As we navigate change in the business world or in our private lives, we sometimes find we are doing OK, but wonder how we can be of the greatest use to others.
This five-point primer on the bests ways to help (numbers added by me) was written by Sandra Krot, one of my colleagues at Insight Principles Inc., who has kindly consented to sharing it here.
And, as always, put your own mask on first before helping others!
Sharing Understanding to Help Others Navigate Change
Insight Principles Inc. newsletter contained a story by Ken Manning that focused on our capacity for new thinking to guide us through change.
Some readers responded to the story like this: “I get it. I’m doing ok with the change. But how do I help my team/family?”
We have a primer for you.
The primer includes the same points we make when working with organizations and/or individual leaders and their families as they move through change.
It is important to preface this list with a few reminders:
1. We can only genuinely share what we know to be true for ourselves. Your own understanding comes first.
2. Timing is everything. Discussions are rarely helpful or effective when people are too upset or anxious to listen. Pick a teachable moment.
Navigate Change, A Primer
Now that we have that out of the way, here’s the primer.
Change is constant in life. Some say it’s the only constant. You’d think we’d be good at it, but we’re not. Some people are downright terrified.
It’s never good to drag anyone kicking and screaming into a new world. Ensuring those affected are enrolled and on board as early as possible is critical as is keeping the information flowing.
But when it comes to helping people truly understand and navigate change…
the real movement happens when people realize the following facts:
- Change is not inherently positive or negative, scary or disruptive. It is whatever you think it is in any moment. Your thinking is always changing and what looks daunting in one moment can appear solvable in the next. You probably have many examples to share.
- If you are feeling fear or insecurity about a change, these feelings are not coming from the change. You are always feeling your thinking. Therefore, your feelings are coming from your thinking about the change. This is the only way the mind can work. This is why you will see varied responses to the same change from different people.
- Most fears and insecurity about change are rooted in assumptions about the future. As if you had a crystal ball. Remember, the future is an incomplete equation. You have no idea what thinking will show up when the present arrives. You likely have examples of times when your own thinking surprised you.
- Your mind is designed to be resilient. There is a built-in intelligence that has been online your entire life and it has been bringing you insight after insight. Every shift that you have lived through has been informed and aided by new thinking that showed up when you needed it. Don’t you remember?
- If you want the people in your organization or in your family to be truly equipped for change, then help them understand the workings of their own mind. It’s the best gift you can give them, and the best enabler for a successful transition.
Author: Sandy Krot with acknowledgement to Vivienne Edgecombe whose writing inspired this.
