Mastery in a World of Change
This newsletter offers a look at how we react when the world around us is in continuous change of a magnitude we cannot ignore. Included are practical ideas and resources in choosing healthy and productive reactions to change.
We hope you enjoy!
~ The Wisdom Works Team
Table of Contents
Mastery in a World of Change
The world in which we live and lead today is experiencing radical changes. In all aspects of our lives, we are faced with constantly shifting realities. How do we react when far-reaching changes are happening in our current circumstances? The results we want to achieve and the resources available to us are fundamentally altering the playing field in which we lead.
Clearly, our reaction to the swirl of changes we’re in affects more than just ourselves. Because of our power as leaders, our responses set the tone for those around us: our teams, our direct reports, our families, our business relationships. Adopting a leadership stance to change, we must take responsibility for both the short- and long-term consequences of our reactions. This article explores how to choose healthy and productive reactions to change so that the impact we make is positive.
Change in Every Facet
Deep-seated change is impacting every element of our lives, personally and professionally. And there is no segment of the world that is isolated from it. Some of the key dynamics which are rocking our world:
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 Gas prices are soaring. Prices have increased 275% in the last five years!1
- Food shortages are threatening. The World Bank now believes that some 33 countries are in danger of being destabilized by food price inflation.2
- Financial institutions are failing. To boot, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently stated to the U.S. Congress, “The financial turmoil is ongoing.”3
- Businesses are facing new expectations to operate as globally-responsible citizens. From SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan to Harvard Business School in Boston to National Chengchi University in Taiwan, corporate social responsibility is a hot topic in universities worldwide.4
- Climate change is becoming more clear and frightening. The International Panel on Climate Change says yields from rain-fed agriculture in Africa could decrease by 50% by 2020 due to global warming.5
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- Biodiversity is losing ground. Almost a quarter of the world's mammals face extinction within 30 years, according to a recent United Nations report.6
- A new world culture is arising. In response to the critical situations we face, more and more people across the world are seeking lifestyles and work-styles of health and sustainability to benefit themselves, their organizations and the planet.
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Some would even say that we have entered a new epoch. Scientists at the Stratigraphy Commission of the Geological Society of London believe we’ve entered the "Anthropocene" period, an Earth epoch defined by the emergence of urban-industrial society as a geological force.7 Plainly, no person or organization on the globe is immune to the challenges of world-scale changes, as well as the pressures they create.
Unproductive Strategies for Responding to Change
We all have default reactions to major change, initial responses to the unfamiliar. Our automatic reflex is usually one or more of these unproductive strategies: 
- Denial: An ostrich buries its head in the sand to avoid being seen. Many of us do the same thing when faced with change.8
- Fear: The uncertainty that comes with the changes impacting our lives can elicit big fears. Fear about the unknown. Fear about taking risks. Fear about how to succeed in a new situation. In extreme cases, our fears may even show up as an “eco-anxiety,” the angst created when we think that we’re contributing to the ills of the world (and we can’t do a thing about it).9
- Depression: It is natural to feel a loss of ‘the way things were. And, depression occurs at all levels of leadership, even at the top. A 2007 New York Post article claims that "25% of CEOs experience depression at some point in their careers.”10
- Resignation: The dramatic changes impacting us all have taken decades to emerge. We are part of a huge global system, and it can sometimes feel like our efforts have little impact. As a UK study reveals, “world events leave some respondents feeling powerless (56%).”11
While it is inevitable to use these unproductive strategies at times, it is dangerous to linger in them. First off, getting stuck in an unproductive emotion keeps us paralyzed in our old way of living and leading. Waiting for things to get “back to normal” or for greater clarity about the future only delays our ability to respond proactively. We render powerless the internal creative juices we could be using to craft a new, even better future out of the chaotic situation at hand.
Second, when we use an unproductive strategy for too long, it can unwittingly become the dominant mood from which we live and lead. Just like the operating system on our computer drives the computer’s actions, a mood of depression or resignation can literally drive our thinking and behavior. Our ability to see new possibilities for our lives and our companies becomes drastically reduced.
How Do We Face Dramatic Changes Productively?
Everyone is bombarded with “how to” tips and techniques for dealing with sweeping changes: take a carbon footprint test; learn 10 different ways to manage money better; eat for greater health and sustainability … the list goes on and on. And, we know – for the well-being of our lives, our organizations and the planet – it is critical to make positive changes now. The deeper questions, however, is: What responses to change will be productive to use?
