Old Dogs, New Tricks

Alice told me she’s been in her field for 20 years and she’s not sure how to pivot.

Mark has someone on his team who is an expert, but they just will not hear his feedback and he’s not sure what to do.

When you’ve been doing something for so long, it can be hard to change your way of working. There’s a reason you’ve been doing it that way. Now you need to do something completely different? WTF?

It’s a hard pill to swallow to hear something should change and it feels like a risk even if it’s something you’re open to. This is why people have mid-life crises. Your body and mind have been working for you and now things suddenly hurt. What do you do about it? Do you take the pill or start exercising or do you try to just deal with the pain? It’s not hurting that badly anyway, right?

This is what it means to have a growth mindset. You have to actually be open to learning. Whether you’re 20, 40, 60, or 80 you can still learn something new. That also goes in reverse. When you’re talking to someone who’s 20, 40, 60, or 80, don’t assume they can’t learn just because they’ve always done something a certain way. As long as the person is willing to learn, they can be taught.

If you’re like Alice and want to pivot to something new, learn about it. Learn everything you can. Read books or articles. Talk to people who do that type of work. When you’ve been working for a while, you pick up a lot of transferrable skills and it’s just a matter of understanding how it becomes applicable to the new role. You also have to speak as though you believe you can do it and why you want it.

Experts can tend to be a little hard-headed. They get positive feedback all the time, and probably have for years. There’s a reason they’re considered an expert. When Mark comes along and suggests something different, the expert might take it the wrong way. Mark needs to approach the situation from a vantage point of respect and explain the logic for the change. The expert also needs to know that every knife gets dull unless it continues to be sharpened.

Learning is uncomfortable. Change is uncomfortable. Work to understand how it will make you better and why it’s something you either want or need.

If you or the other person are not willing to learn, it will make things harder. This is one reason great people get passed up for promotions.

You also need to know when to keep working with the other person and when to accept they won’t change. It can take something lifechanging for some people to change their ways. It might also take time for someone to come around, but eventually they will. Give them a chance. Allow them to make the decision for themselves. If it’s a necessity, they’ll see the consequences. If it’s not a necessity, maybe it’s okay to let it go.

Choose to see the good in people. Choose to try. Choose to grow.