Many people I talk to seem to be change fatigued. We have a sense that the speed of change is a modern phenomenon.
‘The only constant is change’ say wise people amongst us…
In fact the idea of change being the only constant is such a ‘modern’ thing is somewhat erroneous. ‘The only constant is change’ was originally attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesos who lived about 500 BC.
Heraclitus asserted that ‘Life is Flux’ (‘Panta Rhei’ in Greek) meaning everything or all things change. And that’s what we experience now – life is flux.
Our role as leaders is to lead change while life is in flux and people are change fatigued. Is it any wonder that up to 70% of organisational change initiatives fail1? What causes this failure?
- Brain processing gets in the way – We are wired for repetitive thinking, and the brain perceives change is a threat.
- We get in the way – We don’t understand ourselves and our relationship to change. Ironically, it can be our own enthusiasm for the proposed change that can alienate others.
- They get in the way – We fail to bring our teams and key stakeholders with us.
How successfully are you addressing your change challenges? To lead change that sticks, lead with the brain in mind, understand your own relationship with change, and use this knowledge to bring others with you on the journey.
Have an Extraordinary day
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[1] Research carried out by by The Ken Blanchard Companies and published in ‘Mastering the art of change’ by Ken Blanchard, Training Journal, 2010
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