Did you know there a six stages people move through when faced with change? Awareness of these stages and advice on how to communicate with them in each stage can help to support them as they move from stage 1 to stage 6. TIME is however the biggest secret to helping people through change. It takes time. Period.
Today, we will take a look at the first stage: Moving from Loss to Safety. Future posts will explore the remaining five stages so stay tuned.
People arrive in stage 1 because something was either lost, is new, or both. Maybe they lost their job, a loved one, or something they were familiar with like software used every day at work. They might be facing something new, like a new job, new manager, new client, or new project. Maybe it’s a combination of these things.
The FUD Factor plays heavily into their perception of the loss of control at this stage. FUD stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Their thoughts and actions are likely cautious and possibly paralyzed.
Supporting people within Stage 1 includes:
1. ASKING about what was lost or what is new with them.
2. ACTIVELY LISTENING to their responses and mirroring them back to confirm.
3. VALIDATING what you hear by acknowledging their emotions and show support.
These three steps will help them feel heard. The ability to talk openly and get things off their chest is the key to this stage. It’s important to present yourself is a calm and non-argumentative way.
Rinse and Repeat. This will take time before they show signs of feeling more safety. These signs might be less caution and paralysis. They might also include more symptoms of Stage 2: feelings of resentment, skeptical thoughts, and resistant behavior.
REMEMBER this will take time and might be different for each person.
What other ways could you help someone through the Loss stage of change?
I found the 6 stages of change and the image on ChangeCycle (dot) com.
#ChangeManagement #ChangeAgent
