Come on! It's just pennies and pounds! Yes, it's my fear of change!
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw
Media scaremongering, including across the socials we use daily, seemed to increase prominence during the Brexit days and Trump elections, moving steadily through COVID, war and now the topic of inflation. The 10 o clock news seems less a useful informative summary of world affairs but more a daily dose of…[insert any negative word here]. Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia and Humankind, suggests this too, sharing that consuming the news daily presents a very pessimistic view on the world.
We are being bombarded by the hour with reports that spark uncertainty, fear and upset. And for each bulletin we assess what impact that will have on us and how will it change our lives.
Change is something all of us experience and must deal with but we are naturally wired to avoid it. Dr. Helena Boschi, in her book “Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Our Brain to Get the Best Out of Ourselves and Others”, highlights that change, for our brains, is pain. Change represents uncertainty and an uncertain world translates to danger, so our brains focus on survival, helping us avoid these situations (good or bad). When we are faced with change our brains divert focus from higher-level intellectual function shifting to survival mode. It means that rational thinking is diminished leading us to resist the change.
Considering we all experience change in our personal and professional lives, how can we alleviate the pain?
There is considerable written on change understanding and management. We wrote some thoughts a few months looking more specifically at change and the management of it.
In this article we focus more on how to help people navigate themselves through change. In the workplace leadership has a responsibility to limit the impact of changes on their teams. That doesn’t mean avoid change and often there is no choice. But it makes sense that if all colleagues are committed to the change, it will likely deliver on the intentions, and even better, the change will stick. Helping people become comfortable in situations where they find themselves uncomfortable is key for someone in that leading position; be it a boss, a parent, a teacher.
Regardless of whether the change impacts work or home, there are three things you should do to help others more readily embrace it:
- Think change impact always
- Be active in communication and involvement
- Recognise progress and achievements
Think change impact always
Consideration surrounding how change will affect people is often given when it is seen to be a big event. That may be changes to worker terms and conditions, significant growth/decline of a business or, more personal, the death of a loved one.
Get into the habit of thinking change impact always. A recent example we were told about was an organisation wanting to make some new hires. The jobs were posted and received lots of applications, but the current team had not been fully informed. This created some tension and frustration requiring intervention. It may seem a basic example, but how many decisions are made by leadership that don’t consider the impact of that decision on others, the team, the organisation, other stakeholders?
It's the same with family too – enforce a change on your 8 year old and often there is push-back but give them two options (and control of that choice), the outcome is somewhat different!
When contemplating impact, we like to refer to David Rocks’ SCARF model that considers the threat and reward responses associated with change. It’s a useful acronym to guide your thinking and helps build a strong communication plan when involving others surrounding the change.
Status – how will this change impact how I perceive my role, position, importance, status?
Certainty – how can I get clarity on the future?
Autonomy – how can I have more choice surrounding this change?
Relatedness – how can I ensure I am still connected with others and part of the future?
Fairness – how will this change be fair from my perspective?
We’ve defined, planned, and led significant change projects. In our experience, all change involves people so communicating through the lens of SCARF results in much more understanding and commitment upfront. It is also forces leadership to think people too, not just the efficiencies a change is designed to address.
Give it a go when you next come up against a change (big or small). The change may seem irrelevant but you may find that the impact on individual is substantial, or at least perceived that way.
Communicate and involve
We believe that greater commitment, motivation and stickability occurs if you include, engage, and connect every voice. Ideally involvement comes up front and the team help you decide/shape the change.
We’ve already learned that we crave certainty – it’s a survival tactic. In times of change it is more important to communicate and involve even if you have little to update on. After all, you can still be certain about uncertainty e.g., “I do not have any more information but as soon as I do, you will be the first I share it with”.
Communication also means listening. People feel more involved and connected with what is going on when they have had ‘a good listening to’. It is therefore critical that you look for opportunities to do this and engage in ways that allow you to dig deeper. Surface level commitment does not necessarily fuel for motivation. We’re shown that the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® approach helps you get to that person’s truth quicker.
Plan in regular catch-up conversations to understand people’s thoughts and feelings, working with them to build plans that address concerns. A good tool to help you understand what an individual needs is Jeff Hiatt’s ADKAR model which has been around for over 20 years following his research into organisation change. Funnel your questions when being curious with your team or significant others about ADKAR; ask a question and let the person respond then ask a further question about the answer they have just given.
Awareness – how conscious am I of the need for change?
Desire – how much do I want the change?
Knowledge – do I have the knowledge of how to change?
Ability – do I have the skills to make this change?
Reinforcement – what will it take for me to ensure I sustain this change?
If you can help an individual work through any blockers it will result in positive action towards the change.
Recognise progress and achievements
A change has happened but it still may feel incredibly uncomfortable so a leader should be on constant lookout for times and situations that reinforces the reasons for it in the first place. This could be at an individual, team and organisational level. Use appreciative inquiry (a good way to structure this can be found here) by focusing on the positive aspects to date as change is often halted or reversed because only the problems have been listened to. Don’t ignore the issues but involve those closest to the problem to find solutions – that’s progress too.
A pretty PowerPoint detailing every aspect of a change is all well and good until the impact on people is realised. Do this thinking up front, involve, communication and recognise progress then, when it comes to reviewing what has happened, see what difference has been made!
Visit www.prometheanplay.co.uk to find out more.
[photos by Alexis Fauvet and Caleb Woods at unsplash.com]
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