Phase 1 –Business as Usual:
This is the pre-adversity phase where although everything is not perfect it is going along well and we are able to cope. We are relaxed and functioning within a comfort –zone. The aspect of comfort and comfort zone is very important – our circumstances may not be so grea, we may be actually unhappy in a particular job or relationship but the comfort keeps us there. We may believe consciously or unconsciously: “Rather the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.”
Phase 2 – Adversity:
This is an event that takes place and which we experience as negative or adverse. This may be personal or situational i.e. the present economic crisis may affect you personally or it may not; the effect may be intense or it may be mild. What is important is that you see it as an adversity.
Phase 3 – Denial:
Our first reaction is one of disbelief and denial. We cannot believe that this has happened to us. We are stunned and may even feel numb or disoriented. We generally experience a feeling of “This cannot be happening.”
Phase 4 – Refusal:
This is the phase where we refuse to accept that the incident has happened and return to our old belief system. It is as if we do not want to acknowledge what has happened and the possible resulting consequences. Our behaviour can take many forms and include; anger, defensiveness, blaming and bargaining. If there is a need for retrenchment in an organization, people are likely to say; ”This won’t happen to us as they’ll only cut non-essential staff.”
Why do we do this? The individual’s perceived competence is increased because he or she falls back on the values, attitudes and competencies that have worked well in the past. This way they manage to “restore their comfort zone,” by such talk and thoughts. Joel Barker in the “Business of Paradigms” warns however that when a paradigm changes everything goes back to zero. A paradigm is a mental map that we have of how the world works and how we can best function in the world. Not all adversities are paradigm shifting, but more than we realize actually are and the way we function in the world changes.
On a personal level when a parent(s) die the children often keep family festivities in exactly the same way for instance Christmas, it is as if we refuse to acknowledge that life has changed and that we now have to start new traditions and ways of doing things. This may be one of the reasons why we find it so difficult to stay on a diet or an execise programme or make personal improvements. We say to ourselves “I just have to eat more healthy and exercise more.” Instead of defining clearly what we want, what we are going to do to get it, identify the resources and systems to do it and then do it. If you want to cut out sugar don’t have sugar in your house or hide it away well, if you want to exercise join a gym or club, get to bed earlier, organize everything so that you can stick to your plan. As Mahatma Gandhi said:” If you want things to change, be the change.”
In organizations change often meets with resistance and with an attitude of “we have heard this before.” The change is ignored and people carry on in the same old way. Management has to emphasize that there is a change, that it is here to stay and all systems and resources must be geared towards the change. A change killer is a situation where the change is announced in January but nothing can be done because the budget will only be approved in April, or the change is not supported by an accompanying change in performance management or other systems.
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