Change

Going Beyond Managing Change - Fall 1995

PROBLEM: American businesses are changing more rapidly and fundamentally than ever before. They're merging, downsizing, reengineering and reorganizing virtually everything in sight.

Yet the "Managing Change" seminars that most consultants offer to cope with these transitions tend to circle the core issues without really getting at the heart of the matter. They are useful as far as they go, but they don't really deal with the underlying emotions and conflicts that keep people from easily adapting to change.

So the focus of this newsletter is: How can organizations work with the core emotional issues that undercut people's productivity and cut people's morale during major periods of change?

SOLUTION: In my experience, when people and organizations go through major transitions, they tend to go into either a fight or flight mode of action. In other words, they either get hyperactive (fighters) and overwork, or they slow down and don't do enough (slowpokes).

Neither of these options works very well. The people who have worked too hard for too long tend to get overbearing, abuse various substances and eventually burn out. The people who slow down become less productive and they may get sick or develop substance abuse problems.

I've developed a useful way of teaching people how to integrate what I call the "fighter" and the "slowpoke" within themselves. I suggest that they write down a dialogue between the two sides of themselves. For example, here's a dialogue the way a fighter might write it (the two sides will be labeled "A" and "B"):

A: I have to work really hard while we're reorganizing. I can't afford to slow down.
B: But you're starting to get really tired and you're starting to snap at everyone in the office.
A: If I don't get everything done, I'll be fired. And that really terrifies me. I can't help it right now.
B: But you've been making more mistakes lately and I'm afraid that you won't be able to sustain this crazy pace over the next three months. Look at how much coffee you've been drinking. And you've been taking too many painkillers for your lower back.
A: Ok, ok. Get off my case. (The dialogue continues with much more resistance from "A" until the following resolution occurs.)
B: Listen to me; I'm not asking you to stop altogether. What if you ask your boss for some more help? And tell him that if you push next week's deadline back a week, you can also double check all the numbers.
A: I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed. I will go speak to him. It would feel good to slow down a bit. You're starting to make some real sense to me.

EXAMPLE: I was hired by an outplacement firm to work with a major company in the retail food industry. The people who were looking for new jobs were either compulsively doing too much and burning out or not doing anything at all.

RESULTS: I used the dialogue technique with them and over 50% of them reported at the end of the workshop that it had helped them get beyond the stuck place they were in.

SUMMARY: This exercise will help your people cope more effectively with the painful feelings and conflicts that arise during periods of difficult change. By explicitly teaching your people how to deal with these underlying emotional issues, you will be able to help them become more resilient and more productive.

Back to newsletter index

Michael H. Smith, Ph.D.
5801 Leona St., Ste A
Oakland, CA 94605

Tel: 510-530-7900
Fax: 510-530-7922
Email: MHSmith@MichaelHSmithPhD.Com