Navigating difficult changes in life
(Part 1 in a series on navigating difficult changes in life.)
What does it feel like when change unexpectedly happens? For most of us, it isn’t exactly pleasant. In fact, when it comes to navigating difficult life changes, many of us try to avoid them altogether. As a leadership expert and pastor, John C. Maxwell said, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” As uncomfortable as change is, there are ways to live with it…and even thrive through it.
Have you ever heard of change management? It is a business practice for leading and navigating change in organizations and these techniques can also be used for your personal life. Maybe you’re stuck and needing change or maybe a change is being made by others that impacts you. The good news is this corporate management practice can help you navigate it.
What exactly is “change management?”
At an Association of Change Management Practitioners (ACMP) Conference, a speaker was talking about this increasingly important area of business expertise. As I listened to him describe change management as the “practice of applying a structured approach to transition an organization from a current state to a future state to achieve expected benefits,” it occurred to me that this process could be used for individuals and families as well as business organizations. Would it be possible to apply change management practices to everyday life?
A change management tool that works
During the many presentations that week, the one which really stood out was the Prosci ADKAR model. The tagline for this presentation was “A powerful yet simple model for facilitating individual change.” The word which stood out to me was “individual.” It turns out that individual change is needed to create change in a business or organization. So, where better to begin when my family or personal life needed some change?
Prosci founder, Jeff Hiatt, studied more than 700 organizations to study patterns of change. He concluded that individual change was the most important part of the change process. From there, he developed the ADKAR model to help companies walk individual employees through the change needed to adapt to various market conditions. There are 5 steps to the ADKAR model: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.
How to use ADKAR in day-to-day life
Here are the 5 steps in the Prosci ADKAR model. They have worked for thousands of businesses and organizations, so why not use them for change management in your life?
- Awareness – of the need for change
- Desire – to participate and support the change
- Knowledge – on how to change
- Ability – to implement desired skills and behaviors
- Reinforcement – to sustain the change
AWARENESS
While we have been focusing on the business implementation of this model, it’s now time to bring it to your own life or family. What is something in your life you would like to change or need to change? Interestingly, it is possible to create change even when you or others around you are unhappy about it. The first step is simply to be AWARE of what need changing.
desire
This step is the trickiest to understand. It does not mean you or your family member need to like the change. The key to this step is figuring out WIIFM…”what’s in it for me.” What if you would like to get healthy in the new year? You might not want to get up early to work out or eat more vegetables at each meal, but you will feel better mentally and physically. That’s your WIIFM.
knowledge
This is where too many of us start the process of change. Our family needed to find an assisted living facility for our moms. We jumped straight into researching different places and making spreadsheets of various amenities and costs. We quickly went back to building awareness for all family members…and then gave them each a WIIFM. Then we went back to the spreadsheets.
ability
Once the research and study are complete, it is necessary to begin implementing what has been learned. In the example about getting healthy for the new year, this is the time to put your research into healthy eating into practice and start trying new recipes with vegetables or taking part in a new active sport.
reinforcement
This is critical. Parents use this with our children all the time. We reinforce good behavior with a sticker or a special treat. We can do that with adults (including ourselves), too. It’s important to set goals along the way and also once the change is complete. When implementing a healthy new year, consider treating yourself to a new motivational t-shirt or a frozen yogurt.
Change can be an opportunity for growth
Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. - John C. Maxwell
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” This quote from John C. Maxwell’s book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, sums up how we can look at change in our life. Try using this simple step-by-step model for change. Whether it’s something you’re excited about, or something you wish you didn’t have to change, there is always the opportunity for growth on the other side of it. Here’s to 2024 and the changes it brings. May we each continue to learn and grow.
