Sunday, October 17, 2010

Item #31: Change. Part 2.















In my last post, I talked about Change. And I predicted there would be a Part 2. In fact, it turns out that I do have reason to continue the Change theme. I've been prompted to think about Change a little differently, and brings me to this post: About When Things Actually Don’t Change.

A Situation:

Let’s look at a common Change situation, one that often occurs in the professional setting. A company's management implements a restructuring, people leave, new people join, departments shift, processes shift, offices move… change, change, change. The immediate associated feelings experienced by remaining employees are generally varied and contradictory.

- Feelings of Hope: Things are happening! Good things may follow!
- Feelings of Fear: Do I like these changes? Will they be good for me? Am I safe?
- Feelings of Uncertainty: What is really going on? I see lots happening, but what does it all really mean?

These Change feelings – the hope, the fear, the uncertainty – can take on positive associations or negative associations depending on the ultimate ‘outcome’ of the Change.

This is where Change lies at its essence, and this is why humans have such difficulty with the notion of Change.

If the company's management restructuring, the influx and outflux of people, the processes and physical location shifts, if all that Change, translates into an outcome that is considered better i.e.: beneficial and improved, then the associations we will have with that experience of Change and the associated feelings will be positive.

If the restructuring, the influx and outflux of people, the processes and physical location shifts, all the change, translates into no discernibly improved outcome, then this is the kind of situation that can paint ‘Change’ with a negative brush. Without a positive outcome, we form negative associations with the feelings of the Change experience; the hope, the fear and the uncertainty, become re-interpreted and experienced as deflation, anxiety and discomfort.

So… What Happens When Change Doesn’t Happen? Feelings that could be potentially become associated with positive experiences become re-interpreted as hallmarks of something negative. If, on the other side of Change, there is no discernible improvement, the result is a reduced expectation that good things will happen in the future, because the anticipation for good things to happen in the past was disappointed.

What’s the lesson around Change? I think there are two lessons.

1. As a company, for example, it’s best to proactively ensure that Change results in beneficial improved outcomes. When making Change, don't commit to the process, commit to the end-game.

2. As a person riding Change, in order to manage Change, and in order to be able to handle future waves of Change-related hope, fear and uncertainty, there is a way to look more philosophically at Change. Because even in the midst of seemingly ‘No Change’, there actually is Change, at a potential and more personal level.

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