The different ways we deal with new things, and what it means for effective change
The different ways we deal with new things, and what it means for effective change
Written by Lauren Alys Kelly
Change is a steady factor in our work lives. As our work environments keep changing, our shared ability to handle, adapt, and grow becomes crucial in moving smoothly through these shifts.
Understanding Our Coping Methods
Think about how you and your team react to big (and even small) changes at work. Maybe you’re an innovator, seeing problems as puzzles awaiting solutions. Perhaps you're a communicator, ensuring your voice and concerns are unequivocally heard. Or you might find yourself seeking support, working closely with colleagues to navigate the unfamiliar territory together.
What’s important is having a way to explore these responses before you are thick in a project and they start to slow progress. A tool like the Coping Strategy Identifier helps unravel this tapestry, illuminating the threads that weave together our varied responses to the challenges before us: Problem Solvers, Assertive Responders, Help Seekers, Adapters, Re-thinkers, and Avoiders.
Let’s unpick them.
Exploring Our Different Approaches to Change
Understanding that during change, we all might prefer different approaches.
Problem Solvers see challenges as chances to find solutions.
Assertive Responders make sure their views are heard during upheaval.
Help Seekers use the power of team thinking to find a way forward.
Adapters adjust easily to new situations without resisting.
Re-thinkers continuously tweak their strategies to stay aligned with current needs.
Avoiders might prefer to step back, think, and possibly wait for a better moment to act.
Why We React the Way We Do Amidst Challenges?
Navigating through change always stirs our emotions and thoughts, largely because it pokes at our basic needs.
Let’s peel back the layers of our coping strategies and explore how they relate to our core needs: arousal, autonomy, and security.
1. Arousal: Keeping Things Interesting
When stuff gets too dull or too hard, our need for a just-right level of stimulation or arousal gets tested. Coping strategies often kick in to manage either boredom or overwhelm.
🔍 Scenario Exploration - Arousal Challenges:
For Designers: Imagine an app that’s too simple or too complicated. How can designers make it engaging without making it confusing?
For Team Members: Think about tasks that are either boring or overly tricky. How can leaders and members work together to keep things interesting and manageable?
2. Autonomy: Holding onto Choice and Control
We all want the freedom to choose and direct our paths. When changes limit our options or control, we use various strategies to manage the lack of freedom.
🔍 Scenario Exploration - Autonomy Challenges:
For Users: Picture an app that directs users on a fixed journey with no options. How can designers ensure users still feel in control while being guided towards specific actions?
For Employees: Think of a workplace where all decisions come from the top without team input. How can everyone’s views be heard and considered?
3. Security: Managing Fear and Uncertainty
Feeling safe and secure is crucial. When changes make us feel unsure or threatened, we employ strategies that try to protect our well-being amidst the unknown.
🔍 Scenario Exploration - Security Challenges:
For Designers: What happens when users hit errors or roadblocks? How can designers reassure users and keep their trust?
For Teams: What if work routines shift unexpectedly? How can leaders and teams communicate and navigate these surprises together?
Embedding an Understanding of Our Needs into Coping Strategies
Seeing arousal, autonomy, and security as key needs allows us to not just spot but also understand various coping strategies during change. By imagining scenarios, we don’t just foresee challenges but also create kind and effective strategies in line with our basic psychological needs.
As we delve into organisational change, considering and responding to these psychological aspects ensures our coping strategies are not just reactive, but also kind, insightful, and centered around genuine human experiences. Integrating understanding our needs with the challenges and coping strategies in hand helps us to navigate the multifaceted world of change with both heart and mind.
Building a Dynamic Environment for Change
Leaders can create an environment where every coping strategy is recognised and supported.
Key Leadership Strategies:
Supporting Diversity: Valuing each coping method and integrating them into our change story.
Creating Supportive Strategies: Developing plans that recognize and support our different journeys through change.
Encouraging Voices: Ensuring all voices and concerns are welcomed and respected, recognising everyone's emotional journeys.
Building a Strong Framework: Designing a solid and supportive structure that helps all the ways we deal with change.
Helping Individual and Group Coping Work Together
Change in a company is made up of each person’s way of dealing with new things, all coming together. Every person’s approach to change mixes together, creating a shared journey.
We can look to coping stategies as a way to stucture this journey.
Mixing Personal Approaches: The Coping Strategy Identifier shows us different paths and helps us create a shared, understanding way of working through change together.
Building a Shared Path: When everyone’s personal strategies for coping with change combine, they make a strong and flexible group approach. This helps organizations move through the sometimes tough journey of change with steadiness and confidence.
Moving Together Through Change
The Coping Strategy Identifier isn’t here to dictate our paths but to softly show the various ways we might move through change.
As we navigate through different stages of organisational change, may we find comfort in our individual paths, knowing that our steps, in whatever direction, are valuable and crucial in the overall journey of collective change.
Want to explore and use the coping strategy identifier tools?
We’ve published it over on our toolkit at BehaviourKit.
