Intentions are great, but unless it’s put into action, nothing is going to change.
Is there a difference between evolving and pivoting? Yes, and sometimes you can do both—professionally and personally.
Evolving is a choice. It’s self-awareness that you need to grow; you need to and want to develop. It’s a mindset capacity to develop as a leader. Personal development is always going to be a choice. Although some pivots are planned and strategized, many are not; sometimes, you just have to go for it; you’re put in that situation and have no other choice but to pivot.
Although pivoting may not necessarily be a choice, you can do both simultaneously; you can be self-aware and say, “I need to change. I don’t like how things are going and want to do better.” You can evolve into the person you want to be and expand your company. That’s always a choice. At the same time, as you’re growing, you are still pivoting because one of the pivots is a micro-pivot of the mindset; you’re changing your point of view and figuring out a way to level up your current situation. There are times when you are not going to be self-aware, and you won't want to have to pivot, but you have to anyway.
Be aware of the difference
At the core, wanting to evolve is wanting to do better. However, intentions only take you so far. Personal growth won't happen unless you're willing to take the time and put in the work. Deciding to take action and change—that’s the pivot part—the physical act of evolving.
It’s all about the mindset
It can be overwhelming at first trying to do both at the same time. Instead of looking at everyone else as competition, be your own competitor. Have you grown and leveled up from yesterday or the last project? Hitting roadblocks is expected. Wanting to give up is a given. Questioning your judgment or vision can have you second-guess yourself. At this moment, take a step back. See the situation from a different perspective and rely on the skill set(s) you've already developed.
Sometimes when pivoting, people feel like they’ve lost all control. But in truth, people have ... [+]
Anger and frustration arise when people feel they’ve lost control over themselves and a situation. If you accept that you have control over pivoting your mindset, the experience will be more positive because everyone wants that control; it’s taking control over your attitude. It’s expanding both the horizontal and vertical leadership capacities, no matter what management level or where you are on your entrepreneurial journey. Think of horizontal leadership as your tool belt containing the different strategies used to motivate a team or yourself. Vertical leadership deals with a leader’s mindset capacity to see situations from multiple points of view.
At the intersection of evolving and pivoting is your ability to utilize and apply your data to your pivot. Even if you are forced to change, you still have control. That’s the difference between a successful experience and a negative experience.
Successfully pivoting is possible and doesn’t have to be stressful. Put your personal development skills into action to develop a strategy, be mindful of your inner dialogue and make a choice to take action.
