Tag Archives: Definition

Be Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 4 Identify what is most difficult for you

Posted on 8 June 2012 by Wendy Mason | 2 Comments

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Be Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 4 Identify what is most difficult for you

In the last post in this series I asked you to start thinking about emotions and I explained how identifying your troublesome emotion helps you gain control and make sure things turn out more positively for you in the future.

Now, you need to identify what is most difficult for you about the change.

This is important because it helps you get to the root of the problem and so you avoid spending too much time on the peripheral issues. It saves you energy you would have spent dealing with less important aspects of your change. For example, you might feel angry about something that happened last time you tried to make this kind of change. But what really caused you to feel that way?

When you know what it is that is actually causing your big emotion, you can start to develop a more helpful attitude.

Find a little time and a quiet space to go through this exercise. Think about what happened in the past to make you feel this way. Now imagine someone telling you the same story. What advice would you give them? Imagine questioning them about what happened and pressing them to tell you more and more about how it happened until you get right down to the root cause. Now what is that fundamental belief about themselves that is making them feel uncomfortable.

What advice would you give them to help them have a more healthy attitude? Now step into their shoes and think about you having the same experience and how you can now apply the new approach. Practice thinking in this new way.

Success here depends on being very honest with yourself.

If you need support from a coach in sorting out the fundamental belief that is stopping you making positive changes, get in touch, my phone number is below.

The next post in this series will be about setting goals for your change and how to avoid the pitfalls in goal setting.

If you have tips to share with others about making changes in your life – please get in touch.

The links to the earlier posts in this series are below.

Wendy Mason is a Life and Career Coach. She helps people have the confidence they need to be successful at work and to change career while maintaining a good work/life balance. You can email her at wendymason@wisewolfcoaching.com

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Posted in change, Change Competence, Change Management, Emotion, Emotions, Personal Development

Tagged Be Successful, career, Career Coaching, Career Sucess, change, Change is needed when, coach, Definition, difficult emotions, Emotion, Emotions, how to make changes, leadership, life coaching, Management, Personal Change, Personal development, what are emotions

Leading Change: High Levels Of Engagement Could Actually Put Your Change At Risk

Posted on 25 May 2012 by Wendy Mason | 1 Comment

Leading change: high levels of engagement could actually put your change at risk

New research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Kingston University Business School’s Centre for Research in Employment, Skills and Society (CRESS) has emphasized the distinction between people whose man engagement at work is with doing their immediate job to earn a living and others whose emotional attachment is much wider and extends to the organization itself – colleagues, line managers and customers.

Those engaged primarily with their jobs might enjoy and take pride in their individual work but they just want to do it and get on with rest of their lives. It is interesting that the study found that these people who are transactionally engaged (their interest is mainly in the technicalities of own work) report higher levels of stress and difficulties in achieving a work-life balance than those who are emotionally engaged with the organization.

It can become more complicated when, for example. someone is emotionally engaged mainly with their profession and perhaps even their clients, but only transactionally engaged with their current role and the current organisation.

Now ,this presents some interesting challenges for those leading change, particularly in how they communicate about the change.

A change that is being made for the perceivable good of the organization is more likely to be supported by someone emotionally engaged with that organization. That is, if the well being of colleagues is seen to be a priority and there is a clear commitment to managing the change well.

However, a change that threatens the work of an individual who is transactionally engaged may present a much greater risk. Most change managers have encountered the committed and brilliant technical specialist who decides they have no alternative but to subvert a change for the good of their work.

So how can you respond?

Well, for a start you need to understand your group and have a care with the results of engagement surveys which may not distinguish between different kinds of engagement.

What kind of people are in your group and what kind of work do they do? Walk the talk – get out there and meet them. Have conversations and be prepared to listen and to deal with feelings and anxiety.

When you communicate the change be aware that the impact will be different for different kinds of people. Take those different needs into account when you are planning the message. Then recognize the risk that different kinds of engagement might present. If your change threatens the organization itself then you need to manage the risk that presents for those committed to it. But handled the right way they will come with you on the journey.

Those committed mainly just to the job may well simply remove themselves, together with their precious technical skills if they can see nothing in the change for them. If their skills are critical to the organization you may need to consider incentives to stay – these could range from money to opportunities for professional development or even enhanced technical facilities.

