We’ve all heard the phrase “Change is constant” and I think we can all agree that right now the speed of change in the world is seismic. Technological advances are changing the way we live and work at lightening pace. According to the findings documented in Exponential Organisations much of what we learned 10 years ago is obsolete and half of what we learned 5 years ago is irrelevant. If we are to stay abreast of what is happening then it is essential that we transform and adapt to our ever changing environment.
That means we will need to transform and reinvent ourselves and/or our businesses to stay relevant. Sometimes that transformation will be minor, sometimes it might be major, but adapt we must if we are to survive. Did you know that three out of four companies in the Fortune 1000 have been replaced in the past 10 years alone, and 50% of the Fortune 500 is predicted to swop out in the next 10 years? Furthermore, according to the World Economic Forum, 65% of the jobs that exist today won’t exist in a decade. So learning how to adapt so that we can navigate this change is a pre-requisite if we are to thrive in today’s economy.
Success mentor David Neagle identifies the five stages of transformation and reinvention as:
- Awareness
- Decision
- Change
- Adapt
- Grow
Knowing where you are in the process can be helpful, but the reality is that this change is never linear. I’m sure like me you’ve made a New Year’s resolution and never kept it. For example, you are aware you are overweight, you make a decision to stop eating chocolate but you never change your buying habits so it never happens.
What stops the process is fear. It is a powerful and insidious force that permeates your mind and sabotages your goals. The only way to overcome this fear is to be crystal clear on why you want to transform – what are the benefits of this happening and how will your life change. Without a compelling why for taking action then you will never change your behavior and so be able to adapt to the new circumstances.
The opposite state of being in fear regarding transforming and reinvention is trusting the process. Knowing that you will vacillate between being fearful and then trusting the process can help alleviate some of the fear. When you trust something you feel safe and from this space you then feel empowered to explore, see the options and so grow. Contrast this with when you are in fear. Fear often paralyses us as we cannot see the options and so we shrink and hide out. We give away our power as we look to others to provide a safe space for us to grow into.
It’s been interesting watching my horses go through the transform and reinvent process as they have recently moved to a new barn. Luckily they are very trusting of me and easily loaded into the horse transport to bring them to their new home. However, once here I quickly observed the anxiety and fear that gets aroused when they are separated from each other and I am not around. In these new surroundings their herd instinct is heightened and when they can’t see each other they start to panic. Consequently I have been making sure that they all graze in paddocks where they can see each other. When they feel the safety in numbers they are calm but when separated their energy levels rise (particularly when they see something scary) and the herd start running and whinnying to each other.
My role over the next few months will be to move them from fear to trust so that I can go out riding. I’ve already started this process with Bracken, leading her down the driveaway alone and helping her get familiar with other situations with me next to her on the ground to support her. She trusts me implicitly so this process has been quite easy as Bracken looks to me for safety.
Contrast this with Thistle is much more self-assured but quite frankly doesn’t trust me. I don’t have the same relationship with her as I do with Bracken, so progress has been much slower as I am continually have to prove to her that I am a trustworthy leader who she can feel safe with. And until that happens she will never be able to grow and adapt.
As a leader we need to aware of this transformation process and how fear can derail the process. What can you put in place to help your team feel safe as we navigate change? Recognise too that each team member may well need something different from you, so as a leader you definitely need to be able to adapt and treat each team member as an individual. When it comes to leading team members, especially during change, there is no one solution fits all.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
