Hello? Hello, what's going on everyone. And welcome to the darn good leadership podcast. This show is all about being a strong and effective leader. One that can make positive impacts on your teams and communities. And the next 20 minutes, you're going to get ideas, inspiration, and practical advice. You can take action on to be a darn good I'm your host, Emily. Holting. Hello? I hope this episode finds you well. And in today's show, I'll be sharing a strategy I'm currently using to embrace change today. I will be discussing how to become a professional shapeshifter. Now I mentioned this concept briefly in my last episode, but I thought we dig in a little further into the topic. Stories on shape-shifting can be found in forms of myths and legends and dating back. As far as any tale can be recorded. In fact shape-shifting stories are found in almost every single culture. This a first surprised me, but when I gave it a little more thought it actually made sense. Humans from the beginning of time, wherever they have sat on this globe. Have faced a common element. The elements of change. Change is inevitable. Change cannot be out. Run change is the one constant for everyone. So with that in mind, of course, shape-shifting is a common tale from all cultures. Because it provides a way to deal with change. Shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform into another shape or being so bringing this concept out of the miss, out of the legends, out of the comic world today. Let's discuss practical ways that you can embrace change. Take on that new role land, that new job let's discuss how to become a professional shapeshifter. The first necessary component of becoming a professional shapeshifter is you must commit. When change happens and a new opportunity presents itself. As a leader, you have a choice. You can commit to that opportunity or you can pass on that opportunity. The choice is always yours. The gravity and the consequences of saying yes or no may not be in your control. But the choice certainly is. Personally, I believe that if you do say yes to an opportunity that is now your responsibility to commit. None of this one foot in one foot out. We'll see how it goes, but to charge at that thing with everything you have, when you think about shape shifters, a half ass shapeshifter does not work. They need to fully shift. And so This can be painful. As there is a sense of loss with any change, but it is necessary. Think about the person you need to become for this opportunity and then do your best to embrace that. So I'm starting a new position and that's requiring me to shapeshift. And I knew that saying yes to this opportunity meant a commitment. One to the company, one to the people around me and one of myself. It starts there. Doing and reading myself to become what is needed to set the company, the people around me and myself up for success. In order for me to do this, I have to shed some skin that is no longer serving me in this new role. And I need to start mirroring what a successful person looks like. Who does this role? So, how do you do that? Well, that brings us to our next component. The second component of becoming a professional shapeshifter is suspend time observing your new work ecosystem. Observation is a requirement. And if observation is required. Then you have to be around the respective people to observe them. There is tons of virtual work happening nowadays, but when you shape shift, getting in-person face to face and time with the people that you are now going to be around is hugely beneficial. If you are given a chance to meet with anyone for this new opportunity, face to face. Take it. Make it happen. And when you're with them being engaged, be present. Listen, learn, take as much in as humanly possible. Be a sponge. And when, and person is not going to happen. And it's just not the reality. Do the next best thing, which is video format. Make sure you spend time with the people who are in your new team, who are your new partners, who will be your new stakeholders and who are a part of your new ecosystem. Get in there and start observing. The third component of becoming a professional shapeshifter is to get super curious. Do we have any game of throne Watchers listening to this show? I really hope so because I'm a huge fan. I also love house a dragon, but back to game of Thrones. I always love the line from game of Thrones. You know, nothing, John Snow. I truly wish I could do the accent. Um, cause that doesn't totally do it justice, but if you know the You know, nothing, John Snow. I think about this quite a bit as you're taking on shape-shifting professional. Shape-shifting that is. You have to remember, you are no longer the expert. You don't know what you don't know. And that's okay. As long as you don't pretend, you know what all. Instead get super curious. As I mentioned, I'm in this new role. So I'm carrying with me a notebook and a pen everywhere I go. So I hear an acronym I've never heard before I write it down. I hear a common message repeated from various people. I write it down. Anytime a new question pops up in my head. I write My new role is to be the most curious creature that ever existed. What's that? Who's that. Why do we do that? How do we do this? This is the time to ask all the questions. Because I know six months from now, I'm going to be responsible for knowing a majority of these things. So don't be afraid to go into student mode and learn as much as you can through curiosity. The fourth component of becoming a professional shapeshifter is to rely on and learn from the experts. When you shapeshift, you are becoming something new and different. And even with all the commitment, observation, and curiosity that you throw at this thing. You lack experience. Yes, you may have experienced in other things. But if you're lacking experience in this new role This do company that expertise does not happen overnight It doesn't happen by reading a book, getting a certification or attending a couple of workshops or seminars. It happens through consistent and repeated experience. Which