicate, communicate and educate in order to achieve the vision together; be a role model for change; openly discuss anxieties and resistance to change; and establish stabilizing systems and structures with the new phase once the change has been achieved.

            In my experience as a manager, project leader, wife and mother, the best action is to define the vision along with your team – at the workplace or in your family. This action together with a trustful communication, which requires listening to all the persons involved and acting with great humility is the key to success. You will be amazed if you are opened to listen anyone’s ideas.  As a matter of fact, the best ideas come from your own environment - your peers, your boss, your parents, your siblings, your spouse, your kids or your friends. Listen to your people.