Change is inevitable – personally and professionally. Many words can be substituted for change:
alter, make over, modify, redo, remake, revamp, revise, revolutionize, amend, transform… I’m sure you can add a few. Regardless of the word used, the outcome is the same – something has become different from what it currently is. Change may involve an action, attitude, situation, process, behavior, or an act of unlearning and relearning. We may make the decision to change, or we may be part of a change enforced externally to us. No matter the impetus, it is important to remember that successful change is not guaranteed; we need to accept the fact that things will go wrong, that carefully laid plans can be derailed, and that we are incapable of predicting the exact outcomes of change. However, we also know that life around us is in a constant state of flux, and we need to adapt to those changes in order to remain relevant, and perhaps even survive.
Over the years, we have all seen organizations change and flourish. We have also witnessed organizations that choose to maintain the status quo and, as a result, have gone the way of the dodo bird. Circuit City, Montgomery Ward, Blockbuster, Pan Am, Sears Hometown Stores, Kodak, and Pets.com, to name a few. To be clear, I am not a business analyst, nor would I even start to cite reasons for the failure of each of these organizations. Suffice it to say, they are defunct – they no longer exist or function.
But what about those organizations that decided to pay attention to the trends and reinvent themselves? Companies like Amazon, Slack (formerly Glitch by Tiny Speck), Lego, and Play-Doh.
I love the story of Play-Doh.
"Play-Doh was first sold as a cleaner that could remove coal residue from wallpaper in the 1930s. Demand for the product fell, so rather than closing the company, the owners, hearing of the creative
use of the product by a schoolteacher, the company quickly pivoted to a more colorful product. By the end of the 1950s, the clay had become a toy that one could buy in stores nationally. Today, Play-Doh is owned by Hasbro, and more than 3 billion cans of the product have been sold."
Each organization mentioned above had a leader and followers. It’s important to understand how people navigate through change, particularly the person leading the charge. When teaching business students, it was helpful to frame these approaches or perspectives as personas.In Six Images of Change, Palmer, Dunford, and Buchanan described certain images or personas that are evident when leading change: director, navigator, caretaker, coach, interpreter, and nurturer.
As I consider each persona or approach, I wonder how they might relate to how individuals navigate change when they are not the one responsible for the change decision. How might each approach help in managing the transition brought on by change? Keep in mind, it is also helpful to embrace an attitude of adaptation and resilience, necessary qualities when working through the waters of externally enforced change.
Director: Even if change is unexpected, as a director, you can still create a plan to manage it. You can set new goals and strategies to regain a sense of control and guide yourself through the transition with a focus on achieving the best possible outcome.
Navigator:As a navigator, you accept that external factors have brought about the change, but you skillfully adapt by steering around obstacles. You manage competing demands and adjust your approach to find new paths forward, leveraging flexibility and problem-solving.
Caretaker:With the caretaker role, you recognize the limited control you have over the change but focus on maintaining a supportive environment for yourself. This involves nurturing your well-being and focusing on what you can control to ease the transition.
Coach:Involuntarily changed circumstances can be approached with a coach's mindset by harnessing personal strengths and encouraging self-development. You might focus on enhancing your skills and nurturing resilience to handle new challenges effectively.
Interpreter:An interpreter reframes the situation by finding meaning or lessons in the change. You can craft a narrative that helps you mentally process the shift, turning it into an opportunity for growth rather than a setback, cultivating a positive outlook.
Nurturer:Adopting the nurturer role means caring for your internal response to change by fostering self-compassion and adaptability. You focus on incremental adjustments, developing personal attributes like resilience and self-awareness to navigate through uncertainty.
CozyEditor. (2024). Roles for managing change [Personal communication]
Each of these roles considered emphasizes different strategies for dealing with changes that are out of your control. It is also possible that these personas may likewise apply when an individual is responsible for a change decision, perhaps a change that calls for a new behavior, or requires one to rethink a previously held belief. Perhaps it is a change brought about by a realization that one needs to unlearn and relearn in some area of life.
In light of the need for new learning when it comes to change and transition, I would include the persona of an explorer, an adventurer. In his book Think Again, Adam Grant discusses the importance of an individual's rethinking when it comes to examining and perhaps updating our own views and opinions. Grant suggests three personas, or frames of mind, an individual may adapt in order to 'protect' their stance: preacher, prosecutor, and politician.
We go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognize flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views.
Reflecting on these images, personas, and frames of mind, which resonates most with you? What about those you lead or support? Might this be a springboard for discussion around managing change and transition?
Comments