When it all feels like a little too much, here are seven simple tools and tips for handling change.
Four of them focus on you and three focus on the situation or context.
Take a read, pick the ones that pull your attention, and use them to help ease your mind with the plethora of change we’re all facing.
We’ll start with the ones that are inward-facing. They focus on rockstar you – your assets and gaps when it comes to handling change.
Focus on you:
- Change personality: did you know you have a change personality type? Use this survey to find out if you’re a duck, dolphin, armadillo, or turtle, and heed the specific suggestions for managing change for each type. Want to learn more about each type? You can do that here.
- Ambiguity: your ability to tolerate ambiguity can be measured with this survey. Practice increasing your tolerance for ambiguity and your ability to manage change will increase. Find out more here if you wish.
- Grit: Angela Duckworth’s groundbreaking research on grit shows us that it’s one of the top things that help us navigate change and success. Measure your grit with this quick survey and then dig into more details here.
- Motivation: this quick survey will help you discover which of the six motivators you lean towards. If you know your type you can help motivate yourself in ways that work for you as you navigate change. Each of the six types is described in more detail here.
Once you’ve got a handle on the individual change tips and techniques above, dive into the tips and techniques below that are based on the overall situations/contexts you’re facing when dealing with change.
Focus on the situation /context:
- Autobiography in Five Short Chapters: this wonderful poem by Portia Nelson is a simple and powerful example of noticing the patterns around you. How are you interacting with the situations you face, and the context you find yourself in? Check out the poem here.
- Social change cycle: when you’re hitting a wall when it comes to a change you’re needing to make, use the social change cycle (above) to take note of where you’re landing. Are you trying to change attitudes, awareness, behaviours, and/or impact? Locating yourself goes a long way to navigating change.
- Structural – Individual: when you’re navigating a tricky change look at the situation through two very different lenses. One is a structural lens- which includes things like policies, procedures, laws, etc. that are influencing the situation, and an individual lens – which focuses on what you as an individual can control. Two books that demonstrate each lens are ‘Who moved my cheese?’ (for individual) and ‘How to be an antiracist’ by Ibram X. Kendi (for a structural focus).
- Advice to your future self: often juggling a significant change can have us tearing our hair out and wanting to high tail it to the woods. If you find yourself in that space, get some perspective by putting things in context and writing a note to your future self. Tuck it away. Create a reminder for when to open it. And then behold. You’ll uncover all sorts of lovely lessons and insights to use going forward.
Nothing is as constant as change. So instead of digging your heels in and resisting, find your flow with seven easy tips and techniques.
With those focused on yourself, like your change personality, your ability to tolerate ambiguity, your grit level, and your motivation styles, and those that put the focus on the overall context, such as the autobiography in five short chapters, the social change cycle, the structural and individual lens and advice to your future self, you’ll be ahead of the change curve ball.
Now go on and learn, laugh and lead
Learn
- Check out the Spotify Change Playlist I made for you. Take a listen and see which ones fit your theory of change.
Laugh
- For a sweet, sincere look at juggling change check out this video and my accompanying post that goes with it, A forgotten bookmark.
Lead
- Take the surveys above, try the tools and give some advice to your future self
P.S. Curious to know more about your worldview and perspective? I recently launched the online version of my Life Lense® online assessment – which clients from all over the world have benefited from, including many UN agencies. Check it out for outta sight insight!
Leave a Reply