Is it time to pivot?
Seek the truth to decide whether to change or stay the course
When leaders come to me looking for a coach, it’s often because they’ve started to notice a pattern emerging in their business, leadership, or personal growth.
Rather than momentum, they’re seeing signs of resistance, such as:
In the market: Revenue growth is declining
In their team: A relationship with a direct report is turning tense
In themselves: They’re tired of stifling their authenticity to fit a mold
They want clarity and forward movement, but aren’t sure whether they need to change direction or stay the course they’re on.
If you suspect a pivot is brewing:
Investigate the resistance. Get curious about the signs. Name them. Jot down when, where, and how they appear. What are those signs trying to tell you, in context?
Build your hypothesis. Chart possible paths forward from where you stand today. Which paths have legs? What makes you say that? Pick 1 or 2, and fill in these blanks for each one:
“I believe that __X__.”
“X is an intelligent hypothesis because __Y__.”
“X will be worth investing in if the test meets__Z__metric.”
Test the hypothesis. Structure your test to gather only as much insight as you need to prove or disprove your hypothesis. Fill in these blanks, then execute:
“I’m going to test __X__ by taking __A__ action over __B__ timeframe.
“My parameters will include __C__.
The mindset I will bring to this test is __D__.
Acknowledge unknowns. You don’t know how people will respond to changes in you as you expand your perspective, or how the world will change around you. Consider risks, but be careful not to paralyze yourself into inaction.
Choose a direction. With your new unbiased insights, make a decision. What truth did you uncover? Did you prove your hypothesis? Are your insights directing you to stay the original course, or test a new hypothesis?
If you’re a freewheeling type and this feels too methodical, know this:
Experimentation helps us to see what’s possible before committing to a path. While you need to gather data for smart decision-making, you get to decide what energy you will bring to it.
Early this year, a coach helped me to get clear on the energy I wanted to bring to my own testing:
I believed that VCs could be an efficient channel for me to connect with founder-CEOs for coaching
VCs as a channel was an intelligent hypothesis because they want a strong ROI, they have multiple companies in their portfolios, and I have coached founders whose engagements were backed by an investor.
I wanted the test to be fun. I framed my mindset and every task in my experimentation to feel like skipping.
(Yes…I drew this on an index card and kept it at my desk all of Q1 for inspiration!)
Through my testing, unfortunately I discovered that VCs weren’t the best channel for me to prioritize!
While I had to get over the hump of disappointment, I’m grateful that I got learnings quickly so I could move on. This is one of the biggest benefits of experimentation.
I’m now testing a new hypothesis, for Q2, while I stay the course in other aspects of my business.
What advice do you have for me as I proceed?
I read the steps and my brain went, love the structure (cause I'm a virgo...all about the organization) AND in reflecting back on my own experience I am noticing the freewheeling hahaha. I am currently using a combination of hypothesis testing in the 'entrepreneurship goal' and freewheeling feedback loops within a larger process of pursuing multiple long term goals collectively.
I have been doing something similar, but in a visual way - I build a decision tree mind-map. Over the years, it has become a reflection of the journey I’ve taken. I periodically revisit it for retrospection. This helps me learn from the decisions I made, including those where I chose “The Road [Not] Taken.”