Navigating change
Earlier this week I ran a coaching session with one of my long running groups of business owners. To help me prepare for the session, I had asked them in advance what their key challenges were. The list was diverse and included things like changes in the market, use of time, finding new business without being able to meet people, getting staff back to the office, managing issues with a key member of the team, personal motivation and getting stuff done. A really mixed bag, which wasn’t a surprise as I am finding that businesses and business owners are in very different places, both commercially and energetically.
Looking at the list, I was wondering how on earth I could find a topic which would have relevance to everyone.
As I often do when I’m looking for a theme or context for a session, I wrote all the challenges on a piece of paper and took a step back. There was certainly something about a lack of energy and motivation for some people, but not everyone…… and then, as I looked again, I could see there was a common thread - change. Navigating or even managing change, on a personal or business level. Mostly uninvited and some of it unwelcome – over the last year we have all had to deal with a lot of change which has been outside our control.
With a flash of inspiration, I pulled out the Kubler-Ross Change Curve.
This model was developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969, and was specifically related to her work with people who were dealing with illness and dying. It was later applied more widely and was seen to have relevance to other kinds of changes, including business change. There are now many versions of it – I particularly like this one from Moss Warner.
I have used this model many times over the years, and find it has a very comforting ability to remind us that the emotions we feel in times of change are ‘normal’. It also reminds us that how we feel is transient.
Tough times pass. Good times return.
Prior to sharing the model with the group, I asked each person to write down some of their emotions over the last year. When they then saw the picture, some were amazed at how accurately the words on the diagram matched the words they had written about themselves.
As well as looking at where you are personally, understanding where a member of your team might give you clues as to how best to support.
A couple of comments on the model itself.
Firstly, the stages aren’t always sequential; whilst we might generally progress from left to right, at times we may move backwards and forwards between stages. So, we might have started to experiment with new ways of doing things over the last year, only to become dis-heartened and move back to periods of low energy. Somehow we do find ways to keep re-energising and move forwards again.
The changes of the last year have been varied.
Whether it’s been changes in the market, a drop in revenue, new ways of working or limits on our personal freedom, it’s worth acknowledging what we have actually been dealing with. Equally challenging has been the length of time we have lived with uncertainty, which seems set to continue for a while at least.
Viewing the model on a personal level, we were mostly around the middle ‘Transitions’ section and started considering how we might support ourselves or others in moving forwards. In the ‘purple’ (acceptance) stage it might simply be about care and emotional support. In the ‘blue’ (depression) stage we might want to consider what or who motivates and energises us. By the ‘orange’ (experimental) stage we might be ready for new learning or training etc. Just knowing where you are and that there is a path out is hugely reassuring.
“All things are difficult before they are easy.”
