CHANGES AND TRANSITIONS
Written By Robert Gross
It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. From the moment we’re born, we inevitably change and grow. Changes can be large or small; planned or unplanned. Changes can be centered around exciting achievements and milestones or can be disruptive and distressing. We have no choice in life but to change. How we adapt to change determines how we grow - physically, emotionally, and cognitively.
Psychologists define changes or adjustments that impact our lives in a significant way as life transitions. Transitions can involve something exciting, such as graduation, marriage, the start of a new job, or an addition to the family. Transitions can also be adverse or distressing such as the loss of a loved one, losing a job, divorce and breakups, or other setbacks.
CHANGE CAN BE CHALLENGING TO NAVIGATE:
- Change often takes us out of our comfort zone to something new.
- The emotional part of our brain often lags behind the thinking part of our brain in welcoming or adapting to change. Although we know that children and adolescents are built for rapid cognitive, emotional, and physical growth, recent studies confirm that children and adolescents are also much more adaptable to emotional change than adults. While adults continue to grow cognitively, their emotional adaptability to change often stiffens with time.
- Life transitions – even exciting or happy ones – are often stressful and disruptive. A form of stress, called eustress, can be motivating and exhilarating in taking on new challenges or goals. However, stress that continues for an extended period of time may negatively impact us emotionally, physically, or mentally and may make a life transition more difficult to navigate.
- Life transitions that are unplanned or happen unexpectedly can be very challenging and even debilitating. Such life transitions may cause us to fear the unknown and/or instill a sense of loss of control. Job loss, loss of a loved one, an accident, or other setbacks are not only challenging; they also may necessitate one to go through the grieving process.
PREPARING FOR CHANGE
The good news is that we can consciously do things that help us prepare for the inevitable changes in our lives:
We can set small, incremental goals and remember that “it’s hard by a yard, but a cinch by the inch.” Accomplishing those small incremental goals enables us to move forward to accomplish future goals and milestones.
We can develop routines and healthy habits to create consistency and a sense of well-being. Regular sleep and wake times, consistent exercise habits, eating a healthy diet, and practiced mindfulness are among the many ways of establishing a healthy routine.
We can take time to reflect and meditate – being mindful of the richness of the life all around
us.
We can, and should, constantly make time to smell the roses.
We can set reasonable expectations for ourselves. Although unmet expectations can be frustrating or cause stress, we can remember that unmet expectations are part of life and that we will likely, from time-to-time, feel frustrated or stressed. How we deal with that stress and bounce back from unmet expectations is key to our progress forward.
We can treat ourselves with kindness in our thoughts and self-talk. We can avoid dwelling on mistakes and focus instead on learning from them. Recalling positive transitions and how we managed those transitions can be helpful roadmaps for positive self-talk and future change. Positive self-talk, with focus and practice, allows us to change negative thinking and habits into positives.
We can stay positively connected with those around us: family, friends, and co-workers. We can treat others as we want to be treated. We can listen to and empathize with those in our lives. The more we do so, the more we enrich ourselves.
We can be compassionate and kind. When we recognize our own humanness and that of others, we enable ourselves to be more compassionate toward others and kind to ourselves.
We can change negative habits into positive habits. The part of our brains responsible for adapting emotionally to change was once thought to be hard-wired and inflexible. During the past couple of decades, neuroscientists have discovered that the emotional part of brain has the capacity to grow and is adaptable to change by a process called “neuroplasticity.” Now neuroscientists affirm what moralists, philosophers, spiritual leaders, and theologians have elicited over the ages: the thinking part of our brain can guide and temper the emotional part of our brain and allow us to create or change habits and adapt to change. That process may not be easy, but it is possible.
“CHANGE OFTEN TAKES US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE TO SOMETHING NEW.”
CHANGE IN THE WORKPLACE
Change is also inevitable in the workplace. Co-workers come and co-workers leave. Leadership at all levels of organizations evolves and changes. Organizational leaders are responsible for guiding and leading change effectively in their organizations just as they, themselves, change, grow, and evolve in an ever rapid, changing business environment.
In creating and building Med One, Larry and Brent have built, led, and guided a company devoted to saving lives and providing important financing options to hospitals and other businesses. Both have been committed to building a wonderful supportive work environment. They both believe, and have stated on many occasions, that it’s the employees that make Med One such a great business and company. That work environment is built on a culture that may be most easily described as family.
In his ground-breaking book on organizational culture, The Culture Code, author Daniel Coyle, describes the relationships he has seen in highly successful groups and organizations. He notes that people in organizations with a strong company culture and interpersonal relationships tend to choose the same word to describe their workplace. The word they use is family.
Those of us who serve on the Med One Board often hear the word family from so many employees in their descriptions of the culture, work environment, and atmosphere here. That culture is reflected in the many shared stories of Med One people going “above and beyond” in their passion for and pursuit of serving their customers. Us board members are all grateful to have the opportunity of serving such a welcoming company and being a part of the Med One family culture.
Coyle describes three key dynamics and dimensions for organizations built on a family-like culture: safety, shared vulnerability, and established purpose. As he describes it:
ORGANIZATIONS THAT BUILD & MAINTAIN SAFETY:
- Overcommunicate
- Empathetically listen
- Readily admit mistakes
- Embrace messengers of either good or bad news
- Overdo thank yous and other courtesies
- Rigorously hire the right people
- Create safe space
- Allow and encourage everyone to have a voice
- Celebrate people and their wins
ORGANIZATIONS THAT SHARE VULNERABILITY:
- Leaders share their vulnerabilities first and often
- Overcommunicate expectations at all levels
- Encourage everyone to deliver bad news in person • Really listen to each other at all levels
- Emphasize before-action reviews and post-mortem debriefing sessions
- Aim for candor but avoid brutal honesty
- Embrace discomfort
- Align language with action
- Trust in teams and one another
ORGANIZATIONS THAT ESTABLISH VALUE:
- Identify and focus on the “big purpose” of their organization
- Constantly rank and align their priorities in their pursuit of the big purpose
- Overcommunicate and clarify priorities
- Embrace catchphrases that inspire, remind, and motivate people about what the organization really values
- Measure what really matters
These are useful checklists in ascertaining where we are now as a company and what opportunities for enhancement may lay before us. As we transition the leadership of Med One, it is important that we individually and collectively find ways to embrace the inevitability of change. We want to remember how the Med One family-like culture was built as we seek ways to build upon it. That will be no easy task as the company continues to grow and evolve.
OUR LEADERS CAN CONTINUE TO:
Remember human nature and why individuals often fear change
Set a compelling vision and purpose both for change and for the future
Communicate and overcommunicate our big purpose - our mission and vision
Measure what’s important
Create and sustain trust
Listen with empathy
Relentlessly focus on a safe space where everyone feels safe to open up
Encourage and foster specific skills training and lifelong learning
Adjust and recalibrate when necessary
Celebrate successes
Learn from instances where we’re not so successful
Serve as role models
Change is never easy – for individuals or organizations. But change is inevitable as we grow.
Successfully managing change for any of us requires individual recognition. Recognizing the part that
each of us contributes to the success of Med One allows us the opportunity to be an important part of a
winning team as it grows and evolves. Adapting to and embracing change is an important part of the Med
One culture and DNA.
