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I was recently working at a Zoo near the new elephant enclosure. I was working with a management team and we were working on improving the teamwork of the group to better handle some significant changes about to challenge the organization.

One of the keepers was particularly proud of the new enclosure and I spoke to him about how the elephants coped with the change from a small compound where they had spent most of their lives to this new expansive, stimulating environment. As you might guess, one elephant did the change easy and was eager from day one to move to a new exciting enclosure. More room, more things to do, a swimming pool, more space. The second elephant took three years to make the move and eventually had to be transported in a crate. Elephant no. 2 was very unwilling and frightened to move to a better enclosure. In the early days, he freaked when even taken near the exit to his old home. Anything new frightened him. When no. 2 was placed in the new enclosure, he proceeded to test the strength of every tree to see which ones he could break.

He is now settled in his new home but did the change very very hard. The new enclosure was much better but he didn’t want to change his habits or environment.

Recognise a pattern of behaviour in your organizations. Do you have some no. 2 elephants?

Change is a fact of business life. We need to make constant changes to keep improving. Some of us see the changes as opportunities for growth. There is even a sense of novelty for some. As a child, I remember moving house often and always looked forward to a new house, a new school and new friends. I never remember regretting a move or missing anything from a former home.

Unfortunately, some people see a change as a loss of skill, familiarity, intellectual property or simply a loss of a comfort zone. We all know that organizations need to improve to survive and thrive but we don’t all embrace change.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ model is perfect for explaining the effects that organisational change has on individuals.

Stage one – Shock, quickly followed by...
Stage two – denial. We will go back to the old way soon. These changes are temporary.
Stage three – bargaining. If we go back to the old way, we will all work harder to make up the difference. Yeah sure!
Stage four – anger
Stage five – grief
Stage six – acceptance

And one that I have added...

Stage seven – humour.

I have seen people go through these stages when retrenched, put into a new department, given a new job or asked to work differently. Some get stuck in denial or anger and cannot move on to acceptance or humour. They only harm themselves. Nobody loses sleep because you don’t forgive them. Nobody except you.

I have been conducting a program to assist people to accept and embrace change with a professional colleague of mine and have seen all of these stages occurring at the same time in the same organization as some people move quickly and some don’t move at all.

There is a lot you can do to help others in a time of change. Be aware of their reaction and offer support. Your understanding that they are going through a transition will help. Listen, be helpful, and accept that all stages are necessary steps in a necessary journey to healthy acceptance. Maybe some people will skip through a stage so quickly that they will appear to miss it. Changes come with the sweep of a pen. Transitions come much more slowly.

Remember the two elephants. One had to be moved in a crate and took three years to make a short trip across a zoo. He was obviously very frightened to move to another environment which had been designed to make his life much more enjoyable. The other elephant was excited at the move and obviously trusted the keepers to ensure that no harm was waiting at the other end.

We have some choice as to how we deal with change. If we have a positive approach, we may still go through the stages but won’t get stuck along the way. We can also help others to embrace change. Jack Welch from GE said that if the pace of change inside the organization is slower than change outside the organization – The end is near.

If you have any stories about change in your organization, I’d like to hear about them. If you need help with accepting and embracing change, give me a call.

Paddy Spruce CSP
Email: paddy@paddyspruce.com.au
Web: http://www.paddyspruce.com.au
Tel: 03 9808 8990