Managing Change

Seldom do I work for a company that isn't going through a change of some sort. It is now a given that if companies don't change, they will soon become obsolete. The world in littered with companies who were leaders in their field and have been left behind.

Pluralists (1995 onwards) and Millenials (1980 to 1995) love change, in fact they need change to remain motivated. People coming into the workforce today are not expected to remain with one company for more than 3 years.

Gen-Xs (1965 to 1980) are okay with change, in fact they will drive the change for you. Baby-boomers (1946 to 1964) don't enjoy change much. It seems sometimes that we just get used to one thing and it is replaced by something new. 

So how do we manage change across the four generations? With a lot of hard work in some instances. Here's a couple of things designed to make you think differently about managing change;

·        Continuous improvement Vs step change - continuous improvement is about making many small steps and keeping the momentum going. It has less risk, less impact, and people become gradually accustomed to each step. It is a much longer process however. Step change is about making greater changes in shorter time periods. It is risky and disruptive but if you are in the technological field, you may have to use this method because of rapid advancements.

·        Traditional change method Vs Let's just do it method - Traditional change involves unfreezing habits, learning the new change, and refreezing these new skills. Have you got the time for the traditional method or should you just introduce the change and manage the resistance people will have as they try to forget the old method and learn the new?

·        Participative Vs directive - Much of change today is directive, in fact it has to be that way if you are using the step change process. Unfortunately it causes resistance. It is probably more important to include your employees in the change process. You know where you are now and where you have to get to so let your team decide how to get you there. 

·        Lots of communication Vs minimal communication - It is a balancing act, getting just the right amount of communication out for the four generations. Not enough and the vacuum will be filled with guesswork, too much and people won’t read it. BBs, want to know everything, Gen-Xs want to know how they will be involved, Millennials and Pluralists just want the basic facts. And what about the method of communication - memo, letter, email, text message, face-to-face. Each has to be carefully considered.

These are just a few things that you are going to have to consider when managing change. So which is the right path? All and none of them. It depends on the company and on the employees.

Which path should you choose, why not ask your team? After all they are the ones who are going to be the most impacted. Ensure that you have a change management team which represents your workforce, in age, gender and culture. Let them decide for you, it will be much easier and they will have a vested interest in making the change successful.

Stop Worrying, It Will Be Okay!

As we have seen, our brain is hard-wired to worry. So how can we stop worrying? Unfortunately you can't, but what you can do is control the amount of worry that you do. Trust me when I say that you can control it, I am the biggest worrier in the world.

Worry starts first thing in the morning as soon as we wake up. Our brain goes straight to worrying so that we are ready for the day's dangers that lie ahead. If you do this, and I used to do it every day, force your brain to think about one positive happy thing that is coming up later in the day. If you can't think of one, then look further ahead to something positive happy thing coming up later in the week.  

Throughout the day if you find yourself starting to worry then look closely at what it is that you are worrying about. Put the topic into perspective by writing it down and then look at the facts. Say to yourself, "What is the very worst thing that could happen" then list everything that could go wrong. Beside each thing that could go wrong write down the likelihood of it happening and what you can do to stop it from doing so.

The military use a version of this when they are planning a coordinated action (battle). They say to themselves, “So what, therefore”. So what could happen and what can I do to counter it. By doing this you will find that your brain will begin to stop worrying because you have provided it with an answer for each situation. Your brain worries about the unknown, that’s how it keeps you safe.

There is a similar method that you can use if you don't like the military version. I developed a mathematical equation to make it easy to remember (I know, I am a nerd) P-A=R. Our Perception minus our Attitude equals the Reality. It is our perception of something that exaggerates our worry. Our perception is based on previous learnings, what we have learned over our lifetime. Our learnings form our attitude. Unfortunately this is the wrong way of looking at a problem. By changing our attitude into a positive one you then change your perception which brings you back to reality.

In the evening, if you are still worrying about things then again write them down and work through the pattern of 'so what, therefore' or use the PAR technique. Once you have worked through the worries you will be more relaxed and so will your brain be. Plus, by writing it down you have lodged the worry into your subconscious which will continue to work out an answer to your problem.

You can't stop worrying, but you can change how you worry.

Why Do I Always Think Negatively?

I often wondered why it is that we are always thinking in negative terms and why it is so difficult to think positively.

The main reason of course is that your brain is hard-wired to think negatively to protect you. Your brain will continuously look for things that could go wrong so that you are prepared for whatever the day throws at you.

This came from evolution: we had to be aware of dangers such as getting attacked by wild animals, our enemies attacking us when we least expected it, and worrying as to where we are going to get our next meal from. (For some of us today not much has changed).

The other reason is that it has to do with our five main emotions: Anger, Shame, Sadness, Fear and Joy. Notice that only one of these is a positive emotion, the rest are negative.

