The best way to successfully get from here to there is to know where “there” is, to prepare for and plan the journey, and to get on the road while anticipating you may encounter delays and detours along the way.
Your change journey is the same. While every change is different, there exists a universal set of patterns underlying change that allows us to remove a great deal of the mystery, and significantly increase the probability of success.
This post addresses the high-level roadmap that I apply to every change journey; the next five posts will go into more detail on each leg of the trip.
(I should begin by noting that while I call the elements out as separate, they are highly inter-connected; depending on the specific change, there will be times that you may be working on one, two, or more of them simultaneously.)
Every major change is a hero’s journey; as a transformational coach, my role is to guide others on that journey. In order to do so, I have developed a model that is based on Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey.” There are five modules to the model, five legs to the journey. [Read more…]
With 93 posts focused on successfully executing your most difficult changes, a lot of territory has been covered in this blog. For an old student of change like me, keeping track of all the insights is in my DNA, but for most of my readers and those I work with, it can get overwhelming. To provide you with a quick reference, the next several posts are going to focus on providing an overview of the change journey, as well offering some critical reminders for each aspect of the trip. You can use the search function (or contact me) for additional information on any of the topics I cover.
“This is a great moment, when you see, however, distant, the goal of your wondering. The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes a part of the tangible world.” Freya Stark
When was the last time you celebrated?
Imagine Michael Phelps in Rio for the summer Olympic games. He’s in the pool, competing for another gold medal, all the time thinking about what he wants for dinner. The thought of it puts a smile on my face, because I know how unreal that image is. Not only is Michael Phelps mentally present when he is in the pool (as well as when he is preparing to get into the water). He is physically present. He is attuned to every movement of his body, every breath, how his body contacts the water that surrounds him.