Link: http://www.gaian.com

Gaian Newsletter Volume 2.3

March 2005

When Bad Organizations Happen to Good People

Change Happens.

I tend to get two kinds of calls about change. First, there are people who are driving a change and want help with creating and navigating the process. Second, I am often asked to work with people who have the experience of being changed through the actions of others. It is this second kind of request that I'd like to talk about here.
One of the most common

of my experiences is when the organization has been changed and its members are now dealing with the impact of that change. This newsletter sprang from a conversation with an old friend and colleague who has been facing such a change. So, these words are written to those of you who have had this experience. Here are five things that may help along the way.
Remember to keep balance in your life.

One of the worst things that can happen when your work life changes is to allow it to dominate your attention. Just as we must always take in immediate nourishment in the form of air, water, and food, we must also nourish our hearts and minds to stay whole and stay productive. Hold on to time with family, friends, and yourself throughout. Take time to exercise, do fun things, and treat yourself with kindness and respect.
Remember to take care of business today.

No matter what else is going on with your organization, take care of what needs to be done. Be present with what is today. Keep your eyes on your customers and the people in your organization. In times of uncertainty, planning and prioritization are vitally important. Maintain your commitment every moment and maintain momentum.
Remember to ask for help and support

You don't need to do it all by yourself. Ask for whatever help you can get in your workplace. People, when faced with storms, tend to band together and weather them out. Find those people in your organization and create ways of supporting each other. Look within your community for people who can provide emotional support. Hire someone to take care of your lawn, your house, or your bills for a few months. Unload yourself so that you have the energy to stay focused on the path ahead.
Remember that it is okay to feel the loss.

In every change, no matter how good, there is always some associated loss (more on that next time). There is a belief in western society that we should not feel loss, let alone talk about it or show it. This can be really destructive. Whatever you feel, go with it. Just don't live there. Repressed feelings tend to get bigger and come out at the least appropriate times. Acknowledge what you are feeling and give yourself an appropriate way to deal with it. Take long runs, go to the beach, journal, or talk to a willing listener. Let is pass through you, and let it go.
Remember that it's not about you.

I have seen a great number of very qualified and talented people adversely impacted by organization changes. It is common to hear them ask, "what did I do?" That is the kind of thinking that has made them responsible members of the organization, but is NOT the kind of thinking that works in this situation. Take time to remember your successes. Create your personal portfolio during this time to remind yourself of how you got this far. See this as an opportunity to further expand your life and career.
Growth follows.

Change is inevitable, but growth is optional. Change is an opening, an opportunity, a space for transformation. Plan for yourself, take charge, and act with commitment. There is a beauty in the instability that change offers. My advice is, take a breath, smile, and leap in ....

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Gaian Newsletter Volume 2.2

February 2005

Key Practices for Living Out Change

What is your practice?

A quote I have often seen attributed to Ghandi is "you must be the change you wish to see in the world." Regardless of its origin, it is a fundamental truth about change. Change occurs now, not when. I often talk about the instantaneous nature of change. That is, as soon as you change your mind the world immediately begins to follow. It is during this time of transition, as daily events begin to shift to match your new mindset, that people often encounter doubts and fears that challenge their resolve. Recently I have had a theme occuring among my coaching clients that leads me to talk more about this. We all have a daily practice (whether we realize it or not) through which we continually create the reality in which we live. Living out a change involves changing that daily practice. I believe there are some key areas of practice that, when held in our consciousness, can greatly help us on whatever path we have chosen. Here are five that I have used with my some of my clients.
Being the Change.

Act as if the change has already occurred. After all, it has. Once you have imagined it, believed it, and committed to it, the rest is just about the world around you falling into alignment.
Being Courageous.

Change can be scary. There can be very real risks. I often see people push their fears aside in hopes of moving more quickly into their new future. There is no need to ignore fear, only to learn to listen to it and keep it in a helpful place. Being courageous is acting in the face of your fear. Being courageous is choosing your actions based on your trust and future focus while acknowledging that some aspects may be scary.
Being Positive.

Know what you expect to have happen and focus on it. Being positive does not mean being cheerful (although that helps) or ignoring risks and problems. It means spending your time and energy focused on where you want to go and taking actions that are in alignment with your chosen direction.
Being Assertive.

Assertive in this context means actively creating what you will and will not accept in your life. On a daily basis, look at the things, events, and people that surround you and fill your time. If they nourish you and sustain your change, build on them. If they do not, say no to them. Remember, you're in charge of creating this beautiful picture. Fill it completely.
Being Kind.

