Move your Organization from Wait-and-See to a Chance-to-Lead

Whether it is thanks to the coronavirus pandemic or accelerated exponential change that has been taking place for decades prior, digital disruptions are not slowing down anytime soon. And while the wave of change is bringing new opportunities all the time, it is bound to create discomfort for those who believe they are immune to change.

I coin this mentality the “wait-and-see mindset”: when a business or organization decides to wait out a massive digital disruption that is either heading its way or is already shaking up the products or services it offers. Realistically, we all wait and see in some ways — it is certainly easier to let someone take the leap and, theoretically, get banged up on the way down, showing you what not to do.

However, seldom does that turn out the way a business leader, entrepreneur, or employee was hoping, largely because that same leap will never be there for you to take again, or even worse, you could be left stranded where you are at.

But the good news is that because of how accelerated digital disruptions have become, there is likely more than just one opportunity to leverage in your industry. Therefore, if you recognize that your organization has a wait-and-see mindset around the discomfort of change, here is your chance to transform that for the better.

To Wait and See Is Wishful Thinking

First and foremost, let’s understand this wait-and-see mindset a bit more to help you get more comfortable with letting go of relying on it so heavily.

In past blogs, I have addressed this mindset; however, I want to remind everyone of a fact of life: Everyone has a wait-and-see mindset initially! That’s right, even the riskiest individuals first consider waiting out something they are unsure about. This is a primordial survival trait, similar to our aversions to change.

Finding a status quo means safety for us. Just like animals have instincts that, even after domestication, they cannot shake, human beings strive for a “normal” of sorts. It is why the pandemic has been so disruptive to many people’s mental health; living like we have is so far from what we have deemed normal for centuries.