Continued Progress Demands That We All De-link Ourselves From The Now Known Agents Of Mediocrity

By Mwangi Wanjumbi – Newtimes B. S. CEO & Chief Consultant/Trainer

Have you encountered people who jump from one tragedy to another, either consciously or otherwise? Actually, insights on change resistance that inhibits progress and development therefore leading to mediocrity, can never be exhaustive. However, some of the factors are more predominant compared to all others. In fact, they are the subject of numerous studies in marketing and other branches of learning. They control the development of new products, new markets and in particular personal, organizational, national and even global development.

These resistance attributes become even more entrenched in African and Oriental cultures.  The same are known to be harmonious thus endowed with tendencies of doing what everybody else is doing. Further, they are said to be uncertainty avoidance cultures. Simply put, they avoid taking risks thus eschewing new ideas.

In the process, resistance to change becomes natural. The effect is that innovation oriented growth becomes impaired. People are unable to unleash their potentials. Organizations too suffer the same fate. Is this situation sustainable in competitive global environment?

Certainly, we all need to clearly understand these anti-progress agents, with a view to turning them into irrelevance. Only then can we expect to continue achieving any meaningful development for now and the future.

Leading these attributes is ignorance. In fact, this ignorance is the lowest stage of the learning process. People do not know and they do not even know that they do not know. Presumably, what they do not know may not bother or hurt them even though it forms great inhibitions to progress. Really?

It is no wonder then that the citation (in the good book) to the effect that” my people are dying for lack of knowledge,” applies widely in real life situations. Ideally, when people get out of ignorance one way or the other, they would naturally be expected to fast-track into the other levels of learning and development. But, do they?

Many people land into a second inhibition to progress that is commonly referred to as complacency. They become comfortable with the prevailing situation. They are not interested in expending efforts aimed at improving their status. It is even worse when the change involves risk taking. Many would rather cling to even the lowest levels of comfort, than take risks that are associated with change. Is this not common everywhere, including in the workplace?

In worst case scenarios, people will not put efforts of correcting situations if they don’t have to. Therein, we find indifference, another great inhibition to progress. It is about don’t care attitude. “It is not my job,” people tend to reason. This attitude is driven by poor sense of belongingness, especially in the workplace. Matters are left to the attention of anybody and everybody.

Eventually, nobody takes action or cares. This is certainly a dangerous situation for organizations. It is no wonder then that crises management thrives across a large spectrum. Indeed, achievement of desired objectives and goals is almost permanently driven by established firefighting procedures.

Procrastination is still another attribute that is incompatible with progress. It is about postponing action even when it involves embracing solutions to organizational challenges. As they say, “we will train next year,” or “we are not engaging in any activities until after the ensuing elections. Whether they are well thought out excuses is a matter of conjecture.

Meanwhile, organizations are persons whose existence is made possible through legal statutes as is now well known. However, any desired action will only happen if executed through the human element.  The moment people are ignorant, indifferent, complacent, or are procrastinators, progress becomes seriously impaired.

Under such circumstances, the work of educators, writers, marketers, preachers and all others preoccupied in human development efforts is not easy. Initially, they have to bring people out of ignorance, hoping that they will continue progressing. Unfortunately, many fly directly into an advanced form of ignorance – not knowing the impact of indifference, complacency and or procrastination.

While, in these three states, we continue hurting our chances of climbing up the ladder of success, whether in personal, organizational or even national circumstances. The earlier we all make concerted efforts of overcoming these key inhibitors to progress, the higher our chances of continually climbing the infinite steps of the success ladder, whatever our situations in life.

Undoubtedly, organizational change and employee re-branding solutions will reverse the impact of the said inhibitors of progress, not only at personal but also at organizational perspectives. Embracing the strategic management process thereafter, could easily disassociate affected organizations with the said agents of mediocrity especially as we approach the New Year and beyond.

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