Where did all the good ideas originate?
Someone stood up and said, "This is broken. I have an idea and think we could do it differently."
In 1996, Jeff Hiatt was a program manager at Bell Labs, navigating plenty of organisational change when he came up with ADKAR, the foundation for PROSCI.
In 2000, Ken Swaber and Jeff Sutherland sat down with 15 software developers and developed Agile, the holistic, iterative methodology many of us use to move little project post-its weekly.
Why are their ideas better than yours?
Their idea got legs, backing, and marketing and went viral, but at some stage, they likely stood at a whiteboard trying to find a marker pen that worked so they could sketch out ideas, like you do.
Who says you don't have something revolutionary to share with the world?
Probably, your impostor syndrome says so!
Almost every fabulous Change Manager I coach approaches me because they doubt their abilities.
A few coaching sessions are an excellent way to get you from "good to great", but why do so many Change Managers doubt their skills and suffer from impostor syndrome?
I think we're so hard on ourselves because we take things that come easily to us for granted. We find it easy to listen to stakeholders empathetically, consolidate complex information, develop creative delivery ideas, and always focus on the customer journey. These things are in our DNA, but how would a software tester fair with these tasks? There is a reason they ask you to organise the Christmas party.
With their innovative chameleon cards, Gilbert Kruidenier and Peter Phan classify the different types of Change Managers. Focus on what you do well and enthusiastically own that space. If you lack confidence, fake it til you believe it (Watch the fabulous Amy Cuddy to be inspired to do this). Your approach may not be the right fit for some organisations or projects, and that's cool. Aligning your best fit benefits you and the organisation. Believe it, someone declined to interview me for a Change role this week.
Different is good. Find your 'difference' and celebrate it.
You must appreciate the existing landscape before you charge in with your new approach. That framework you don't think is fit for purposes is someone else's baby, and they might still work there. Tread lightly. Know the rules before you decide to break them.
How often have you come out of a meeting where your ideas were well received but failed to give yourself credit because you "just made it up, or winged it"?
You didn't make it up or wing it! You had an original idea and thought on your feet.
There is a fine line between an impostor and a thought leader.
Champion yourself in the same way you'd champion a good friend. Surround yourself with people who tell you "you can". (There's a Change Superhero Facebook group of fabulous Change Managers). Own your idea.
Jeff Hiatt's entrepreneurial drive turned ADKAR into the common sense blueprint for modern change, but it doesn't mean your approach is less fabulous. Own it! Post it on LinkedIn!
One last thing! Advice from Mr Superhero, who often tells me to put the unicorn back in the stable for a bit. Meet the business requirements first. Before promoting your vision for the future, do what you've been hired to do. If you are asked to create a standard operating procedure as a 20-page PDF, do it, or at least some of it, and do it brilliantly before you ignore the scope and develop a voice-activated iPhone app.
There is a fine line between an impostor and a thought leader. You choose.
Can you imagine how much poorer the change community would be if I'd listened to that little voice three years ago telling me nobody needs a PowerPoint template?
(Side note: is it an impostor or an imposter?) Read up here