Recently several of my clients have been talking about “change fatigue.” Megan put it this way. “The changes are really positive. I totally support where we’re going. Sometimes it’s just exhausting to keep up and support my team while we are getting there.”
We’ve all been there, Megan!
Before we jump into options for rising out of change fatigue, let’s talk about the disconnect that’s often at the heart of the problem.
Before we jump into options for rising out of change fatigue, let’s talk about the disconnect that’s often at the heart of the problem.
As leaders, we see a big move from condition A to condition B.
One change – shift from A to B. We neglect the transition experience.
In these transitional conditions, it’s often neither A nor B. Sometimes the end of A leaves a void in which things are pretty chaotic before B emerges. In other situations, we move from A to Ab to aB to B.
In either case, it often feels more like this when we're in the middle of it. Not a single big change but an incessant string of changes, a blur from one change to the next.
When things change, our brains and our bodies need time to integrate the new ideas, requirements, behaviors, etc. But in that blur, how do you do that?
Here are 3 things you can do that won’t slow down your change efforts and don’t require any additional resources.
- Tell the real story. et realistic expectations with yourself and your team around what the transition will be like. Endings, transitional states, uncertainty, lots of small shifts – these are all part of the real story of change.
- Check in with yourself a lot. Pause several times a day for 30 seconds. Observe your heart rate and breathing. If you could use a mini slow down or settling, do a 4x4. Breathe in to a slow count of 4, breath out to a slow count of 4. Repeat 4 times. (In a pinch, even two repeats will help!) Use this as a space for intentional integration. If you have the “luxury” of taking 3 minutes of silence and setting an intention to integrate, that’s even better.
- Pay attention to what’s needed in each action. Sometimes the situation demands excellence or even perfection. And at other times, this step just needs to be completed so the project can move forward. If you try to do everything with excellence in a time of rapid change, you’ll drown. Notice what’s needed and make a conscious choice.
The pace of change isn’t likely to slow down! These steps can help you preserve sanity for yourself and your team in the midst of rapid changes.
I’d love to hear how you’re riding the waves of change. What’s working for you? What’s not working?