Transition Edge - How CHANGE - ABLE are you? (really?)

Published: Thu, 08/05/21

Transition Edge

July 2021 - Year two of the disrupted decade

Working with people and change

Thank you for being a reader of Transition Edge. Please feel free to forward it to friends who you think might enjoy it too.

I’m Grant Symons. I convene Transition Edge to help us understand how we can transition to a low carbon sustainable world using leading thinking and practices.

Recently Jan Rotmans of the Netherlands - professor and author of the book Change of Era presented to the Taranaki community in support of their ‘Low Emissions Future’ strategy.

Looking through the presentation one particular slide caught our attention and relates to the important, but often overlooked, subject of How well do we humans cope with change?

While it’s true that, faced with no other options, we can adapt to a wide range of situations and scenarios, this isn’t our natural position. There are many ways to consider our ability to change, most focus on two critical attributes:

our willingness to change; and
our ability to change.

According to Rotmans the general population fall into four categories:

40% who cannot and do not want to change

25% who can change but don’t want to

25% who want to, but can’t; and

10% who can change and want to change!

Case in point is most hot-desking sites, where large numbers of people, while free to roam each morning for a new location, will often return to the same location… day, after day, after day! LOL

For those of you who work in the field of strategy, organisational change or social and community development this might help make sense of why it can be so difficult to establish and implement successful change programs.

Reading the statistics literally, between 50% and 65% of the population you are working with cannot change, leaving you 35% that are able to… but will need some level of encouragement and or support.

The Degree of openness to change is a field of knowledge in its own right, but it is generally accepted that there are three primary factors that influence a person’s openness, these are:

The context - in which the change is happening or is presented;

The required change - in terms of scope, magnitude and level of effort; and
The process – how the change journey might support them, and so on.

Us humans are incredibly adept at perceiving changes around us that represent a possible threat or change to the status quo. Being social and cultural beings, we pick up information, insights and cues from those around us and blend these with our own experience and beliefs.

And we tend towards maintaining our own status quo in the best and most empowering way we know - using our own skills and survival strategies in our own time, for our own interests. Driven on by the Whats-In-It-For-Me motivators.

Supporting change. So how can we appeal to people and engage them in change in a way that increases the odds that we can get many more on the ‘change bus’?

Some not negotiables…

Build trust and maintain it – you’ll need to be totally authentic in your dealing with people.
Meet people in their place, understand their world and look for opportunities to put things in terms of what’s in it for them.
Respect their agency and skills – get them involved in co-designing the change as much as possible.
Show them what is possible – a positive vision and/or give them s compelling case for change.
Support them on the journey – equip to change and be clear about their role in it.

Finally, some tips for those of you involved in leading or convening change. General wisdom in this space includes:

Being open, honest and caring – they don’t care what you know until they know that you care (often used quote). Walk a mile in their shoes.
Relaxed awareness – situational awareness that helps you flex and respond to where others are really at or coming from
Positive disposition – realistic, honest but coming from a positive vision
A learning and growth mindset. Not set, but willing to flex and pivot to new and emerging knowledge and situations
Manage yourself, meaning continuous monitoring of your own mindset and emotional state. The are many options for achieving this.

Rotmans also makes reference to the effects of legislative, institutional, and social peer pressures as critical contextual changes that eventually force people to change.

These may be blunt instruments, but history shows that they generally work (you end up having no option). And then there is nature itself, aka Covid and the Climate!

In our experience, change is much more fun, rewarding and ultimately better for you, your place and those around you, if you are masters of your own destiny, learning and doing what is best for you - together.

If you want to avoid the ‘Van Gogh Scream’ you might like to consider a THQ Learning Journey or our Real Transition Leader course.

This weeks quote

“Finding your why will help you find your way.”

― John C. Maxwell

And do check out our Learning Journeys or Real Transition for Leaders programs.

We'd love to see you on a future course.

Have a great week

Regards

Grant

The Transition Guy

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