Advice for aspiring change agents

March 31, 2009

I had lunch today with a woman who is interested in a career in organizational development or change management. She is currently in sales development and getting her MBA.

My advice? Start right now.

Don’t wait until you have a job with “change” in the description.

Don’t wait until you have a title that gives you the power to change things.

Don’t wait for permission.

Assume the role that you’re itching to play, no matter where you are in the organization.

Take action to change something for the better. Today.

I had another conversation today with a man who wished he had done just that. In the last few years, he saw that things were being poorly managed, that processes needed to improve, that silos needed to be broken down. Unfortunately, at the time he thought that he was not in a position to say or do anything to make a difference. Now, the company is being sold, and he doesn’t work there any more.

If you see a problem, you might be the only one who can start to fix it.