The personal side of change management

I've done a lot of work in the area of change management.  This has been true on a one-on-one level as an executive coach, as a consultant working with a team or a business, and as a leader of various organizations over time.  I've been schooled on various models, best practices and pitfalls of change management.  In recent months, I've also found myself facilitating team sessions and running workshops around change management.  However, it wasn't until I read a blog post from another author that I gave much thought to the true personal impact of change despite the fact that I've worked through a pretty major change in my professional life in the past couple of years.

The blog post I recently read took a hypothetical look at the impact of change and crafted the story of an executive trying to explain to his young daughter why daddy was spending more time at home.  It was a nice work of fiction and covered off some of the questions that a child might ask of a father or mother in those circumstances - Why are you home so early?  What are you going to do now?  Does this mean that we won't go on vacation this year?  Will we still see our friends from work?

The post got me thinking about - and reflecting on - my own experience with the drastic change in career I took just over 2 years ago, what it meant to me at the time and since, and the power of that story to perhaps help others.  This latter point keeps coming home to me as I work with a variety of individuals and organizations as they initiate or react to change where we can overlook - quite consciously sometimes - the very real cost of change on a personal level.

In my case I saw the "writing on the wall" several months ahead of my eventual departure from my leadership role.  My organization undertook a long drawn out management restructuring that saw some leaders reappointed without competitive process while others were required to go through a selection process.  Early on I gave my direct reports the heads up that this was likely a convenient way to "reintroduce me to the marketplace".  Despite this foreshadowing on my part I continued to put forth best effort into my work and into the selection process as well.  However, coming to a reasoned assessment as to my ultimate fate did nothing to reduce my stress and anxiety during this time.  After all I had given a lot of my self into my organization in the preceding ten years and in many ways my role had become my identity. In actual fact, I had to deal with a string of sleepless nights leading up to my final interview with the assistance of a bottle of red wine.  As somebody who could be rightly called a teetotaler this was a helpful sleep aide.

I have to say that the actual "departure" event was relatively anti-climactic.  At some levels it was actually quite the relief to no longer live the charade of the past several months.  The surprise and shock was experienced more by my direct team than myself.  While I have not analyzed my "terminal event" through the lens of the Kubler-Ross model on death and dying, I probably did proceed through denial right off the bat if only manifested in a decision to take my family on a Disney cruise within a week of leaving my former executive role.  I'm still not sure how to truly assess that vacation time - was it an act of defiance, an act of reassurance for me, an act of reassurance for my family, or all of the above?

I've not had the same fictional experience of my daughters asking me why I might have been home more in the early days of my transition, or whether we were going to have a vacation or be able to buy them a new toy.  Rather it was me spending another string of sleepless nights trying to answer those types of questions for myself and trying to hold true to my own self-image as "man-of-the-house", professional and provider.  On and off over the past couple of years I've found myself having those same self-talks and striving with all my might to make sure that there is no impact to my family, their lifestyle and their goals.

I'll say that it's a lot to hold together and despite the best efforts of others - my wife in particular - it's a burden that I often still choose to shoulder alone.  I've not been able to completely answer all of my own questions over those past two years (e.g., where did some of my "friends" go?) but for the most part I've effectively dealt with the impact of organizational restructuring on my personal and professional life.  I remain anxious and carry the silent burden of trying to keep my family in the lifestyle they've become accustomed to.  I've remained committed to ensuring that my wife and daughters still get to experience all they can from life.  Overall, I believe I have held true to what's important to me as well as a leader and have translated that focus from a senior leadership role to one of business coach and consultant.

So what might be the power or lessons of this story for you in your leadership journey?  I hope there are at least two things that you might take away from this.  First, despite all the trials and tribulations we may be subjected to in our personal and professional lives, if we maintain our focus, effort and vision we can actually turn challenge into success.  So the sun does rise again.  Second, if you are initiating change, make effort to look beneath the project charters, timelines, and metrics to see the people being impacted by the change.  Recognize the extraordinary power you hold over their lives at that moment and into the future.  Recognize, appreciate and truly manage the personal side of change.
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.