Change is a buzz word for this decade and unfortunately it has become a punch line on top of that. Corporations have spent millions of dollars and man-hours trying to implement change with as little conflict, fear and loss of morale possible. Sports teams, families and individuals alike, work to change so they may insure a better future and results. My feeling, is that change is not an action that can be described with "quick" as the adjective.
Change is a process, not because a checklist changes, or we are doing more with less, or we need a new system for the offense, or my family just doesn't understand me, but rather change is a process because paradigms must change first. We have to believe the change required is of value and therefore we can support it and push the process to fruition. It's really very basic and starts at birth...
When we are infants, we cry about everything...everything! Hungry, tired, scared and dirty diapers are all on the same level. As parents, we develop changes that allow for us to distinguish the "value" of each wail, and then teach our children to use our system to get what they want. As our children grow, we teach them to change their transportation method from the stroller, or arm, to crawling and eventually walking. The same applies to communication...crying to pointing to eventual talking (which at times we regret :) ), but overall, we implement change on our children effortlessly. It is strange we lose the skill of change as we get older, when we are masters of implementing change with the hardest participants known to man...wait, there is a better, tougher example.
Sea World is an awesome place. Everyone goes to see the shows and watch the magical interaction between trainer and animal. It is amazing that the trainer does not speak a word of dolphin or whale or even sea lion, yet the animals seem to understand every expectation. A simple flip of fish to the performer with a respect for the animal's well being and natural instinct is all it takes to get results. Why won't that work with people?
Let's look at how those trainers get it done...
Certainly I am not looking for a fish as motivation, but I am sure there is a "fish" out there for me. Maybe it's money, respect, or a simple feeling of being involved in something bigger than me. Everyone has there own "fish" and without a clear understanding of what that may be, you will struggle.
What about the respect for the animal's well-being? Do you know the fears of the person you are trying to affect change on? Are you supporting or magnifying that fear? People will stay in an area that makes them uncomfortable if the "fish" is big enough, but you will not get the full value of the person if they are not fully engaged in the program. The fear could be anything, based upon the person's past experience...being used, abandoned, lied to, etc. What do you know about the person you are trying to engage?
Finally, what about that natural instinct? Rabbits don't fly and fish don't run...do you know where your team excels? What if Sea World spent all of their time and resources training whales to walk? Failure, no, complete failure. Again I will ask, do you know the person you are trying to engage? It is not wrong to discuss strengths with a person and therefore alright to discuss weak areas. Why set someone up for failure by not being honest with where their strengths truly are? The simple, but focused discussion of where a person's strengths and success are can build on eliminating the fear area. You are working on the person's behalf to help them reach their goals. Even if their next step is to a completely different environment, you have developed a relationship built on trust and honesty. That is a valuable resource for any person.
In each area, you must know the person you are working with to affect change, but more importantly, you must know where you stand in these areas. Why, because when you affect change on someone else, you will surely change in the process. What are your fish, fears and instincts? I mentioned before you cannot truly motivate a person...each of us makes our own choice to be engaged, happy, sad, indifferent or excited. All you can do for someone else is provide an environment that promotes those areas that eliminate fear, provide recognition and develop a persons natural gifts. The rest is up to them. In the same way, you are responsible for you. When you were a child, you cried, pointed and eventually spoke. Speaking is not the last lesson in communication. Listening is the next big step and following that, taking action. These are the "master's classes". We can all listen to people, but how do we act on what we hear? If a whale tells you he wants to fly, what do you do?
Affecting change is not easy and it takes time, but it's coming whether you want it or not. Sometimes the change we affect is simply changing how you perceive those around you. If we can all do that, who knows how much change there really needs to be?
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