It Wasn’t Better Before. Onward and Upward.
In Erikson’s Red personality profile, a preference for change can make someone quick to adopt a better idea and equally quick to disrupt a working system. The useful tension is between improvement and the stability others need.
THE IDEA
It Wasn’t Better Before. Onward and Upward.
In Erikson’s profile, a Red doesn’t try to stick to his original point of view when he realizes that a better solution exists. He is a quick thinker and has no problem shifting his ground at short notice. One of the advantages of this is that he doesn’t reject other people’s ideas if he has none himself. It’s worth looking into anything that can propel development forward.
Sometimes decisions can come a little bit too quickly, but the will to constantly change creates a strong dynamism and flexibility. If anything has been static for a long time—maybe a few weeks—he will turn things up a notch. Some people may find this stressful, but when you ask a Red why he changed something that was actually working the answer could well be “Because I could.”
Naturally, there are also downsides. Reds get bored with the status quo quickly and so they change it—the people around them have no idea what will happen next. When Greens and Blues have just gotten used to the new organization and think they have finally grasped how things are supposed to work, well, a Red will have already outlined the next step.
When to use it
In a fast-paced startup, a Red leader can drive rapid innovation by constantly iterating.
In product development, this heuristic encourages not becoming attached to first versions and being open to pivoting.
In team management, it highlights the need to communicate changes clearly to avoid confusion.
In personal development, it suggests that reluctance to change may hold back growth.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Changing a Working System
A Red manager reorganizes a team's workflow that was functioning well, simply because they saw an opportunity for improvement. When asked why, they respond 'Because I could.' This disorients team members who had just adapted to the previous structure.
Adopting a New Solution
A Red quickly abandons their initial idea when a better one is proposed, showing no attachment to their prior viewpoint and embracing the new direction without hesitation.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
When have you changed something that was working well? What was your motivation?
How do you balance the need for improvement with the stability required by a team?
When do you seek change, and when do you prefer stability? How does each preference affect the people working with you?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Surrounded By Idiots (Thomas Erikson)