It’s a natural human reaction to feel like a victim when change is thrust upon us. A test of character is how quickly you move through the victim stage to the mindset of a leader, who considers the situation and embraces the opportunity to respond (response-ability), writes Steve Vamos in this edited extract from his new book Through Shifts and Shocks: Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change.
One of the most limiting mindset traps is to think of yourself as a victim in the face of change. The ‘victim virus’ is not uncommon. You often hear it in the language of people you work with or do business with. Typically, it shows up in situations of difficulty and frustration.
At Microsoft, when I joined as managing director of Australia and New Zealand, the victim virus was evident whenever I’d ask if we could change or implement something new or different. The response would be ‘It’s a great idea but Corp (our US head office) won’t let you do it.’ There was some talk that I might be the shortest serving managing director in the subsidiary’s history if I pursued my non-conformist ideas (the previous record was seven weeks).
Fortunately, I was recruited as part of a change mandate supported by executives above me who accepted that Microsoft needed to change. The executive behind the change mandate was the engaging Orlando Ayala, who served for many years as the leader of the company’s subsidiary operations.
Steve Vamos – Image suppplied
Another symptom of victim virus is when people refer to the company they work for in the third person. Brett Chenoweth, an accomplished executive, Board Director and friend of mine, was trying to establish a partnership for his start-up business with Australian telco giant Telstra.
Brett kept hitting roadblocks with the executive who was key to getting arrangements in place. The process was dragging on and Brett was very frustrated by the attitude of the Telstra executive he was dealing with, who said, ‘Really sorry this is dragging on, but you know what Telstra is like.’ Brett lost his cool when he heard this and said, ‘No mate I don’t know what it’s like, and it isn’t Telstra, it’s you! You are Telstra!’
There are few things worse than hearing someone from a company speak like a victim of that company’s management or inability to get things done. Addressing the behaviours of victimhood is an important aspect of proliferating mindsets for change.
“The first step is to recognise the language and behaviour of victims…”
The first step is to recognise the language and behaviour of victims. At Microsoft we ran a ‘Victim– Leader’ training exercise across the business with the help of an external consultant, Patrick Campiani. The training helped make people more conscious of what victimhood sounded like and how victim-like questions and responses can be replaced by responses that lead to a more constructive reaction to difficult situations.
We encouraged people to be ‘response-able’, to be mindful of how they responded to difficult circumstances and whether that response was one of a leader or a victim —even though they might not be responsible for the issue or problem at hand.
The language of the victim inspires a conversation that asks:
- What happened to you?
- Who’s to blame for what happened to you?
- Why do you think they did it to you?
- What should they have done instead of what they did?
- What should they do now to repair the damage?
- What punishment do they deserve for doing it?
By contrast, the language of a leader inspires a very different approach to the same situation:
- What challenge did you face?
- What response did you choose?
- Could you have responded more effectively?
- Could you have prepared better to mitigate the risks?
- Is there something you can do now to improve the situation?
- What can you learn from this?
An everyday example of the language of a ‘victim’ might sound like this:
‘Sorry I’m late, the traffic was terrible. The council needs to fix the roads or they’ll be voted out of office at the next election!’ The leader takes response-ability: ‘Sorry I’m late, the traffic was terrible. I should have left home earlier given the roads need a lot of work.’
It’s a natural human reaction to feel like a victim when change is thrust upon us. A test of character is how quickly you move through the victim stage to the mindset of a leader, who considers the situation and embraces the opportunity to respond (response-ability).
Being self-aware and thinking about how you think is vital to being your best in situations of change.
Edited extract from Through Shifts and Shocks: Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change (Wiley, $34.99) by Steve Vamos. A former CEO of Xero, Steve has been an executive leader with Microsoft, Apple, ninemsn and IBM with over 40 years’ experience in the tech industry in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Through Shifts and Shocks is available online and in bookstores from 27 November 2024. Find out more at www.stevevamos.com
