Episode Intro:

Ch ch ch Changes… evokes David Bowie, Change – Taylor Swift and yes, The Times They are A-Changin, thank you Bob Dylan. But change isn’t just within song lyrics. Whether it be those New Year’s Resolutions or moving forward with organizational objectives, making small, incremental steps in the direction we are wishing to head truly works.

Interested in learning more? Hope you will join me!

About the Host:

Susan has worked with people all her life. As a human resource professional, she has specialized in all aspects of employment, from hiring to retirement. She got her start as a national representative for a large Canadian union. After pursuing an undergrad degree in business administration, Susan transitioned to HR management, where she aspired to bring

both employee and management perspectives to her work. Susan holds a Master of Arts degree in Leadership and Training. She retired from her multi-decade career in HR to pursue writing and consulting, and to be able, in her words, to “colour outside the lines.” She promises some fun and lots of learning through this podcast series. 

Susan is also the author of the book Leadership Inside Out: Effecting Change from

Within available on Amazon – click below. 

Leadership Inside Out: Effecting Change from Within: Ney, Susan G: 9781777030162: Books - Amazon.ca

If you wish to contact Susan, she can be reached through any of the following:

Website:          Home - Effecting Change from Within

Email:               susangney@gmail.com

Linked In:         www.linkedin.com/in/susan-ney-197494

Facebook:        www.facebook.com/susan.ney.5/

Phone:            (604) 341-5643

Thanks for listening!

It means so much that you listened to this podcast!  If you know of anyone else who might find this series of interest, please share. If you have questions about this episode, please send me an email at susangney@gmail.com

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Hi, Welcome to HR inside out. I'm your host, Susan

