All Change

How do you feel about change? For many people change can be a scary deal.

Even when experiencing a change which we have initiated our self, we can go through a change curve which takes us well out of our comfort zone.

This experience can be magnified when we experience a change which is being ‘done to’ us.

There is a well known model which can be used to help people make sense of how they’re experiencing change – called SARA(H).

• Shock/Surprise

o   I didn’t want this to happen – how will this affect me? What might I lose as a result of this? What is at risk for me?

• Anger

o   It’s not fair. I’m a victim in this process. It’s beyond my control.

• Rejection/Rationalisation

o   It’s not happening. I can alter it. It won’t happen to me. It’s not real

• Acceptance

o   It’s happening. How do I deal with it? I can deal with it. I can make it work

• Help

o   Where can I get help? (Optional depending on what it is)

Whether it’s a conflict with a client, the loss of an order, the failure of an audit, or countless other changes that we experience during the day to day course of our lives, we all travel through the SARA(H) process.

People often think that this process only occurs when it’s a change that we’re not happy about – however it is equally true for something that we initiate our self.

The reason for this is that it rare that any choice we make turns out exactly as we expected it to. Whether it’s starting a business, adding a new product, working with a new partner etc, the result is normally at least slightly different to how we expected it – so we enter the SARA(H) cycle to make sense of it.

It’s often where doubt creeps in about whether we made the right choice or not. It’s the place where we second guess our self.

As with most aspects of coaching, the mere awareness of a pattern of behaviour enables us to then make a choice – do we stay where we are or do we take another path?

Once you recognise where you are in your own SARA(H) process you then get to put plans in place to deal with whatever the topic is and start focussing on what you CAN do – rather than stay in the paralyzing inertia of Shock , Anger and Rejection.

Think about the last big change you experienced and how you went through the SARA(H) process. Where did you spend the most time? What were the things which moved you between changes? How did each stage feel?

We all live in a world where we have to deal with almost constant change – Striding Out is able to provide you with coaching and mentoring to enable to maximise your opportunities during times of change.

For more information on any of our services please contact us on 0203 303 0468

Article by Simon Ireland-Davies CPCC, ACC