Culture changers are annoying

Frustration is one of the strongest motivators when it comes to innovation. Ironically, innovation and change creates some of the greatest frustration for those not on board as new followers yet. It’s a big circle of frustration that we have to be prepared to experience.

Here’s how it plays out, you don’t like a circumstance at work – you’re in control of tracking time for your department, but you can’t seem to get everyone to consistently participate in a timely manner, for example. If you’re the time tracker, nothing is more frustrating than feeling like your success is outside of your control. Especially when you can’t understand why someone wouldn’t just do their job! The situation can feel unbearable.

Entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators all possess a common trait – they harness this frustration allowing it to fuel change. But the problem is once you start implementing change, you run into a different frustration, the tension from your team for making changes that they often find inconvenient and annoying.

You’re trying to help, but your intentions aren’t translating accurately. It’s like using Google to translate, “Did you know the new season of You is out?” from English to Korean. It’s translates, “Do you know it is your new season?" You sound like a 1st grader when you try to use the translation in conversation, not to mention people don’t understand you. The pieces are all there, but something's missing. The translation isn't quite right, yet. It’s going to take a little massaging and effort to make it work. 

Culture works the same way. Prepare yourself for frustration on both sides. But push through the frustration that comes with innovation and changing culture. It’s short-lived and usually worth the effort in retrospect. So what if your department finds you a bit annoying for pushing them to be more consistent in tracking your time. Just remind them, without you, there’s no time tracked that you calculate to bill clients. And if you’re not billing clients, they’re not getting paid. So you’re actually helping them more than they realize. Maybe one day they’ll even thank you and buy you a new cheetah print bag.