Contrary, however, to this comforting traditional Newtonian world-view of fixed scientific certainties and universal laws that are predictable and replicable, contrary to our societal and cultural belief systems, we now know through the insights and perspectives of quantum physics, that the universe [and everything in it] is a single gigantic field of energy.
This energy field is an undivided whole in a constant state of dynamic flux. Perhaps even more disturbingly, from this has emerged the understanding that everything is interconnected as part of that whole. Leaving aside the science, this interconnection is also increasingly and disturbingly apparent in the global political, economic, environmental and technological scale and forces of change, and the speed at which they take place.
So it seems that the sages of the major world philosophical and religious traditions were right after all. We live in a world of constant change - a "dynamic flux of interconnection". Unfortunately, most of us are not very well equipped to deal with this reality.
Insights gained in the field of quantum physics go even further and suggest that every manifestation of "slowed down energy" that appears in the physical world as a "tangible something" remains at a sub atomic level simply as energy. Thus human beings can be regarded as fundamentally energy beings.
From this perspective we are energy beings functioning in an environment that is an energy field. So change management and motivating people to respond constructively to change is essentially all to do with energy. In practical terms this means energising, enthusing or inspiring people. So we are really talking about the importance of emotions.
Themes that are emerging in the sphere of change management are increasingly reflecting the need to respond to and harness this energy dimension - and specifically by stressing the importance of emotional connection.
To take a couple of brief examples of thought leaders in the world of leadership and change management:
(1) Jon Katzenbach
One of Katzenbach's themes is people's anxiety over change can be eased by the skilful transformational leader's ability to tune in to such concerns and take them seriously.
In "Peak Performance: Aligning The Hearts and Minds in your Employees", Katzenbach observes that the leaders of high performing companies create strong emotional bonds with their employees, through which they transmit positive emotions about the challenges being faced and destination being worked towards. Katzenbach argues that the key to encouraging people is via inspirational motivation that has more to do with figuring out how to connect them emotionally to their work than throwing money or promotions at them. Key actions include:
- Tapping into positive emotions
- Managing one-on-one
- Avoiding force
- Aligning one's self with others
(2) John Kotter
A key theme of Kotter's famous 8 Step Change Model, and a recurring theme in recent interviews is the need to establish and maintain a sense of urgency around the need for change that runs deep throughout the organisation. Kotter suggests that for a change initiative to be successful, 75% of a company's management needs to support the change.
In 'Making Change Real - The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations', John Kotter [with co author Dan Cohen] says that the single biggest challenge facing leadership in a change process is just getting people to change their behaviour, and that is achieved by dealing with the emotional dimension:
"All through our lives we have been taught to over-rely on what you might call the memo approach - the 19 logical reasons to change - and we've under-relied on what Dan Cohen and I found is much more effective, which is presenting something that is emotionally compelling. People change their behaviour when they are motivated to do so, and that happens when you speak to their feelings."
Clearly, leading and managing organisational change is all about creating and transmitting energy, and emotions are particularly dynamic expressions of energy. People are motivated when they are inspired. For people to be inspired means, literally means, to have life and energy breathed into them. Do you as a change leader inspire your people?
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