Larry Iverson PhD
Imagine
this. A friend of yours calls and tells
you about an exciting vacation package.
They admit it’s a bit different than other trips you’ve taken. To start with, they can’t tell you where
you’re going. Nor can they be certain
that you’ll arrive at your destination.
The trip will be fun, exciting, challenging, and to a degree dangerous. Finally, they tell you that the trip starts
tomorrow and you need to buy your ticket immediately.
Most of us would
reject that offer out of hand without even thinking about it. But the truth is, you are on that
journey. The journey is moving into the
future and managing all the changes you’ll encounter. You are embarking into a future that has many
uncertainties.
The Reality
The only
difference between the imaginary trip and reality is that we have no
choice. We are all on that trip. We’re bound for the future with countless
possible outcomes. Rapid and
never-ending change is the only certainty, especially in the field of Fire
Services.
For any
leader to navigate well on this journey they must have guiding principles,
beliefs, strategies and tactics which assist them in moving forward in their
mission. The principles and beliefs are your
compass. Strategies and tactics are your
tools. When everyone is focused on
principles, and has aligned values and beliefs, the entire organization has an
accurate compass to use. This compass
can then keep you on course even when the territory is changing.
Quite often change slings us
out of our comfort zone. Even if you are
someone who likes change and is a promoter of change, you have comfort zone
boundaries you like to stay within. What
is anxiety creating for one person is excitement creating for another. Even the thrill seeker has limits.
It’s Human to Resistance Change
When we hit our comfort zone
boundary we tend to pause, hesitate, wait, think about it or maybe even
procrastinate.
There are five core reasons
people resist change.
1) Lack of Knowledge or Skill. For example, have you ever had a new
piece of technology you didn’t know how to use, and you resisted it?
2) Physical or Resource Restrictions—Lack of time, money, people,
tools, etc.
3) Negative Past or Future Projections—Anxiety or worry about what
has happened and it may catch up to you, or about what may be coming at you in
the future.
4) Discomfort or being Comfortable Where We Are. Have you ever had a worn-out piece of
clothing you kept wearing, or a broken down piece of furniture, or vehicle
which was way over the hill but you couldn’t part with it?
5) Or just plain old Fear.
Scared of a possibility that may be staring you in the face.
Getting Beyond Resistance
Change brings out the best and
worst in humans. It can be a cause for celebration,
or a reason to hide in your cave. In
many cases it is not even the actual change that generates this emotional
response. It is the perspective we hold and what we are telling ourselves
(positive or negative) about the situation we are in or about to
encounter. Get control over your
run-away brain. That will assist you in
every changing situation you encounter.
There are only four ways known
to medicine and psychology that emotions are created. Chemical or hormonal changes, damage to the
brain or central nervous system, physical injury or extreme heat/cold, or your
self-talk and mental images. Of these
four ways emotions are generated, between 65% to 75% of them are created by
your self-talk patterns.
To better manage any change you
are experiencing and become more effective at dealing with resistance to
change, get a handle on your thinking.
As the amazing Zig Ziglar said, “Every day we all need a check-up from
the neck up, to avoid stinkin’ thinkin’, which creates hardening of the attitudes!” Handle your brains response to change first,
and all changes then become easier to manage as well.
Dr. Larry Iverson is a Clinical
Psychologist, Author & Trainer who works with Fire Service organizations
across the US. In his career he has trained or coached over 1,000,000
people. www.DrLarryIverson.com