Homeostasis is the combination of opposing equal forces that prevent change and maintain
equilibrium. The best example I can give you here is your home’s thermostat. Internally, this device
is rigged with sensors, the sole purpose of which is to maintain the temperature at which you set it.
When it notices that the room’s temperature is changing, lower or higher, from the temperature it
is programmed to maintain, it will set off an opposing action, heat or air conditioning, to prevent
change and maintain the set temperature. When the desired temperature is reached, it shuts off.
Now think about that in the context of your team, organization, relationships, etc. Go ahead. Take a
moment. Think about a change that might be occurring or that you’re discussing with your team,
family, or business partner. How’s that going? Are you feeling that opposing forces are pushing
against what you’re trying to change, communicate, or influence? Could that be a good thing?
Lest you think homeostasis is a negative or positive thing, let me quickly add it is not. It is actually
neutral. Think about what would happen if humans didn’t have their protector of homeostasis…the
hypothalamus. Without it, our body temperatures would be all over the place. So, homeostasis can
have the effect of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Keeping bad things from getting better
Keeping bad things from getting worse
Keeping good things from getting bad
Keeping good things from getting better
The net effect of any of these is that things stay the way they are which depending on the situation
can be good or bad.
Now depending on the situation at hand any one of these can be desirable or undesirable.
Some Questions:
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How is homeostasis showing up in your thinking, decision-making and actions?
What opposing “forces” in your thinking patterns and internal chatter keep your brain
connecting the dots in the same ways?
How is that working for you and against you? What effect is that having on your team?
How can you reset your internal controls to remain mentally agile?
How will you know when to stay the course and when to allow new information to inform
your thinking in order that your decisions and actions meet emerging and changing
demands?
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How do you deal with homeostatic thinking and behavior in your organization and in
yourself?
Remember that even when things are bad, people will exert force, of epic proportions at times, to
keep it bad...and here’s the kicker: They’ll do this even when they have a desire to change and know
that the change would be helpful to their survival. Go figure. There is a saying in psychology circles
that people only change when the prospect of staying on the same course is scarier than the
prospect of the unknown that change would bring. Alternatively, when things are good, they’ll fight
to keep it good especially if they perceive that the change will have a negative impact or pose a
threat to something they feel is working well or well enough. This is the “don’t rock the boat
syndrome” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Remember that our brains like certainty…therefore when presented with conflicting idea states,
one that we hold dear and of which we are certain and one that challenges that safe place with the
prospect of change, regions of our brain are going to duke it out. Why? Because of this thing called
cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is that uncomfortable feeling humans get when their
brains are trying to hold to opposing ideas at the same time. One of them has to go. Usually, it will
be the one that opposes what we already believe to be true. Also remember that people’s reaction
to change runs very deep and always in some way attaches to deeply held values and fears. You
would be stunned to learn what meaning gets attached to proposed ideas, casual feedback on
performance, or change. If only you could hear the internal chatter and the way the dots are
connected in the mind. As a coach, I get to hear this all the time. It’s fascinating and revealing…Like
pulling back the curtain on Oz.
So, your focus is to be the driver of change by managing the transition thoughtfully. Help people
through the space between where they are and THE CHANGE (which is the endpoint). Not paying
attention to what has to happen before you are living in the changed world is a grave
oversight...and a topic for another issue for this series. To engage others to challenge their current
thinking system or level of homeostasis, you, the leader, must challenge your own pattern of
thinking, approach and behavior. If results need to increase, if energy needs to be renewed, if
innovation has to be sparked, if the process for getting work done has to change then you have find
out what their motivators are, what do they care about, what do they see as perceived or real
threats and losses. In essence, what are they thinking?
Challenge: Is there a wall you or your teams keep running into? Would you like to be able to
shift your business strategies and stay on course with revenues regardless of market or
economic shifts? How valuable would it be if you were a more agile and resilient thinker so
that you could make the right decisions and have them implemented in time to take advantage
of business opportunities? Pick one area of change that is looming or was recently announced,
even if it was announced by you. Remember that by the time you announce a change to a
team, you and the rest of the executives have had time to move through some "loss" stages
and other stages that go along with the transition to change. Try to get yourself back to where
you were mentally when the change was first announced to you and then reflect on the
following:
1. What are people losing as a result of this change? How are they feeling about that
potential or real loss? What is the resistance and fear really about? What story are they
telling themselves about it? How can I work with them to replace the losses in some way
to keep their engagement in tact?
2. As these same questions of your self...What are you losing as a result of this change?
etc...
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