As with all change programs, success lies with inspiring people to follow the vision but that inspiration may come with different strokes for very different kinds of folks

If you need the support of a coach in developing your career as change leader or change manager, then get in touch – I’ve been there before you.

Wendy Mason is a Career Coach with Life Coaching skills and expertise in helping people have the confidence they need to be successful at work while maintaining a good work/life balance. You can email her at wendymason
@wisewolfcoaching.com

Be Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 1 Admit A Change is Needed(wisewolftalking.com)
Career Development – Dealing With a New Boss(wisewolftalking.com)
Job Search – Saying Thank You After The Interview Is A Must(wisewolftalking.com)

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Posted in Leading Change, Managing Change

Tagged Be Successful, career, Career Coaching, Career Development, Career Sucess, change, Change is needed when, Change Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Kingston University Business School’s Centre for Research in Employment, coach, Definition, different kinds of engagement, Employment, Engagement, leadership, Leading Change, life coaching, Management, Managing Change, Personal Change, Personal development

Be Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 3 Be Clear About What Is Troubling You

Posted on 18 May 2012 by Wendy Mason | 2 Comments

Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 3 Be Clear About What Is Troubling You

In the last post in this series I discussed the need to be quite clear about what you need to change. I said you needed to be as specific and detailed as you could in the way you defined the change. Starting with a clear and detailed description has a huge impact on how successful your change might be. And I hope you have now created your description.

Now, you need to start thinking about emotions. No significant change is made without some impact on our emotions. Understanding what they are and knowing how to manage the impact can be key to success.

Troublesome emotions like anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, anger, hurt, jealousy and envy can occur at different times in our lives. They can be associated with lots of different kinds of events. But sometimes they occur when most people would think there should be nothing to worry about. And they can be very difficult to deal with.

You can find one theme and one emotion recurs time and again. It doesn’t actually stop you doing something but it can make it more difficult to do and less satisfying.

Teasing out exactly what the emotion is, is the first step in understanding the thoughts and beliefs behind it. It can be a way to help you gain control of the emotion and make sure things turn out more positively for you in the future.

What do you feel, when you think about the change you have to make? Exactly what emotion is being stirred in you?

Be very honest with yourself. If you need support from a coach in sorting out the emotions that stop you making positive changes, get in touch, my phone number is below.

The next post in this series will be about what aspect of the change is triggering the emotion and why?

If you have tips to share with others about making changes in your life – please get in touch.

The links to the earlier posts in this series are below.

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Posted in change, Change Competence, Change Management, Emotion, Emotions, Personal Development

Be Successful – Making A Personal Change – Part 2 Be Clear About The Change You Want!

Posted on 11 May 2012 by Wendy Mason | 5 Comments

In the last post in this series I discussed the need to face reality, admit that a change is needed and then take responsibility for action. Now you need to be quite clear about what you need to change.

You need to be as specific and detailed as you can in the way you define the change. Starting with a clear and detailed description has a huge impact on how successful the change might be. If you don’t really know what you want, you can still find yourself very disappointed.

Define the change – tips!

Here are some tips for defining the problem you are trying to solve in making your change

Start with what you know now! Write down as much as possible about the thing you want to change, why you want to make a change and how you plan to make it.
Consider what other information you might need. What gaps are there in your knowledge about the change you want to make. Do you understand completely how you are going to make the change and what the full effects might be? For example, will other people be effected? Do you need their support in making the change and are you likely to get it? How much time and money will it cost to do it and do you have those resources available? Does making this change mean you will need to make others – what will they be?
Collect the information you need. This could include both facts and the opinions of others about the change you plan. What has been their experience in making a similar change – what has worked for them and what has not? Try to gather as much information as you can.

Now you are ready to define the change you want to make.

If you have gone through the steps above, you are now ready to set down in detail what your change is and how you want to make it. Write it down and make it as clear, colorful and detailed as you can.

The next post in this series is going to cover handling emotions when making changes in our lives. No significant change is made without some impact on our emotions and knowing how to manage that impact can be key to success.

I would love to hear your experiences in making changes in your life

Working with a coach can help you to change successfully – email me at the address below for information on how I can help you.