When implementing change some people suggest an incremental approach and start with small steps.

Others, will promote the idea of having a vision, think big, and aim for the bigger than ourselves goal.

Both are right in their own way.

Both approaches are necessary.

It’s not an either/or question, it’s an and/both one. If one of both is missing, the other will not happen.

The question thus becomes, in which are you involved and how?

If you are the one deciding on the change you want to make, you are the one defining the larger goal and will have enough understanding of it to know what it needs to be implemented. With that understanding, you’ll be able to organize yourself with a method suitable to help you move towards the goal you’ve set.

Neither needs to be perfect. Knowing the orientation and having a way to discover the path is enough. It’s gaining in experience that will create more clarity.

When you are part of a larger system, as we all are somehow, things are different. That’s a situation in which your work is to figure out what the larger goal of that system is. What is the organization seeking to achieve? Can you see how well it is aligned with your objectives? Where are the constituents with whom you can work towards your objectives? And given the role you have in that system, what are the contributions you can make and how can you make them meaningful?

It brings you back to decide on the change you seek to make. But it puts you in a position from which you can choose a goal as well as the small steps you can make. A position from which you can be effective.

Figuring out how well aligned your objectives are with the ones of the system you are active in tells you how big your goal is. It also tells you what resources you’ll need and where to start.