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Change management is an integral, complex and necessary part of business. Companies most likely to be successful in making changes are the ones that see change as a constant opportunity to evolve. But the word 'change' means and implies a lot of things to the people involved: uncertainty, different, unknown, uncomfortable, etc. The truth is that (most) people don't like change. We are, after all, creatures of habit. Sure, we have the ability to change and adapt to new situations - we wouldn't have come so far as a species without change - but our brains naturally resist.
"Change has a bad reputation in our society. But it isn’t all bad – not by any means. In fact, change is necessary in life – to keep us moving … to keep us growing … to keep us interested … Imagine life without change. It would be static … boring … dull."
Dr. Dennis O’Grady
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The Satir Change Model is a five-stage model (see below) that describes the effects each stage of the change has on feelings, thinking, performance, and physiology. It was developed by Virginia Satir. Although the model was initially developed for families, it is equally relevant for organisations.
We are at a familiar place. Our performance pattern is consistent. We're comfortable here because we know know what to expect, how to react, and how to behave.
A foreign element threatens the stability of our familiar structures. We're not sure that this is where we want to be. Most of us resist it by denying its validity, avoiding the issue, or placing blame.
We have entered the unknown. Our former actions and knowledge are no longer valid/effective. We don't want to be here. Losing the Late Status Quo triggers our anxiousness and vulnerability. We have no idea what to expect, how to react, or how to behave.
Through a transforming idea, we've discovered how the foreign element can benefit us. We're excited. With practice, our performance has improved rapidly. We've made new relationships and learned new behaviours.
Our performance has stabilized at a higher level than in the Late Status Quo. We feel safe and excited. We encourage each other. We don't feel threatened by foreign elements any more.
"Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up."
James Belasco and Ralph Stayer
Psychologist and author Daniel Kahneman writes in his book "Thinking, fast and slow" that most of us would rather be wrong than uncertain. Just consider, how many individual uncertainties could arise in any of the above stages for each of the people involved? Right, and that's only for one change.
Communicating change successfully doesn't automatically mean that you'll achieve change successfully, because ultimately, the organizational capacity for change relies heavily on the individual's capacity for change. In other words, some people will reach the New Status Quo much faster than others, others not at all. Some will have few problems, others a lot. But there's no doubt about it, you need a communication plan/strategy to accompany the change.
When communicating change, we have the opportunity to amplify certain messages. On top of that, a well thought through communication plan will enable people to better deal with the emotions of each of the 5 stages - It can invoke positive emotions/reactions and gives you the chance to help employees imagine a post-change future.
"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."
Niccolo Machiavelli
Randy Pennington, author of "Make change work" says that there are 5 questions that employees are most interested in getting answers to when faced with change.
Explain the specifics of the change. What will be different in how we must think, act, and perform?
A personal extension of the first question. Everyone involved in the change will ask themselves: What's the impact of the change for me?
How will the change help the business or the team, or is this change for compliance reasons?
How will you know that there has been a return on our effort and investment?
Is this change a mandate or do you truly believe in this change?
it's necessary to communicate to answer initial fears and concerns. As the change advances, people will have new questions, and new understandings of the intermediate and final stages will be developed. Throughout the stages of change, people have to be kept up-to-date with actual and future states, and answers given to their questions.
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"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: that's not the case.
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