Are you the light bulb or are you the light?

By Stephen Melchior

Change is something that affects everyone in today’s world, whether we like it or not. No matter what profession we’re in, our daily activities are influenced and driven by technology, differing customer demands, employee performance, and economic ups and downs.

How do we react to these constant changes? Well, herein precisely lies the problem for many: “react.” We react. We adjust. But we don’t take the lead. We change systems and processes; we adjust to what technology offers us. And we seem to know very well “what” to do, because it’s a reaction to circumstances. And when it comes to “how” to do it, that’s when we put pressure on our colleagues, our team, our people.

In order to be change leaders, we need to become role models—in our actions and in our thinking. How many processes and systems can we change and adjust successfully without long-term commitment from people? What if we manage to connect to people through thought leadership, through creating a vision for change and following this vision so others can get inspired? What if we look behind the systems, technology, and processes and understand whom it takes to execute them?

Am I the light bulb or am I the light? Am I part of the system or process, waiting for someone to come and switch me on? Or am I the driving force that fuels change and that switches on people around me? The good news is: each of us can make that decision for him- or herself.

 

Stephen Melchior

Stephan is CEO & Managing Partner of Wilson Learning FZ LLC, Middle East Operations. Prior to Wilson Learning, Stephan worked in large multinational companies in the fields of Marketing and Training and helped successfully globalize in European and African/Middle Eastern markets. As a senior in-house trainer, Stephan has worked with sales people and management carrying out performance and skills assessments to determine the individual training needs of the organization. Stephan has conducted numerous training programs across various industries over the past 10 years’ in over 20 countries around the world. His specialty lies in the area of sales and leadership effectiveness and he’s currently working on his accreditation as Dubai’s first “Certified Performance Technologist (CPT)” by the International Society for Performance Improvement. Stephan is also a Master Instructor Trainer.