you will not have. And that's okay. Because as a shapeshifter you will need to rely on and learn from the experts. So figure out who they are internally, spend time with them. Determine how to better support them and empower them, discuss how you can better set them up for success and determine what is needed from you to learn versus what you will need their support on. Also determine if there are any external experts you can also leverage and learn from. In agile and working with R and D teams, which is something I've spent the majority of my career on. There is something we always preach, which is honing your T shape skills. So T-shaped people and individuals are experts who specialize in a core skill, but. I also have a broad range of skills and other areas. So I want you to envision this right now, put your arms, spread them out like a T shaped, okay. Cause this is how we teach it to the teams we're talking with. So a T-shaped person combines the broad skill. So that's your arms they're spread out, but they're more thin. They combine that with a specialized skill and a specific function or area. So that's your bottom, that's kind of the trunk of your body of the T that's the vertical part. This flexibility allows a team to optimize for effectiveness. And the same can be said of people. This allows a person to be capable of many things. When you change roles with an accompany, you will need to rely on the experts for the vertical part, the T the specialized skillsets. Whereas if you change companies, but you keep a similar role, you may have that vertical part of the T down the expertise. But you will need to expand your Brad skill sets and learning how the company works and how things get done. So again, relying on the experts to expand the broad strokes of your horizontal T. So figure out where you currently stand in your T-shaped skills and determine which broad strokes you need to grow in your horizontality and which expertise you may need to build in your vertical T. also think about what potential icicles you may need to develop. So, what do I mean by icicles? We'll again, stretch your arms out in a T shape. Now imagine there's been a cold front and now your arms have icicles hanging off of them. So some are long, some are short, some are thick. None of them are as thick as the trunk of your tea, but think about What skills in this new role or new company might, you need to develop more than just broad strokes, but not as much as being an expert in them. This icicle shaped skillset concept was coined by Dave roomy. And that he thought of his skill sets, looking like icicles hanging from a roof or a tree branch, Or in this case off your T-shaped arms. You can have a broad range of skillsets and don't necessarily have to have an equal depth or knowledge in all of them. It just depends on what is needed. You're not going to get 20 years of experience in two months. It just is it's impossible and it can't happen. So find the experts rely on them, learn from them and identify where you can hone your T-shaped and icicle shaped skillsets. The fifth and last component of becoming a shapeshifter is to be true to yourself. When new opportunities present themselves to, you know, that the opportunity came for a reason. And the reason has to do with the core of who you are and the energy you're putting out into the world. So don't lose that as you shapeshift, that is the skin that you don't want to shed. That is the skin that does serve you well, and that you want to bring along with you. Where you are the expert where you have that long part in the trunk of your tea, figure out how you can leverage that in this new position. What have you learned and what have you experienced that your new team can benefit from? Being true to yourself is your super power, because there is only one you in this entire world, what you stand for, how you lead, what value you can bring, what energy you put out. Those are unique to you and you should figure out how to leverage those abilities. The most skilled, shapeshifters always returned back to their core shape. So mystique, I don't know if you know who this is, but she's from the comic book world. She could become anyone. And yet she would always shift back to herself, which is a blue skinned, red haired creature. Dracula. Who's probably more common known. He would shift into a bat. Of course. But come hell or high water. He was shipped back into his Dracula human form. So shape-shifting, if done effectively allows you to become what is needed. Without losing your true form. Okay. Let's recap. The five components necessary to become a professional. Shapeshifter our number one. You must commit. Number two, spend time in and observe your new work ecosystem. Number three, become the most curious creature out there. Number four, rely on and learn from your experts. And that way you can improve your T-shaped. And eventually I school shape skills. And number five, be true to yourself. As you think about shape-shifting and becoming a successful one at that remember? No one is going to care more about your professional growth than you. So take the rains, take the driver's seat. Don't wait for someone to appear with a plan, whether that's an onboarding plan or development plan, own it and chart your course. If someone shows up with insight advice, guidance, that is a cherry on top. But no one is going to care more about your success and your path forward than you. As change occurs and opportunities arise. You get to decide which opportunities you will pass on and which opportunities you will commit to. You get to determine what skin you will keep and what skin you will shed. You get to determine what you will shape, shift into next. That's what I have for you today. I hope you found some inspiration on how you can embrace change through the art of professional shape-shifting. If you like what you heard, please leave a rating and review be bold. Be bright. Be a leader who embraces shape-shifting into new roles and opportunities while staying true to who you are. Until next time Onward and upward. Cheers.