Embracing Change

Be a problem solver How does being a problem solver build resilience to change? Well... if you are a problem solver, you will see a challenge, not as a problem but rather a situation waiting for the right solution! If you see a picture of Mount Kilimanjaro do you think “Phew too big” or do you start planning a route, finding guides and getting the right equipment? When you are first presented with a change, you think what can I do differently and how can we benefit from this? Here are a few questions I ask myself when presented with a challenge or a new situation: What is the real issue? Customers asked for longer branch opening hours because they wanted easier access to their cash 24 hours a day. So the preferred solution to the issue, was not for branches to stay open until 11pm but to install an ATM. Who knows more than me about this issue? Use lessons learnt or simply ask an SME, colleague or friend for support when trying to solve the problem. Don’t forget yo...

Have a Personal Vision There is nothing worse than being faced with changing landscapes and not knowing what lies ahead. It's like walking along an unknown path in a forest, having to constantly look left, right to check that you are not heading toward danger As a core characteristic of building resilience to change, knowing where you are heading automatically provides confidence that you can move forward in this changing landscape without the world falling apart...so one of the first actions towards having a personal vision is to get clarity as to what it looks like. If you who were at the “Transform Indaba” , Funeka Montjane’s message of defining clear goals will still resonate clearly with you. Here is an opportunity to align your personal vision, with your team’s and ultimately the Bank’s vision and 2015 commitment to having “the whole bank at your fingertips”. Clearly knowing where you fit in the team and what you need to be doing for the day, week ...

Be Organised Imagine walking into your office in the morning and on your desk are piles of documents, lists and notes. When you switch on your computer, you are hit with 50 emails before you have even started your day. Your telephone shows 8 messages and your cell phone is ringing. For many managers and executives this may sound very familiar. When you start your day disorganised, it probably makes you feel like you are carrying a sack of potatoes that only gets heavier as the day goes on.   During the day you probably add a few more potatoes to the sack, leaving you drained and tired by the time you finish work. When you are organised however, it is more than likely that you will arrive at work rearing to go and also leave work full of energy to do all the stuff you love when you get home... I can already hear the “Yeah right! easier said than done!” Well guess what? It’s not as hard as you might think when you break it down into baby steps. Here are a few suggestion...