ORLANDO, Fla.–Nothing is going to change until you do.
And that’s critical, according to one expert, who reminded credit unions that they are going to be dealing with plenty of change in their careers. That’s something they can’t change—which leaves only their mindset as the one thing over which they have control, according to Mike Robbins.
Robbins, an expert on leadership and author of the book “Nothing Changes Until You Do,” told the CUNA CFO Council meeting here it took a critical injury that changed his life to force him into seeing things in far larger context, including why company executives so often don’t deal well with marketplace changes.
Robbins said he first began reframing his own approach to life after complaining to someone about several other people and situations with which he had grown frustrated. That person’s response: “Who’s always at the scene of the crime? Who’s the common denominator?”
Robbins said he was forced to acknowledge it was himself.
“And she said, ‘Nothing changes unless you do.’ It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard it before, but then it really hit me between the eyes: ‘Wow, I waste a lot of time and energy trying to change other people and it doesn’t always work out for me.’”
In 17 years of conducting research and authoring books, Robbins said the ability to navigate change and challenges both professionally and personally comes down to two simple concepts: mindset and appreciation.
Mindset
As important as it is to focus on specific challenges, Robbins said one of the things few people do is step back and ask themselves how they relate to what is taking place. In other words, seldom do people ask, “What is my mindset?”
One of the most common ways people respond to change and challenges is complaining, said Robbins.
“One of the fundamental questions I like to ask—and I’m passionate about understanding what makes teams work—is what were your keys to success? What I have never heard is ‘complaining,’” said Robbins. “When things seem out of control or uncertain, one of the ways we feel we have control is when we are with someone else, we commiserate. It feels better, but it’s not very long-lasting. One of the traps we get stuck in is we complain about things that are changing, and it makes us less effective in dealing with them.”
To see the futility of complaining in another way, Robbins shared a favorite quote: “When you argue with reality, you lose. But only 100% of the time.”
“One of the things we do when we are complaining is we are arguing with reality. So, it’s a trick thing,” Robbins suggested. “The more we dig in, the more we push against whatever is going on, and we’re less effective.”
Robbins is a former baseball pitcher who played for Stanford before being drafted by the Kansas City Royals.
'Only Two Things You Can Control'
“I used to have a baseball coach who would say, ‘There are only two things you can control: your attitude and your effort. Everything else is some version of out of your control.’ So, your mindset and approach determine how effective or ineffective you are at problem-solving.”
Robbins said that when he speaks with professionals such as the CFOs in his audience about their “teams” at work, the most frequent response is a reference to their direct reports. But he said those people are the “second team.” The first team, and that which is more important, is one’s peers in senior management.
“That that second team may be what takes all of your time and attention,” he acknowledged. “It’s a mindset shift to think my first team is my peers—I am a senior leader, and I have to have that hat on.”
Similarly, Robbins said that when he asks people what their job function is, they respond with titles such as CFO.
“But there is a distinction between a job and a role. Everyone has the same job: to help the team win. But that looks different depending on the role you play,” he said. “When people take on the mindset that their job is to help the team to win, they take a different approach.”
An End To One Career...
Robbins pointed his audience to Stanford Professor Carol Dweck who has championed the concept of a “growth mindset.”
“Essentially, the idea is that we either have growth mindset or a fixed mindset, although a lot have both,” said Robbins. “A growth mindset looks at a problem and gets excited about how to figure it out. A fixed mindset will try the problem, and if they can’t figure it out after a while will want an easier problem so they can figure it out. The growth mindset is about looking at everything that is going on, that is difficult and challenging, and seeing opportunities to grow and learn.”
At the age of 25, after three seasons in Robbins blew out his pitching arm. Three surgeries and rehab were not enough to get him back to where he was, and his baseball career was over. His response was a common one: “Why is this happening to me?”
‘The problem with the question is it’s essentially the mantra of the victim,” he said. “So, whatever answer you come up with is some rationalization for why life isn’t fair and this shouldn’t happen. Do it long enough and you build up a whole case about it’s a raw deal.”
A Simple, But Profound Question
A friend concerned about Robbins took him to lunch and listened as he again lamented, “Why is this happening to me?”
The friend responded by telling him to change one fundamental word in that sentence, and it changed his life.
“He said, Change it to, ‘Why is this happening for me?’ I didn’t necessarily agree, but I left that lunch and thought more about it. The more I challenged myself to ask that question, over time, the more I started to see there were opportunities in this challenge to learn and to grow and to become more resilient.”
When presented with challenges, said Robbins, credit unions that find themselves during change need to ask themselves, “Why is this happening or me?” By doing so, they, too, will identify opportunities, according to Robbins.
“The question doesn’t change the circumstance. What changes is our mindset, our perspective. It won’t magically make you glad it’s happening. Sometimes it’s a real challenge to look for and to find the opportunity in it. It’s not phony positive thinking. This is the way change shows up.”
A good example, said Robbins, is mergers, something credit unions know a little something about. The practical part of a merger is already super-complicated, he said, and that’s before the even bigger issue.
“The hardest part is dealing with people; everyone worried about their jobs. It’s more intangible; you can’t put it on a spreadsheet. One thing we can do is ask ourselves how we are feeling about these changes. One thing we can do is have some compassion for ourselves and everyone around us. This is where we use emotional intelligence; self-awareness and self-management, social awareness and relationship management in the midst of the practical reality of doing our jobs on a daily basis.”
Appreciation
Robbins said he has spent 17 years studying the concept of appreciation and said while it’s simple, it’s frequently misunderstood, especially in work environments. The biggest mistake lies in equating recognition with appreciation.
“They’re both important. Recognition is positive feedback based on results. Appreciation is about people and their value,” Robbins explained. “Recognition is about what people do; appreciation is about who people are. If we only focus on recognition, we miss out on opportunities to recognize people. Sometimes, when things go bad, recognition is not deserved, but authentic, genuine appreciation is needed.”
Most managers are trained to deal with the practical, not the emotional, noted Robbins. But it’s appreciation that drives performance in ways that can be measured in ROI, he said, most especially in the effectiveness of workers.
“We coach on outcomes and performance, but it’s a mindset shift to also show the appreciation,” he said. “If you coach people from a place of what’s wrong with them, you’re not going to be a very effective coach. The mindset is what are you paying attention to. Are you looking for what’s wrong or for a problem?”
There is no question every credit union exec is going to face more challenges, said Robbins. What’s critical to remember, he said, is that “nothing changes until we do.”