Adopt a practice of being kind with yourself about what you are living through. There may be times when you suddenly realize that you have been totally acting out of old habits. Self-flaggelation never helps this. Noticing and treating yourself with kindness allows your subconscious to be more fully involved in creating change in your life.
So, What's your practice?

Take some time (right now would be great) to identify three things that you practice every day. If you ever feel stuck or in a rut, there is a good possibility that you have been practicing being stuck or in a rut. Identify what you are doing to keep yourself where you are and choose three replacements. Here again, is the magic of instantaneous change. Imagine, believe, choose, commit, and practice. Again, change is a journey. Enjoy the ride!

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Gaian Newsletter Volume 2.1

January 2005

Building Sustainability in Change

Have you ever seen a change vaporize?

You've probably seen it before, a change occurs, then slowly (or even quickly) things revert back to old ways? Seems like the change just vaporized, even though it was a good idea, and people seemed to be really on board. Sometimes a seemingly unrelated crisis causes a change to be "undone". This lack of sustainability usually comes from the edges of the change, not from the mainstream. Forces from the outside create a reaction from within that goes back to old ways of doing things. This doesn't happen because people are bad or uncaring, but usually out of good reasons or responding quickly with behaviors that have been proven in the past. You can create changes that are more resilient and can better weather the pressures of a dynamic and even unstable environment. Here are some tips.
Build support with key stakeholders.

I have seen people change in amazing ways simply to have people around them pressure them to go back to the way they were before. The same happens for significant system changes. Customers or other stakeholders often insist that the people involved respond to them in the same ways. Time spent with key stakeholders in creating agreements about how they will respond to the change and how they will support the change is incredibly valuable.
Build safety nets for people working in new ways.

Just like high-wire performers, it is great to practice with a net. Changes in organization do not need to be life or death for key performers. If the stakes are high enough, they will revert to tried and true behaviors in crisis. The way around is to provide support, whether it is in peer networks, mentors, human resource systems, or others. The idea here is to make the change as safe as possible for people to stretch their new skills.
Anchor and unanchor your new system.

All social systems are a web. Anything that you change in an organization is linked to many other systems and people. Spend time understanding these connections. Then, build new connections that anchor the new system, and remove old ones that anchor the old system. Avoiding this can be like trying to sail away from the dock with the mooring lines still attached.
Release the old and deal with the loss.

Every change, no matter how good, has some element of loss. Some have huge elements of loss. Large system changes becomes very personal at this level, as people have their own feelings about what and how large those losses are. Build time and skills into your system that allow people to deal with the loss through support groups or organization rituals.
Be bold - burn some bridges.

Yes. That's right. Commit to the change and cut off the escape routes. Even symbolic acts, when done with intention among the people involved, can create a mass of power to sustain change. The key here is to be public and be clear about what you are doing and why. Communications and commitment are a powerful combination.

Except where otherwise noted, this content is
licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Gaian Newsletter Volume 1.1

November 2004

Five Common Myths about Change

Here are some things that I have learned about change.

They may sound simplistic, but these myths are foundations to how I approach change in organizations. The longer I practice, the more attention I pay to the fundamental beliefs that guide engagement processes. So here are five myths I have found to be significant variables in seamless and sustainable change efforts.

Myth 1: Change is hard.

We've all heard it and probably said it. Well, the truth is, change really isn't hard. People change all the time without really noticing much. Sometimes the new state is far easier than the old. This isn't to say that there is no work involved, for there usually is. It simply says that people change easily, when there is a compelling reason and they have the tools to do the required work.

Myth 2: Change is slow.

Change actually happens in the blink of an eye. All that is required of change is for people to change their mind about what they are doing and what they want in the world. Now, again, there are artifacts of that change that may take a while to show up, like certain behaviors or the results of new behaviors. The thing that we need to recognize and reinforce is the change of intention and the efforts in moving in a new direction.

Myth 3: Change is resisted.

People do not resist change, they resist being changed. Resistance comes from somewhere else, out of a person's history, out of their experience with change, or out of their concern for their existence in the current or future state. Resistance comes from a natural sense of integrity, from a sense of valuing something in their current state. Ultimately, dealing with this is a collaborative effort between the people working for a change and those who are called upon to change.

Myth 4: Change can be managed.

