Dealing with Change
Sharon Neal
Learning and Development Centre
Understanding & working with
the emotional impact of change
• To understand the emotional impact of change
• To recognise your own response and typical
behavioural responses to change
• To identify strategies to help yourself and others
deal with the emotional impact of change
What is Change?
• Any movement from ‘as-is’ to ‘to-be’
• “If you don’t change, reality in the end forces that
change upon you.” - S. Wilde
• “When one door closes, another opens. But we often
look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t
see the one that has opened for use.” - A. G. Bell
• ‘We know what happens to people who stay in the
middle of the road. They get run over.” - Ambrose Bierce
Your experience of change
• Group A, think of one example of change
which has been a positive experience and
explain why- what were the characteristics of
the change that made it positive?
• Group B, think of one example of change
which has been a negative experience and
explain why- what were the characteristics of
the change that made it negative?
Impact of Change on the
Individual
Transition Curve- Emotional Responses to Change
Critical point
Shock
Self
Esteem &
Performance
Commitment/
Hope
Anger
Acceptance
Rejection
Exploration
Elizabeth Kubler Ross, 1969
Depression
Time
Letting go
Emotional responses to change
• Progressing through the transition curve
successfully involves experiencing each
stage, not necessarily in order and not
necessarily once
• Avoiding or blocking emotional responses to
change will substantially reduce our ability to
accept and move forward to the new world
we inhabit post-change. We run the risk of
being left behind while others move on.
Emotional responses to change
The depth of curve and the length of time taken
to progress will depend upon:
1. How often the individual has faced this
before
2. How recent the last change experience was
3. How prepared the individual was for the
change
4. How severely the individual has been
affected by “traumatic” change in the past
Look back at the examples you provided
• What examples can you find of
responses/behaviours that might be
explained by experiencing the transition
curve
Typical Change Behaviour Styles
View of / zest for change
+ ve
- ve
Follower
Activator
Sleeper
Blocker
Energy levels
HIGH
Resources to help yourself
handle change
Where is your
support
network?
Draw on your
skills &
expertise to
help you
YOU
Looking after
yourselfphysical
resources
Understanding
yourselfmental
resources
Helping others through the
Emotional Cycle of Change
• Denial – reiterate the facts, firm, clear, considerate
• Anger – listen + encourage expression of feelings
• Rationalisation – respond to questions, provide
information, re-iterate benefits
• Acceptance – provide information, provide
opportunities for involvement, encourage
engagement
• Growth – recognise + reward new behaviours
Communication during Change
People want 4 P’s
– PICTURE
– PURPOSE
– PLAN
– PART of it
(William Bridges – Managing Transitions 1995)
Questions?