Working through the Change Curve - Where are You Now?

Change. We’re all living through it now, aren’t we?

We all thought we knew what change was and then the Coronavirus happened and we saw for the first time a seismic shift that we’d never seen before.

This change is big, tangible, unnerving, sad, scary and often overwhelming.

Noticing where we are on the change curve can help us to move more quickly through the negative emotions brought on by change like shock, denial, frustration and depression to more positive actions such as experiment, decision and integration.

So where are you on the change curve?

If you’re still in shock it might be time to limit how much news you are reading so that you can start moving along the change curve. Whilst it’s good to stay informed, the constantly changing news stories may perpetuate your feelings of shock and stop you from starting to process what’s actually happening.

If you find yourself trying to convince yourself and other people that everything will stay the same despite all of the evidence to the contrary, you are probably in the denial phase. One way to move out of the denial phase is to challenge the assumptions you are making. What do you notice about what other people are doing and how they are behaving?

At some point, you might experience feelings of frustration and sadness. This is a good sign as it shows that you are starting to recognise that things are different now but that doesn’t mean you should stay in this phase as it will have a detrimental effect on your mood and your energy levels. In these stages, you have to work much harder to spark your motivation.

You can do this by experimenting; trying different ways to engage with the change. During this initial experimentation stage, you get the opportunity to start developing new capabilities that will help you through the change. The more curious you become about the change, the more you will learn. As your capability grows you will start to feel more confident and positive about the future which will enable you to integrate the changes into the way you do things now. You’ll find a new normal and that’s when you’ll be ready to help others through the change too.

ACTION: MOVING ALONG THE CHANGE CURVE

• Pinpoint where you are now on the change curve (click here to download the PDF)
• Quickly jot down how this makes you act and feel
• Take a small action that will improve your current situation

To learn more about how Notion works with organisations going through change call us on 01926-889885