Editor's view, Inside Track, May 2011
Getting comfortable with change
“Life is all about becoming more comfortable with change”. Profound words from my mentor, and personal development expert. Echoes of zen: ‘ You’ll never step in the same river twice’, and the flow of resistance and letting go as life moves unstoppably on, will be familiar to anyone who has taken a moment to look. Increasingly, successful organisations are also those which can change, adopt new practices and adapt quickly to the environment around them. Or rather, as I like to think about it, successful organisations are those where their people can do these things.
This is nothing new – theories of change, and motivation during times of change, populate leadership sections of bookshops. John Kotter’s 8 step-change model is perhaps the most widely known, and immensely applicable in many organisations as a checklist for change interventions. But what of personal motivation and why are many of us scared of change, not just of the destination but of the journey itself?
Common concerns people have:
- We don’t know if we will achieve it, or even what ‘it’ is
- We are not in control of what’s happening to us
We are not sure if we can trust our leaders to get us there - We don’t know what’s in it for us
So, to embrace change, in organisations, (and elsewhere) people need some information, some involvement, some trust and, importantly, a healthy dollop of motivation.
Daniel Pink, in his new book, Drive outlines how our motivations have changed. He describes how Motivation 1.0, ‘Survival’ (we work so we can eat, food is enough reward) is largely a thing of the past. Motivation 2.0, the ‘carrot and stick’ method, based on extrinsic factors, e.g. money, can only encourage us so much. Pink argues Motivation 3.0 is all about ‘intrinsic factors’ – people need autonomy, mastery and purpose. In a nutshell, we’ll give more if we have choice about how things change, if we have the opportunity to develop and if we think we’re making a difference. Support and encouragement are key (see ‘mentoring’ Q&A). We can’t be ordered to step in to the flowing river, but if we’re confident swimmers, with a goal, we might choose to dive in.
