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Change: Friend or Foe?
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We live in unprecedented times. The face of change continues to
accelerate at a dizzying pace. It can be overwhelming. Hence,
we struggle to maintain a competitive edge trying to offset the
dogged determination of our most stanch competitor.
Newsflash: growth and progress are impossible without change; befriend it.
It is interesting that as creatures of habit we often perceive
new and easier ways as being difficult simply because they are
different. We somehow manage to convince ourselves that life is
better served by routine, always in pursuit of the easy way, the
path of least resistance. At the end of the day we secretly
convince ourselves that change sucks. We never seem to master
the perceived complexity of it as we yearn for familiarity. We
are astounded to learn that sacrilegious forces exist that
challenge time-honored, cherished methods of the past. We
vehemently resist these forces of change; these violators of
tradition.
Know this, change is going to happen, with or without you. Be
the beneficiary of change; a fight worth losing
“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving
that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on
the proof”
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Dynamics of Change
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Change is often viewed as the enemy, an unwelcome event that
disrupts cherished habits and ingrained routines. However, it is
not the change that does you in, it is the three phases of
transition we wrestle with. The three phases are: endings,
neutral zone and beginnings. Hence, transition is the window of
time associated with letting go of the old (endings) and
embracing the new.
The problem is people do not like endings. Goodbyes have never
been easy for us.
Change becomes very emotional. We need to appreciate that change
involves a lot of goodbyes. Before we can embrace the new we
must say goodbye to the old or at least portions thereof.
Learning walks hand- in- hand with unlearning.
We then enter into the second phase, the neutral zone, a state
that is neither the old nor the new. It is nowhere between two
somewheres. It is a kind of an emotional wilderness.1 This is
coupled with the spectrum of emotions we experience during
transition. They include: denial, anger, anxiety, sadness, loss,
and, finally, guarded acceptance. Experience shows that as we work through involuntary transition, our resentment wanes and we
begin to cautiously embrace the new. Perhaps with a tinge of
embarrassment we secretly acknowledge the change as advantageous
for all concerned. Hence, the upside of change often delivers
the competitive advantage we so desperately seek. Build your
wallet share and stimulate real growth by embracing your most
compelling, competitive advantage; change. To that end, I offer
a blueprint to expedite your transitions:
Ten Steps of Transition:
1) Validate the change as fact, not fiction. (rumors can suck the life outta ya!!)
2) Know the rational of change; seek clarification (why the ending)
3) Embrace the grieving process; anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety, acceptance.
4) Assess personal impact; what is my new role and responsibilities.
5) Acceptance; become part of the solution, not the problem.
6) Evaluate the upside of the new; look for the slivers of positive.
7) Work through the three stages of transition; be conscious of the process
8) Have confidence in the 80/20 ratio: 80% of previous changes in your life have proven to be positive.
Only 20% (or less) have proven to be mistakes. I would say those are pretty good odds for success.
9) Confer with your mentor. They may provide unbiased insights to the upside of change.
10) Prepare for more change: go to #1. The one constant in our world today is change.
The next time a colleague or a customer asks you how your day is
going, respond with “I’m having a great day, I’m going through
a transition”. The look on their face will be worth it.
View your yesterdays as a guidepost, not a hitching post
Tim Breithaupt
President/Author/Trainer
SPECTRUM TRAINING SOLUTIONS
tim@spectrain.com
www.spectrain.com
(403) 269-2626
(403) 269-3483
Building Confidence
Building Sales
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