Productive Strategies for Responding to Change
 Leaders must set the example, actively employing productive strategies for responding to change. When we think about all the ways our reactions, actions, conversations and inquiries ripple out into the world, it becomes imperative that mindfulness dominates our outlook. We must step up to the plate to activate these productive approaches:
- Optimism: Consider that all change presents not only a new set of challenges, but also unforeseen opportunities. While the transition period isn’t always fun, most people report that in the long run, approaching change with a sense of optimism and hope generates a new level of vitality and success.
Curiosity: Think about how you’ve changed over the past 5, 10, 15 years. You have learned, adapted and reinvented yourself many times over. Now, become curious about how you will transform in the next 5, 10, 15 years. How will the changes you face today help you get where you most want to go and be who you most want to be? And, how could the changes provoke your organization toward new, possibly healthier, ways of operating?
- Acceptance: Willingly give up the familiar. You don’t have to like the changes impacting you. But when you resist changes, you create stress for yourself and risk overcomplicating your life. When you relax, looking holistically at the positives and negatives of the changes you’re in, it’s easier to see how to move forward. Acceptance helps you take what you have right now and build upon it to achieve your goals.
- Humor: Being too serious keeps you from exploring the full range of ideas about the future. Coach Tracy Brinkmann advocates, “A positively honed sense of humor will overcome pretense, put out the fire of anger and quell hostility.”12A good dose of humor supports a positive outlook and helps you lighten up.
It may seem unrealistic to always live and lead from these strategies. Yet, it is our ability to leverage them within our leadership that will make or break the culture, the larger vision and the success of our organization.
What You CAN Do: Observe, Connect, Communicate
What can you do to navigate change with greater ease? These three simple actions can have a powerful effect:
- Observe. It is important to reflect on your current strategies for dealing with change. Do your strategies help or hinder you? Do they create within you a sense of well-being and enthusiasm, or do they increase your frustration and fears? Become a keen observer of your own thoughts and behaviors, a scientist, with you as the focus of study. The basic act of noticing your strategies for dealing with change will naturally help you choose more productive approaches. Our article, Self-Observation: A Power Tool for the 21st Century Leader may give you some practical ways of applying the tool of observation in your everyday leadership. To see an abstract or purchase this article click here.
 Connect. Don’t isolate yourself when strong emotions arise. You are not alone. Remember, everyone on the planet is facing changes on all fronts – politics, economies, values, family systems, spirituality, technologies, the environment, global movements. And, no one person or organization has “the” right answer for cutting through the complexity of the changes we’re in. Instead of going it alone or searching for the silver bullet, you’ll be more successful in dealing with change by connecting with people, engaging in healthy relationships, plus leaning on and providing support to others when you can. As a leader, one of your most powerful tools is the state of not knowing, and from this state of being, learning and creating solutions with others.
- Communicate. The challenges ahead of us demand that we collaborate to discover the best way forward. Look for ways to engage in conversations about possibilities. Communicate with others about what you most care about, and listen to others in return. Create communities in which you can practice facing the future with conscious intention, creativity and courageous action. Staying in a deeper dialogue with your experience, as well with others, is a key way through the challenges that dramatic change often brings. A few resources that can help you are:
- Calling the Circle, by Christina Baldwin
- Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, by Margaret J. Wheatley
- The Art of Convening Series, a unique tele-training program offered by Heartland Circle
- Professional Services. Wisdom Works has a network of skilled coaches and structured programs which can help you give voice and energy to changes you want to make, explore new possibilities for your life and work, and create a clear vision of vitality and success you can achieve.
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The Oakland Business Review included a feature profile on one of our clients, Debra Canales. She was named Michigan's HR Executive of the Year!
Executive Profile: Debra Canales, Trinity Health
 During her 20-year human resources career, Debra Canales has noticed a gradual focus shift from "transactional" to "business partner." Canales, executive vice president of organization and talent effectiveness for Trinity Health, now plays a major role in Trinity's goal to become what it calls - and trademarks - a Unified Enterprise Ministry.
"My role has been to guide the enterprise leadership into true unity, creating synergy out of dozens of geographically and operationally diverse organizations," Canales said. "In evolving to a Unified Enterprise Ministry, we are intentionally shaping our culture to align with our strategy and structure."