That is the reason why we have to do twice as much positive thinking as we do thinking about negative things. Our negative emotions outweigh or positive emotions by 4 to 1.

Thinking positively does not come easy, it takes hard work. You need to keep your mind focussed on the positive which will then get you into a habit. On the topic of habits, it can actually take up to 80 days to change a habit. Some habits are easier to change than others so may only take 20 days.

A quick way if you want to try to change your mood from negative to positive is the 20/20/20 method;

·        Exercise - 20 minutes of continuous fast paced walking every day.

·        Positive thoughts - 20 minutes of looking forward to good things, thinking about your happy place, having positive thoughts.

·        Laughing and smiling - 20 minutes of laughing and/or smiling every day.

Notice how the first one is a physical exercise, the second is a mental exercise, and third one combines a physical activity with a mental activity. Our psychology and physiology are inextricably linked, to make a fast change, you have to work on both.

Don't be hard on yourself if you are struggling to change negative thoughts into positive ones, you are after all fighting evolution.

Sleep Differently

Personally, I have tried to stick to the mainstream view on ways to get to sleep and to stay asleep. Most work, but I also do things that they say you should not do to ensure that I get my 7 to 8 hours of sleep every 24 hours.

Because we are all different, no single thing works for everyone. And those that follow me know that I am a little bit 'different' in my thinking. So I take a rule, try it, and then modify it until it works. This is what I mean, here’s the rule followed by what works for me;

·        Don't get back up - 'They' (those nameless people) say you should get back out of bed if you don't fall asleep within 30 minutes. I stay in bed and practice my relaxation techniques. If I get out of bed my brain wakes up.

·        Get out of bed the same time each day - If I have a bad night sleep, I stay in bed. (Only works in the weekend though).

·        Don't nap - I take a nap in the afternoons during the weekend to make up for lost sleep. Because I know that I have caught up on sleep during the day I am more relaxed when I go to bed knowing it is not crucial that I get a good night’s sleep. I’m going to make up for it in the weekends.

·        Focus on a distant sound - It is said if you try and listen for a sound in the distance it keeps your brain away from thinking about how difficult it is for you to get to sleep. If I do this, it keeps me awake listening to all of the sounds.

·        Get out of bed as soon as you wake - Not for me, if I can I will lay in bed, go to my happy place and often I will drift back into a deep sleep.

Try it for yourself, see what works for you. If you need a light on in your room because you don't like total darkness then do so. If you like to listen to music at night then that's fine. If you find that watching TV in bed works for you then do it.

The worst thing that you can do is worry, worry that you aren't getting enough sleep or that if you don't get to sleep you will be tired the next day and won't perform at your best. That’s true, you won’t. But watch what happens when you start to panic about not being at your best the next day, your adrenaline will kick in.

Do whatever it takes so as not to worry about not getting to sleep.

Lastly, it takes a while for your body and brain to adapt to change so don't do something different every night. Your brain will become anxious at the constant changes. Try something and make it a pattern for at least 7 days. If what you tried doesn't work then make a small change.  

10 Factors of Resilient People

Research shows us that there are unique characteristics within those who are more resilient than others. Here are 10 of them. Choose one and work on that, then choose another to work on.

·        Confront your fears - Immersion therapy is a way to slowly introduce yourself to things that scare you. If you don't like talking to a crowd, sit at the front for a few sessions, then have a guest spot of a minute or two at a few sessions. Gradually build up your resilience (fear) by increasing your risk level (time) thus increasing your stamina.

·        Maintain optimism - Optimism and positivity can add 7 years to your life whereas science can only add 3 years. Always look at the bright side, a cliché that actually works.

·        Accepted support - Ask for and accept help readily.

·        Imitate strong people - Look at those around you, identify the strong ones, and then replicate their behaviours.

·        Rely on your inner compass - Call it your ‘gut instinct’, or ‘going with your heart’. Be guided by your intuition because it has evolved over time to help keep you safe.

·        Accept what you can’t change - There is no point fighting a fight that you can never win. The easiest way to deal with something that you cannot change is to embrace it.

·        Concentrate on your health and well-being - Look after yourself, the more that you do this the better off you will be.

·        Find humour in adversity - Rather than concentrate on how bad something is, laugh at it. This re-frames the event which lessens the impact on you. Emergency personnel use ‘black humour’ to deal with their horrific work.

·        Use traumatic experiences to grow - Learn from your mistakes (don't do them again) and keep moving forward.

·        Turn to spiritual practices - An interesting one this, you may not be a practitioner of religion but there is no reason why you can't find some other spiritual process that keeps you centred and focussed. Perhaps even someone or something imagined to confide in.

Depending on which of these you are wanting to focus on, take small steps and make it repetitive. Depending on the habit, it can take up to 80 days to change the habit of a lifetime.