a. Wow, January 2024. At a time for new beginnings. Dear friend

and colleague business intuitive Cheryl Brewster does monthly

intention setting sessions and she shared that her motto was

free to be me in 2023. It's now moved with the new year to I

want more in 2024. And I don't think she's alone. Now it's

obvious listening to her clients that she is indeed helping them

to discover who That to me is, including what their personal

Northstar looks like, to the point of indeed, wanting more. I

know it's a journey. And it's one that I've certainly traveled

many times in my own years. As I move closer to contemplating

full retirement, it's one that it's a question that is again,

increasing in importance for me. Who are we once we let go of our

work identities? Or our heavier bodies? Or what are you working

on that will result in change in your life? And how do we change

to be able to get there? So topic for today's podcast, give

me a drumroll dudududududu. The tool. Phil Eastwood for your

group is encouraging us to take the 31 Day Challenge. Now this

involves journaling every day for the next month. And he like

I have found journaling to be a really valuable tool. And yes,

contact information for all of those who I referenced, is

included in the show notes to the podcast. He included an

article in his day three prompt called tiny steps for massive

change. And it reminds us that indeed, it is about the little

things, the small actions that we take, that help us move

progressively towards those goals. Phil shares that and I

quote, massive change is not how we measure our progress. It's

the little things, the small victories one day after the next

that began to form the new picture of life. And we start

putting them all together week after week, month after month

after month consistently, that those tiny steps that we take

will have a massive impact on our lives. Apparently, as soon

as the 1% roll, it's also known as the aggregation of marginal

gains. Yes, I know that's quite a mouthful. Interesting that

it's a very same message that James clear shares in his

excellent book, atomic habits, an easy and proven way to build

good habits and to break bad ones. And the change, tiny

changes do indeed create remarkable results. And jeez, it

must be true. I was cozied up with a book over the holidays,

called callings, finding and following an authentic life by

Greg laboy and found the same thinking that was supported. Now

the voice shares that the great breakthroughs in our lives

generally happen only as a result of the accumulation of

innumerable small steps and minor achievements. He also

talks about how this can happen and how we can get prompted to

make those changes. And he shares that we may be called out

to reach out to someone to pick up an odd book on the library

shelf. To sign up for a class even though we're convinced we

don't have the time or the money. We go to our desks every

day we turn left instead of right, and that these are the

fire drills for our bigger calls. This led me to think of a

time that I've been called to pick up an odd book off the

library shelf, actually, like I did over the holidays. And that

particular action prompted me to share my learning and thinking

with you through this podcast. Why did I think that might be

important? Because I like you and dealing with change in my

life. Now some of its self inflicted, like my intent to

find the hidden sletten slender body within me. And some had

been created by my realities of the world that I live in family

dynamics, work pressures, you know them. I want to do better

in these areas and with some of them, I'm not sure when or how

to start. When I reflect back on we're making changes been

successful for me. It has indeed often been as a result of those

small, incremental, forward moving changes that I have made

along the way And it's often been as a result of those

sometimes intuitive prompts, listening to what feels

authentic and right for me, that has helped fuel my success. I'll

give you a couple of examples. It was actually a conference I

was sent to because my boss had registered and could no longer

attend, that I was introduced to a whole new world of knowledge,

new connections, New Directions, one that I suspect I would make,

I would never have encountered, but for saying yes to the

opportunity that had presented itself. That experience totally

enhanced my life, it changed my life. And it very much broadened

my thinking. Another example, was my decision to attempt to

make peace with my father, that led me to become involved in my

union many, many years back now. Now, that led me to involvement

with the larger union movement, and eventual offer of employment

with the Communication Workers of Canada. At the very beginning

of my employment career, now this is experienced that have

been extremely grateful for, because I eventually

transitioned to working with employees within HR throughout

most of the rest of my career. And going back to my roots has

very much helped me understand people differently, and I think

better. What small, incremental steps could you be taking to

positively affect areas of your world that you wish to be

different? Hey, couple more examples. I purposely parked

four blocks from a doctor's appointment. And I took the

stairs this morning. Another example, after being advised by

a facial specialist that my skin was dry, because I was not

hydrating adequately, and not drinking more water on a daily

basis. Although changing habits through atomic changes works, it

does also require patience, and persistence. If you're like me,

seeing results quickly really motivates me. And though the

wrinkles have not gone away, just in case you're wondering,

just because I'm drinking more water. But it is a big problem

of change. We tend to want to see that it's worth the effort,

and we want to see it soon. I was on a call with a group of

consultants the other day and we chatted about organizational

change. I know it always felt to me that I had not yet adapted to

one change before the next was upon us. I knew that everyone

was struggling to keep up and as an HR professional, I saw the

impact of constant change on our organizations. Over the course

of my career, I witnessed the very real challenge of getting

change initiatives to stick. Just like those weight loss

programs that don't tend to work long term, the root cause of the

matter needs to be addressed. And the steps are required to

ensure that the change initiative is maintained, need

to be in place. I see too many change initiatives fail both

personally and within organizations, because it is too

easy to return to what was more comfortable, the old way of

doing things. And excellent recently published book titled

work different 10 truths for winning in the people age speaks

of the challenges that people leaders are up against daily.

And what we need to be considering when creating the

organizations that people actually want to work with it.

And I will be interviewing one of the authors of that book on

next month's podcast, and the final pages of the book they

share and I quote, one of the biggest challenges that

organizations face and implementing the recommendations

in the book is resistance to change. Many organizations are

used to doing things a certain way. And it can be difficult to

get buy in from stakeholders for new approaches. So how can we

change this? Whether we are reflecting on change for

ourselves personally, or dealing with change elsewhere in our

lives, like in our organizations? If the great

breakthroughs in our lives, gender generally happen only as

a result of the accumulation of innumerable small steps and

minor achievements. Would not a similar strategy be appropriate

at work? And when I think about it, most corporate change

initiatives were the go bigger go home. Big project Big changes

and big scary for many

I know that we're I've broken projects into smaller bites,

they have become less overwhelming and therefore more

doable. And I also know that where there have been something

requiring much change and many moving pieces, just starting

somewhere has worked for me. Like when you write an exam and

start with the easy question to build your confidence before you

tackle the more difficult areas, or when dealing with annual

performance reviews of working your way towards the more

challenging ones, not starting with the most difficult ones.

Then a shared by Greg and in the book callings. It's a drop in

the bucket. But that's how a bucket gets filled up. Lots of

different drops love that 2024 And New year, new challenges and

new goals to accomplish. I'm going to listen to how I'm

feeling I'm going to think about how I can meet those objectives

by taking small steps towards them. And perhaps, as I see that

I am capable of keeping those small steps, I will be motivated

to take bigger steps and integrate those into my habits.

If I fall and I'm very likely to, I will pick myself up, dust

off those knees and get back onto the path forward. And there

will be new. And so when I'm dealing with something new, and

hey, I am I'm learning how to play chess. I'm a beginner and

it is okay. That I need to read the introduction to chess book,

many times that I still can't remember all the details of how

the various pieces move. But I'm proud of myself that I'm finally

taking the time to learn this game. I can't wait to play with

my brothers. I know they're equally excited to hear that

their sister is learning something they will be able to

share and enjoy with her. And something old, how can you tell

I have a daughter who's just getting married? No, I'm not

going to continue on with something blue. But something

old I have decades of paper files to go through and dispose

of I have cupboards to purge and clothes to move along to someone

who fits them better than I do. These are chores that have

resided on my to do list for many years, it's been easier to

ignore them. If they were not urgent. Yeah, they take up space

in my life and certainly in my cupboards a drawer at a time,

the shelf at a time. One handful of old documents at a time,

small incremental steps. I know I can do this. What about you

and work. All of those great ideas that were generated

through your employee engagement survey, those projects that have

been requested by the board, those emails that are still

needing responding to after a period of time away. Start with

something that resonates with you an idea that genuinely

interests you, the client that you enjoy speaking with anyway,

a piece of a project that gets a part of it on its way. And this

indeed is how we change and how we have a better chance of that

change sticking. I'm going to give it a try. And I'm going to

let you know how it goes over the months coming up. Because

yes, being accountable always, always also helps. I know

there's a slim person hiding inside this body of mine. I know

that I am capable of making fresh space within my home. And

I have faith that whatever it is that you are wishing to make

change on. You can do it too. And how about next month, I

asked what the Mercer consultants and the authors of

work different. My podcast guests next month, have found

have been effective in the work that they do internationally

with their clients to help ensure that those change

initiatives are indeed successful. I wish you a

wonderful new year and the very, very best in 2024 Thank you for

supporting and listening to me on HR inside out. Remember,

there to soar. I believe you can. Thanks for joining me and

have a fabulous rest of your day. It's Susan signing out. Bye

for now.