Coping With Type I Change

The Second Column in "The 3 Shades of Change" Series

Type I    – Change which is done to us.

Type II   – Change which we do to ourselves.

Type III  – Change which we do to others.

While there are several questions we might ask when a Change is presented to us, there one which trumps all others. Do we have any control over this Change? While this seems to call for simple a "Yes" or "No", if we look a bit deeper, things get complicated. The question is about what we believe, and how that belief matches reality.

It would be incredibly naοve to suggest it is an easy task to find the right cell to inhabit even in this simplistic 2x2 diagram. Properly aligning our beliefs with reality is either a result of deep wisdom... or uncanny luck... and often a mixture of both.

There aren't too many events over which we have no control. Death is the only one which comes to mind. (Taxes are avoidable to some degree!) Sooner or later, we have to recognize the reality of Death and cope with it. The sooner we accept there is nothing we can do to bring back a loved one, the sooner we can put it behind us, and move forward with our lives. This is a clear example of a healthy Type I.a Change.

Other examples of Type I Change are more open to discussion. If we're laid off because of a merger, downturn in business, bankruptcy, fired with or without cause etc. etc. Then it becomes more difficult to decide how much control we really have. The question "Is there something I can do about this?" is a persistent one, often with no clear answer.

Finding ourselves in Type I.b is not necessarily the end of the world. Believing we have no control, even if we could do something to affect our course, is the path of least resistance. The question we must ask ourselves is, "Are we content to let others make decisions for us?" The answer is inextricably tied to another question; "Can we trust them to make decisions in our best interest?" If the answer is yes, then accepting Type I.b isn't too uncomfortable... If the answer is no, then we might want to drop down into Type I.d.

Type I.c Change is our most unhealthy of choices. The phrase, "Tilting at windmills" comes to mind. To believe we can seize control of a situation distinctly out of our control is a recipe for madness, at the very least it results in a tremendous amount of wasted effort.

On the other hand, we must believe we can control a Change in order to place ourselves in the most powerful of places... Type I.d. All who have achieved great things believed from the start, it was in their power to Change something, even when, especially when, everyone around them said they were crazy, that they could not succeed.

The personal challenge is to determine whether we are falling into the abyss of Type I.c or stand at the brink of Type I.d greatness. The only way to ensure we are making the right decision is to;

a) know ourselves as objectively as possible; our strengths and weaknesses.

b) know and understand, as intimately as possible, the Change taking place.

When attempting to implement a Type I Change, as management we have two complementary strategies at our disposal;

i) Communicate the Change as clearly as possible so that people are correct in their beliefs regarding how much control they have over the process. You don't want people in the Type I.c box if they could move up to I.a or across to I.d.

ii) Wherever possible, and it's nearly always possible, give some control of the Change to those who must respond to it. The more we can let our people operate in the Type I.d. space, the more they are empowered.

© 2004, Peter de Jager – Peter is a Change Management Consultant, Seminar Leader and Speaker. Visit him at www.technobility.com or contact him at pdejager@technobility.com

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