Quite an interesting comment coming from one who works in change management, don't you think? I have often called "change management" an oxymoron. I still believe that it is, in a very specific sense. In keeping with my beliefs about people, we can do things to facilitate a change in an organization that greatly enhance the probability of success and the pace of adoption. However, when you look at change as the simple process of every person individually changing their minds, that part remains outside of our control, and hence outside our ability to manage it. We can clearly only ask for change, being very clear about what we are trying to accomplish, what the benefits are, and provide tools and safety nets for people to try it out. The fact is that some people will change their minds and some people won't. That we can never control. We can only present clear choices and ensure that the organization takes appropriate action based on these choices. These processes are what we consider to be the foundations of organization change.

Myth 5: Change is less complicated in new organizations.

Working with a new organization is often working with multiple changes. Because people come from many different organizations, they carry a large and varied set of experiences and attitudes. The have a lower level of shared language and experiences and lower level of shared culture than mature organizations. Creating the structures to facilitate change can require a great deal of planning and time in new organizations. The great thing about this situation is that at the same time it introduces complexity, it also introduces great opportunity. So, what do you believe about change? My beliefs are what guide my practice. Many change practices have been built on different beliefs about people and what is required to move organizations. The significance here is less what I believe and more what you believe. I present these myths as a catalyst for you to challenge your beliefs and get clear for yourself. There is power in clarity and direction. I encourage you to find it (if you haven't already) and use it when you do.
The world we create is the manifestation of our beliefs.

The significance to all of us is that we act out our beliefs, consciously or unconsciously. In organization change, we create systems that make our beliefs visible through how we engage others, particularly in the language we use. A simple tool for driving personal change is to look back over your favorite or most recommended approaches and do a bit of "belief mining." What beliefs are manifested there?

Be clear, be direct, and take action with integrity.

Link: http://www.gaian.com

Gaian Newsletter Volume 5.6

June 23, 2008

Make your Move

When I was about 14, I started running on a school track team. I ran the mile and 880's, never particularly well, but I enjoyed it enough to keep me running for a few decades after that. Our events were a lot like hanging out with friends on the weekends. You would spend the day at the track, most of the time watching your teammates in their various events or sitting in the stands talking about really important things.

We had a team mate who's last name was Boone. He was small for his age, and ran the mile. He finished last every single race. At that point in adolescent development, there were huge differences between the competitors. He looked like he was years younger than the people he was racing, sometimes a foot and a half shorter. He was at a huge disadvantage. If you don't know, 4 laps on the track around a standard American football field is one mile. One race, the front runners actually passed him up, they were on their fourth lap and he was on his third. The next race was setting up on the track when he finished.

As a teammate, we always cheered him on. We would stand up in the stands and call out to him "Make your move, Boone! Make your move!" He always did. Every last lap, every finish, even when he was running through the people waiting to start the next race, he straightened up, lengthened his stride, and sprinted in for the finish. Every single time. No matter how far behind, he still ran a race.

Three years later, he was still running the mile at track meets. However, a miraculous thing had happened. He had grown. Now over six feet tall, long legs, very athletic, and with a marvelous habit of racing. The major difference now was that he was winning. It always stuck with me, that years before he developed the physical ability to run that distance at winning speeds, he developed the mental ability and discipline to give his best against any odds. I always admired that, and the lesson stays with me. Thanks Boone.

This ability to assume a shape, a form, or an activity, even before you can be proficient at it, is called modeling. We create many models throughout our lives, and it is a primary way we learn as children and adolescents. However, once we reach adulthood, many people stop doing it. It is usually because our egos will not allow us to pose as something we are not, or we are afraid of being incompetent. This is a major reason that people stay the same, rather than growing in new directions.

In order to learn a new activity, or be a new way, we simply must start doing it. I once asked a friend, bilingual in English and Spanish, for the best way to learn Spanish. His reply was marvelous. "Jeff, if you want to learn to speak Spanish, I think you should speak Spanish." That seems like a Catch- 22, but it stands to reason. You cannot learn to do something unless you do it. You must step into the shape that you want to exhibit, and just do it. Learn how to be that way while you develop competence.

To do this, take these steps.

Identify what you want to be like

Pick out a role model or two who exhibit the attributes you wish to adopt

Understand the things that they do to create these attributes and what you do to prevent yourself from them

Begin to adapt your life to include these key behaviors and associated thought processes.

See yourself as following the process every single time you begin the behaviors. Think yourself through the learning process. Feel what it is like to embody these behaviors. Enjoy the journey, and cheer yourself on.

Most of all, stick with it. Be kind to yourself through any learning process and have fun with it.