Type I – Change which is done to us.
Type II – Change which we do to ourselves.
Type III – Change which we do to others.
Fundamental challenges
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.
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In reality, we
have no control
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In reality, we
have control
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We believe we have no control
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Type I.a Normal Grief
Cycle... and we work through it.
Healthy
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Type I.b Normal Grief Cycle... and
we work through it.
Healthy but... we can miss opportunities,
some minor, some huge.
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We believe we have control
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Type I.c Very frustrating - unrealistic – doomed
to failure.
Unhealthy
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Type I.d Empowering – Life
affirming – stimulates growth – the stuff of
heroes.
Very Healthy
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It would be incredibly naïve to suggest it is an easy task
to identify 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 that 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, a downturn in business,
bankruptcy, or are 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 can be a recipe
for madness, or 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
that it was in their power to change something, even when - especially
when - everyone around them said they were crazy and would not
succeed.
The challenge is to determine whether we are falling into the
abyss of Type I.c change or standing 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
that is taking place.
When attempting to implement a Type I Change, as management
we have two complimentary strategies at our disposal:
a) Communicate the change as clearly as possible so that employees
and coworkers are correct in their beliefs regarding how much
control they have over the process. You don't want your team
in the Type I.c box if they could move up to I.a or across to
I.d.
b) 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 staff operate in the Type I.d. space, the more
they are empowered.
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