Detecting Edges for Managing Change

• Are you starting something new?
• Is your organization restructuring or merging?
• Do you have additional roles or authority to handle?

What do these three situations have in common? Dealing with the UNKNOWN….

When we step into the unknown, we must adapt and change.  Edges appear in our lives during these times. We stretch ourselves and we’re out of our comfort zone. We need to cross edges to advance in our lives.  To become a greater person.  Enable ourselves to encompass more.  Detecting edges is the first step to noticing the effects of change on us. Each person reacts differently to these new triggers.  Once we notice them, we can get back to our adult self, manage it and move forward with power.  As illustrated below:

CROSSING THE EDGE

^

Where I am  now               ^   Area  ^           Where I want to be!

(I’m NOT Powerful)           ^     between     ^           (I’m Powerful)        

 ^ Known & Unknown  ^

^                                            ^

Change can come from your own initiate. Or from the outside. But in both situations, you’ve got to flex new muscles to advance. Lots of times this is accompanied with feelings of:
– fear
– excitement
– a voice saying: “you can’t do this!”, “what am i doing”
– stonewalling
– confusion
– overwhelm
– defensiveness
– blame and criticism (pointing fingers)
– being “frozen” and unable to act…
– etc.

If you’re feeling some of this stuff.  Congratulations. You’re at an EDGE….

Teams and partners deal with a muli-edged system.  Where each person has his edge.  And the system is put into “edge behavior”.  Noticing when this happens can greatly help in managing the change.  Not taking things personally.  Dealing with the positions and actions that are out of character.

What are you triggered by?  Once you become aware….  Your next step is to incorporate these triggers into aspects of your self that you manage in your everyday life.  For being a more powerful person.  At home and at work!