Sometimes I am asked- what is the most difficult issue that most property managers struggle with?
The answer I give every time is that most are unwilling to accept change and take on board fresh and new ideas.
Change does not come naturally!
Change is something that does not come naturally to most people. Growing up we are dragged through constant change in our bodies and hormones. We go through high school, college, get married, buy a house, have kids. Change can be forced upon us.
Each one of these changes brings with it the fear of the unknown, stress, a reluctance to sometimes step forward and face the challenge that is coming toward at us at a hundred miles an hour.
We tend to naturally lean to the familiar, get comfortable in what we know. And what we know does not stress us. Our comfort zones become our little kingdoms where we dwell and abide, and we fortify it from any invaders armed with ‘dangerous’ ideas of change!
I may present a property manager with some new ideas and thoughts from ‘left field’. Ideas picked up at a property management conference, powerful thoughts from a book, or new concepts with what other property management leaders are doing. Sadly, I usually get the same predictable response, ‘that won’t work here because…’ ‘That’s the way I have always done it, why do we need to change it!’
It becomes clear that this attitude will not allow the person to grow into a new level, because they have firmly placed an ‘invisible lid’ on their potential. Every negative response is really indicating the very reason why they won’t grow!
Some people are set like cement!
Sometimes I can convince the person to change, and sell the ideas and get them on board. Sometimes the person is set like cement and will never change!
I have found this quote to be true: ‘It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.’(James Gordon, M.D.)
Change is a powerful tool in user-friendly hands. It brings a fresh edge to something stale. It breathes newness into something dull, boring and lifeless. It motivates, refines, improves character and spurs on personal development.
Change pays great dividends when we look over our shoulder and see how far we have come! Those who develop themselves around constant refinement, who take the road less travelled, those who are willing to take risks with new ideas are the ones who get richly rewarded with the wages of fulfilment and a sense of achievement.
Not changing will keep you poor!
I used to wear a lid. It was only when I realised that it was keeping me poor and unrewarded that I woke up, and realised I needed to change. Besides, when I had a good hard look at myself, the lid looked silly on me! I threw it away and embraced the winds of change head-on.
Do what I did, and put your lid in the bin!
Be the best you, you can be!
