Change is everywhere. It influences everything and while we may welcome a change in the season, in the scenery, or a new relationship it's often spoken about as a negative, especially in relation to work.

“All this change is too much!â€'
“It's all changing too fast!â€'
“I'm sick and tired of all this change.â€'

Change, especially organisational change has developed a bit of a bad reputation, says Dr Jenny Brockis, neuroscientist and Founder of Brain Fit. Ahead of her upcoming keynote address at HR Innovation & Tech Fest in New Zealand, Dr. Brockis explains how to manage the threat that change poses to the brain, and 5 practical techniques to maximise the potential reward that change offers.

Change = Bad

Change management is talked about as a challenge. Many say it is hard. But that doesn't mean we have to EXPECT it to be that way. The problem with expectations is we seek then to confirm them. If we expect a change initiative to fail, that automatically increases the risk of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our negativity bias can also skew how we interpret our results seeing success as a fluke and failure as proof of difficulty.

Which is why it's time for a reframe of how we look at change because change is the lifeblood of innovation, providing the DNA for our future.

Change is evolution at work.

It is a constant.

It is about people. Which is why the problem isn't with change itself, but with our perceptions, beliefs and behaviours.

We Fear Change

Imposed change is perceived as a threat by the brain. Our internal radar continually scans the environment seeking to identify anything new or different on our mental horizons. In that moment the brain has to quickly determine whether this puts you in a place of potential danger or not, and because the brain's primary objective is to keep you safe, the default setting is to assume danger first and fill in the details later.

This evolutionary response suited very well at the time when we were at risk of becoming a sabre tooth tiger's mid-morning snack and remains in use today, when dealing with those predatory events such as road rage, getting ready for a performance review or dealing with a toxic work colleague.

Change induces a state of fear and uncertainty and it is the latter that makes us so uncomfortable. Geopolitical events aside, job insecurity, proposed organisational restructure (read redundancies) and financial concerns keep brains in a state of high alert and skewed towards that negativity bias.

It's harder to feel optimistic, enthusiastic or motivated to put in the effort time and energy to make the change work if you're feeling stressed, worried or just plain tired. This is why leading change starts by reducing threat, maximising the potential reward the proposed change will bring and making it as easy as possible to implement.

Gird your loins chaps, the threat of change has arrived at the drawbridge.

You may have noticed that how you respond and deal with a proposed change is very much dependent on how you feel at that given moment. If you're expecting it to be tough, that it's going to end up in a fight, you're already geared up to expect hardship and trouble.

Here are three ways to reduce the impact of a threat:

1. Maintain Your Energy Levels

Change fatigue is real in that it does make us feel tired. This is why taking care of your renewable energy sources is so important. Getting enough sleep means you are more attentive, creative and optimistic. Being sufficiently physically active boosts mental performance, enhances resilience and reduces stress. Choosing brain healthy foods nourishes your mind and will have a significant positive impact on your mood, memory and cognition.

2. Choose to Reframe

Under stress everything starts to look bigger and uglier, so we magnify the size of a problem. Seeking to simplify what looks big and complex allows you reframe how you approach the change project and provide greater CLARITY in how you will tackle it.

For example have you ever marvelled at the spectacle of a murmuration of starlings and wondered how on earth they do it? Thousands of birds take to the skies in a remarkable fluidity of movement that appears incomprehensibly complex. How do they not collide with each other? Scientists have discovered it's because every individual starling coordinates its movements with its seven closest neighbours.

When you can see how things have been put together, it's far easier to find the motivation to get on with the work required.

3. Regulate Emotion

Having access to the full spectrum of emotions means we can pick and choose what is most helpful. Regulation can help in lowering the intensity of any given emotion, (either positive or negative) and reduce the risk of an outbreak of emotional contagion. Strong emotions experienced by others will affect us, resulting in the potential loss of access to the rational, logical, reasoning part of the brain, the pre-frontal cortex.

When not confronted by threat, it's far easier to then start seeking the reward potential change can bring.

The Rewarding Side of Change

The good news is not all change is seen as hard, difficult or a waste of time. Change is normal, a constant and frequently desired as a change of scene or seen as a time of renewal and new opportunity.

Here are five ways to help us to see that potential reward:

1. Seek First to Understand

It's far easier to ‘get' what a proposed change is all about when you can visualise it. That mental picture helps you to see its overarching purpose, providing the WHY it's important.

Next get yourself along to the change auditions. Not everyone will get (or necessarily wants) the lead role in the change story, but there will be lots of other parts available for you to be involved with. Once you have your copy of the change song sheet it's easier to determine which individual strengths will be most useful to you to use and WHAT your change role will entail.

Then it's about getting hold of the planned roadmap so you can see HOW to get to the destined change, along with a couple of alternative paths if the preferred route turns out to be a poor choice.

2. Tell a story

According to Jennifer Aaker a story is up to x22 more memorable than facts and figures alone. Stories get us to listen and if well told will influence or persuade our thinking

So if you've got a change story to share, get good at story telling.

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to spend some time in beautiful Copenhagen exploring what leads to greater happiness at work. While there I visited SEB a Swedish bank and pension fund that had initiated a Happiness at Work program in 2012.

What I discovered was:

• The change was led from within. While the CEO had given their full support, it was the small band of change agents within the company that led the charge, not a lone change hero.
• While everyone was invited to join the initiative, not everyone did and that was O.K. When change is an imposition it's less likely to succeed, so make it an invitation instead and accept everyone's reply.
• The change agents spoke frequently about the why, what and how, then listened deeply to what was or wasn't being said before formulating a set of goals that they took action on.
• The program was highly visible with a 12 month spread sheet of weekly activities that was frequently updated and reviewed to see what was working well and what wasn't.
• They kept sharing the change story over and over, checking in frequently to see how it was being received. Communicate, communicate, communicate always. As George Bernard Shaw reminds us

“The single biggest challenge to effective communication is the illusion it has taken place“

The initiative was highly successful, productivity and performance skyrocketed, and the CEO was pretty happy too as business continued to boom.

3. Make it a team sport

Change is much more fun as a collective team sport. Start by channelling enthusiasm and kindle the desire to explore new horizons by piquing curiosity.

This can channel a tidal surge of momentum. Barack Obama used this very successfully in his 2008 election bid for the American Presidency with his simple but highly effective mantra “Yes we can.â€'

4. Make progress visible and celebrate ALL wins

“Look how far we've come!â€' Pressing pause to review progress is highly motivating to make you want to continue along the change path. We are impatient for reward. Just like kids on long car journeys repeatedly asking “Are we nearly there yet?â€' getting to your destination can feel too far off. Checking in early on progress rewards your brain with that lovely zing of dopamine that motivates you to keep going.

Authors of the Progress Principle Amabile and Kramer have revealed too, how celebrating many small wins is far more motivating than waiting for the end of term party.

Remember also to celebrate at the church of failure. Practising failing fast and furiously takes the sting out of failure's tail, reduces the associated fear and helps prevent you from slipping back into inertia.

5. Make Change Normal

Making change normal, small and routine is the catalyst to enable change to become part of workplace culture.

Make it fun. Be willing to experiment. Change can get a bit messy but you can always clean up afterwards. If you're enjoying the process, you'll not only want to keep going, you'll be keen to look for more.

Changing our world-view about change is about seeking to reduce threat and maximise reward.

About the Author

Dr Jenny Brockis is an award-winning speaker, mentor, facilitator and trained medical practitioner and founder of Brain Fit. She is passionate about people, performance and practical solutions that improve cognitive health and wellbeing.