Change doesn’t come in dribs and drabs. A lot of times, when it rains, it pours.
I know this from lived experience. Cue 2009/2010 separation, redundancy, house move, new job… More recently 2020 Covid, redundancy, starting a new business, loss of a loved one. Far out! It felt like I was doing 10 rounds against a heavy weight.
I’m not the only one who experiences layers of change at once. I know this from an exercise I do with my participants when we cover Leading Change. And it’s a great one for doing with your teams at your next team meeting.
Here’s how:
Starting with a solo reflection, I get participants to record, in two columns, all the Personal and Professional changes they can anticipate over the next 12 months. Then let the pens start rolling for a about three to five minutes….
On the Personal column I often hear:
Health stuff (knee replacement, menopause, family member’s health stuff)
Kids leaving home
Moving house
Caring for aging parents
Increasing fitness and step count
Renovations
Getting married
Getting unmarried
Sabbatical
Retirement
Study
On the Professional column I often hear:
Restructure
New CEO/Leader/Chair
New ownership
Filling new positions
New systems and processes
New products
New Government and legislation
Office move
New Hybrid working expectations
Roster changes
Technology changes
Retirement
Next comes the kōrero… take turns sharing all of the Personal and Professional changes on the horizon to create a master list on the whiteboard/flip chart. Some might be too personal to share or too professionally sensitive. Don’t push, just encourage.
Once your list is complete you can stand back and say your version of something like “Phew! Thanks for sharing that with me and with each other. That’s a lot. Between now and our next meeting, think about how we can best support each other as a team.” AND please make sure you continue the conversation at your very next meeting.
As a leader, knowing about what’s on your people’s ‘change plate’ helps you understand their behaviours that might otherwise seem puzzling. Your team knowing what’s on your ‘change plate’ builds understanding of what you’re juggling. Together, you can look for ways to offer support to each other, increase empathy and connection. All the things that make great teams resilient and able to box on.
A couple of things to note:
👉 Even when change is chosen or sought it doesn’t mean you and others don’t hit the speed wobbles
👉 Everyone experiences change differently (even if they are facing the same change) because people are complex and people are different
👉 It’s normal to feel opposing emotions at once such as excitement and trepidation or relief and angst
#leadingchange
#teamdevelopment
#leadershipdevelopment
Photo by Fabien Bazanegue on Unsplash