Tadpole To
By: Cheryl E. Johnson, PCC Galveston Co. Tax Assessor Collector Cheryl. E. Johnson @ co. galveston. tx. us
Prince
Change is a fact of life and challenges even the bravest of hearts, but provides some of the greatest opportunities for personal and business improvement. According to Dictionary. com, it is both a verb and a noun and can be used with or without an object. If you are the object, it may represent pain and require courage. For me, change is a daily responsibility, a fabric of my being as I believe it is a necessity if you wish to achieve excellence and strive for more than simple survival.
Think of caterpillars and tadpoles. A caterpillar’ s pace is slow, its opportunities limited, yet morphs into a butterfly without limits. Tadpoles have only the pond in which they hatch but grow legs and become creatures of both land and water and, according to the lore of my youth, could possibly achieve the greatest of heights if kissed.
Our organizations are reflections of us, exposing our attitudes, aptitudes, potential. What does your organization say about you? Are you a change agent or a creature of habit. If you created it, every nuance of it is you and I hope its reflections mirror your dreams. If you inherited a successful business or organization( or were hired to lead one), will it adopt you or you adopt it? If you inherited a less-than-functional / successful one( or were hired to fix one), it will either sap your energy and defeat you or provide secrets to greatness behind what appear to be closed doors. It is simply a matter of attitude.
I inherited— actually asked you to allow me to lead--a dysfunctional government office. There were monsters under every bed, cobwebs in every closet and resistance …. incredible resistance. I began the cure with one simple act – required then employees of my predecessor to reapply for their jobs. The weebees( we be here before you came, we be here after you leave) were converted to wannabees or asked to seek their purpose elsewhere. Everyone working in the Galveston County Tax Office asked to be there, competed against others for their position or worked their way up into leadership positions. Everyone is offered an opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves – challenged to grow through service to our communities and to change for the better.
The Galveston County Tax Office has a vision, a mission and goals. Our vision is that the race for quality has no finish line … we will always be aimed for the target but will always move it further away to enable our growth to continue. It means we will make mistakes but we will learn from them. It means we will be nervous in our approach – not relaxed. Anxiousness and anticipation generates energy.
So, will you pass through this life and work with dread or take flight from your cocoon of safety? Transform or deform? Modify or stagnate? Grow or wither on the vine?
The choice and responsibility is yours. If you lead a business or organization, be the role model for the performance and attitude you expect from others. Be their cheerleader, supplier of tools needed to get the job done; be willing to change – not for change sake but to enjoy the benefits of success achieved because you dared to try.
MOMENTUM / March 2017 19