The challenge is significant, given Trinity's 45,000 employees around the country. Trinity is the tenth largest health system in the United States.
The American Society of Employers recently named Canales Michigan Human Resource Executive of the Year in the nonprofit category. Canales spoke with freelance writer Pamela A. Zinkosky about Trinity's achievements and goals under her leadership.
Q: What does "organization and talent effectiveness" mean?
A: The key word in our team's name is "effectiveness." To maximize our value to Trinity Health, it is not enough for us simply to work longer or faster at the services we're already providing, but rather to become more effective in identifying and meeting the "people" needs and challenges of the organization in the ever-changing health care environment. It is the responsibility of the team to partner with senior leadership to envision, create and sustain a cultural environment in which we - and all of Trinity Health's associates - are enabled to provide the highest quality service to our customers.
Q: What is unique about your human resources management?
A: We have development programs for all levels of employees, not just senior leadership. For example, we have an extensive online learning system with modules ranging from diversity and inclusion to infection control. We recently developed a program for first-time managers. At Trinity Health, we equip our new managers with the tools they need, from performance management to creating budgets. We maintain what we call a "coaching environment," where the goal of discussions between managers and employees are always to improve performance.
Q: What are your biggest challenges?
A: Speaking from a health care perspective, the biggest challenge today and going forward is having enough workers to meet the demands in Southeast Michigan. For example, there are waiting lists to get into nursing programs. This is telling us that there are people who desire to get into health care but that the lack of programs and perhaps appropriate faculty are prohibiting us from turning out the maximum potential number of graduates annually.
We also have so many generations of people working today in Southeast Michigan. As the automotive industry has been suffering, people are turning to health care as a second career. The economy is also forcing people to work past when they would have normally retired. So you're blending employees who are fresh out of college with baby boomers.
Q: What are some mistakes companies make in human resources?
A: Companies continue to exclude human resources management when making major business decisions or planning major activities. Leaders bring in human resources when the deal is done instead of at the front end. The classic health care example is building a specialty hospital and then coming to human resources six months before it opens with the request to staff it.
The typical human resources function today represents a half- to 1 percent of total operating expenses. When a company has to make cuts, it often targets training and education first. Organizations need to recognize that this investment should be untouchable, nonnegotiable. You can't afford not to have human resources.
Q: Which other area companies, in your opinion, are excelling in human resources?
A: Chrysler LLC's corporate diversity strategies are especially impressive. Chrysler values diversity and champions diversity issues in the United States and around the world. Diversity is integrated into all aspects of its business - from its supplier and dealer base to its community support to its internal business processes and identification of top talent.
Q: What are your goals over the next five years?
A: One of the imperatives is to ensure that Trinity Health is made up of the best people in health care, and that those people are operating within a spiritual workplace that allows them to achieve their highest potential in a trusting, welcoming and inclusive environment.
Our work will include the culture transformation journey called the Trinity Health PATH, a program designed to promote the values of passion, attitude, truth and heart. Over the next few years, we'll cascade the PATH to all levels of the organization. We'll introduce educational tools and techniques that will spark each person's journey along the PATH. We're also creating a shared service center for human resources-type questions, such as benefits, freeing our human resources professionals across the enterprise to focus on strategic work instead of transactional tasks.
http://blog.mlive.com/oak_business_review/2007/10/hr_exec_shapes_unites_diverse.html
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Wisdom Works to Present at 2008 International Coach Federation Conference
 Wisdom Works CEO, Renee Moorefield will be joined by client Bilal Kaafarani to present The Healthy Executive, The Healthy Team. During this interactive session, you will hear about a year-long project to build a healthy, high-performing executive team to lead the Global Research & Development function for The Coca-Cola Company worldwide. Click here to learn more about this session.
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1 http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx
2 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/22/scifood122.xml
3 http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/paulson-financial-institutions-must-be.html
4 http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/csr/ and http://imba.nccu.edu.tw/index.php
5http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=vn20080729060828349C342156
6 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2000325.stm
7http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/26/163120/516
8 http://everything2.com/e2node/ostrich%2520mentality
9 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351353,00.html
10 http://www.nypost.com/seven/08052007/business/boardroom_confession__depression__the_ceo_
business_stefanie_marsh__the_times_of_london.htm?page=4
11 http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/media/news-releases/news-releases-2007/8-october-2007/
12 http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Brinkmann
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