Adaptability Is the New Change Keys to Embracing Change and Transition
AWARENESS CHANGE TRUISMS Changing is hard. People don t like to be changed. Human beings like apples are subject to Newton s First Law of Motion, which states: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness. ~ James Thurber
Our brains are wired to seek, create and replicate patterns. CHANGE RUINS ALL THAT!
CHANGE CURVE William Bridges, in his book Transitions, describes the change process quite succinctly as, letting go of an old situation, suffering the confusing nowhere of inbetweenness, and launching forth again in a new situation.
CHANGE vs. TRANSITION Bridges clarifies the difference between change and transition as this: CHANGE: An event that is situational and external to us. Occurs when something old stops and something new starts. TRANSITION: The experience of the gradual, psychological reorientation process that happens inside of us as we respond and adapt to external change. Transition often results from a change, but it may also be triggered by the news that a change is imminent and, so start before the change actually takes place. SOURCE: Transition: The Personal Path Through Change, Wm. Bridges, Ph.D.
https://foresightculture.com/2017/05/22/5-stages-of-grief-for-people-facing-their-future
CHANGE DNA Another truism about change is that it has a Halo Effect. Past experiences with change (either positive or negative) will strongly influence our perceptions and therefore reactions to proposed changes. Past experiences with change are deeply embedded within our memories and can sometimes, even without our conscious awareness, influence our reaction to proposed changes.
MY CHANGE DNA Reflect on significant changes that have occurred throughout your life and map them on this Change Timeline. Please go back at least 10 years on your timeline and be sure to bring it up to the present day. Map both personal and professional changes. Once you ve completed the timeline, indicate whether you considered the changes positive (+) or negative (-) at the time the change was introduced.
The only way to master your own responses to change (your transition) is to stay engaged in the moment and begin to make deliberate choices about HOW you want to respond.
STAYING PRESENT How often do you find yourself disconnecting from what is going on around you? What people or events trigger this disconnection? Do you find yourself disconnecting on purpose or is your mind wandering unconsciously? For more practice on staying present and focused, try the exercise at: http://www.careerleader.com/ftpfiles/freeattentionexercise.mp3
CHECKING IN Trying to keep ourselves from experiencing a particular emotion in the first place is an even bigger mistake than trying to fight it once we are aware of it. When we attempt to preempt it, we risk hiding the emotion rather than letting it go. Unseen, the thought behind the feeling continues to operate, but with far more power than before Unless we uncover our reasons for feeling the way we do, merely battling our tendency to feel that way will do little to free us We must expose the thought that is producing the emotion, and we must expose what we re doing to empower and retain that thought. Hugh Prather, Little Book of Letting Go
OPPOSING FORCES Mastering your options during large-scale change starts with one action at a time even if you re not sure what the outcome will be.
KURT LEWIN S FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS MODEL Declare desired state Identify current state List forces Determine strength of forces Total strengths Explore options on reinforcing/ strengthening forces for change and reducing/ eliminating or neutralizing forces against change.
Bridges, William, Ph.D., Transition: The Personal Path Through Change. Carlson Learning Company Bridges, William, Ph.D., 2003. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing. Butler, Timothy. 2007. Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Chodron, Pema. 2004. Getting Unstuck: Breaking Your Habitual Patterns & Encountering Naked Reality. Louisville, CO: Sounds True Publishing. Fritz, Robert.1989. The Path of Least Resistance. New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine (Ballantine Books) Fritz, Robert. 1999. The Path of Least Resistance for Managers. Berrett-Kohler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, CA: Legace, Martha.1007. Feeling Stuck? Getting Past Impasse. Harvard Business School Publications. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/pdf/item/5548.pdf McGee-Cooper, Ann. 1990. You Don t Have to Go Home From Work Exhausted. Dallas, TX: Bowen & Rogers. Prather, Hugh. 2000. The Little Book of Letting Go. New York, NY: MJF Books. Pritchett, Price, Ph.D., and Ron Pound, Ph.D., The Stress of Organizational Change. Dallas, TX: Pritchett & Associates, Inc. Reina, Dennis and Michelle. 1999. Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Wiklund. Patricia, Ph.D., 2000. Taking Charge When You're Not in Control: A Practical Approach to Getting What You Want Out of Life. Ballantine Books.
Tracie Reveal Shipman Many Voices, COE (Chairman of Everything) Frisco, TX 469-233-3979 tracie@manyvoices.biz