By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
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Abstract: This article explores a proven framework for cultivating personal and organizational resilience during times of change. The article identifies key principles for becoming more comfortable with change, starting from understanding one’s own mindset towards ambiguity and developing an adaptive orientation. Principles for cultivating an adaptive mindset internally include reframing change narratives, embracing impermanence, developing curiosity over fear, and practicing self-compassion. Externally, the authors advocate for connective leadership through active listening, storytelling, appreciation, and empowerment to safely navigate change together anchored in trust. Organizations can develop change agility by designing "adaptive space" through principles like holacracy, evolutionary purpose, and experimentation to condition antifragility and benefit from change. The keys to overcoming reluctance to change lie in thoughtful management both internally and externally.
As experienced leadership consultants and academics, we know that change is one of the few constants in life. Yet for many, embracing change remains deeply uncomfortable. Over two decades working with organizations across industries, my colleagues and I have observed firsthand the difficulty individuals and companies have with transitioning, adapting, and evolving with their environments. Through our research and hands-on work, we have identified a proven framework for cultivating personal resilience and organizational agility in times of flux.
Today we will explore key principles and practices that can help any leader, team or business become more comfortable - and ultimately skillful - with navigating change.
Navigating Change Starts from Within
The ability to adapt successfully starts from understanding our own relationship with ambiguity and uncertainty (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). How we think about and emotionally engage with change begins from our internal mindsets. Research shows individuals who view change as a chance for growth rather than a threat experience less stress and perform better during transition (Avey et al., 2008). To cultivate such an adaptive mindset:
Reframe change narratives. Rather than seeing change as disruption, view it as an opportunity to improve, learn, innovate or transform something positively. Change often contains seeds of renewal if we look deeply (Senge, 2006).
Embrace impermanence. Nothing lasts forever, so accepting flux as the natural way of things can ease anxiety. Focus on what is in your control rather than external uncertainties (Hall, 2012).
Develop curiosity instead of fear. When facing change, maintain an open, inquisitive stance. Curiosity counters stress and invites creativity versus reactivity (Van Gelderen, 2012).
Practice self-compassion. During difficult transitions, nurture yourself with patience and kindness rather than harsh self-criticism. Compassion calms the threat response so wise decisions are possible (Neff & Dahm, 2015).
These individual mind shifts form an adaptive foundation, but true resilience emerges through relationships. The next level is bringing such perspectives into how we lead teams.
Leading Change Through Connective Leadership
Research demonstrates the single greatest factor impacting how employees experience organizational change is the direct manager (Herold et al., 2007). Thus, how we lead others during flux matters immensely. Connective leadership prioritizes building deep trust and bringing out the best in others through periods of turbulence (Uhl-Bien, 2006). Hallmarks of this approach include:
Active listening. Make time to understand different perspectives and emotions around change rather than assumptions. Listening builds empathy and joint solutions (Kouzes & Posner, 2017).
Storytelling. Share your change vision through compelling narratives that help others finds themselves within it. Stories aid meaning-making more than facts alone (Denning, 2011).
Appreciation. Recognize contributions frequently, especially of those negatively impacted by change. Appreciation offsets loss of control feelings (Brytting & Trollestad, 2000).
Empowerment. Involve teams in change process and decisions where possible. Empowerment transfers ownership that boosts buy-in and resilience (Heifetz & Laurie, 2001).
Connective leadership creates safety for teams to process change together. When anchored in trust, even major shifts can be navigated constructively.
Change Agility Through Adaptive Space
As change becomes ever more constant, researchers stress the need to hardwire agility into organizational DNA (Stacey, 2010). This requires consciously designing what we call "adaptive space" - environments that stimulate emergent change capabilities. Three such design principles include:
Holacracy: Flattened, self-managed teams replace rigid hierarchies and encourage distributed leadership, accountability and adaptability (Robertson, 2015). This distributes decision-making closer to customers for relevance.
Evolutionary Purpose: Purpose evolves through cross-pollination versus rigid command-and-control. Open networks aid incubation of novel solutions to fluid problems (Shaw, 2002).
Experimentation Mindset: Low-risk trials and willingness to fail fast are encouraged to discover what's possible during disruption. Learning accelerates from experiment versus analysis paralysis (McGrath, 2011).
When built into a group's operating model through norms and structures, adaptive space conditions an "antifragile" organizational system that benefits from change rather than recoiling (Taleb, 2012). Adjusting mindsets, relationships and environments in tandem cultivates the highest forms of individual and collective resilience.
Conclusion
While change promises growth, its arrival often stirs up powerful resistance within us. The keys to overcoming such reluctance and gaining comfort with flux lie in how we think, lead and organize for it. By bringing more awareness, compassion and empowerment to our management of change - both internally and externally - we gain the wisdom and agility to actively shape it for good. Viewing change as friend not foe, and designing environments that spread such perspective, allows periods of transition to blossom into opportunities instead of threats. May these principles offer a pathway for any of us seeking to navigate life's inherent changes with increasing grace.
References
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Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling: Mastering the art and discipline of business narrative. John Wiley & Sons.
Hall, A. (2012). Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Heifetz, R. A., & Laurie, D. L. (2001). The work of leadership. Harvard business review, 79(11), 131-141.
Herold, D. M., Fedor, D. B., Caldwell, S., & Liu, Y. (2008). The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees' commitment to a change: A multilevel study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 346–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.346
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
McGrath, R. G. (2011). Failing by design. Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 76-83.
Neff, K. D., & Dahm, K. A. (2015). Self-compassion: What it is, what it does, and how it relates to mindfulness. In Handbook of mindfulness and self-regulation (pp. 121-137). Springer, New York, NY.
Robertson, B. (2015). Holacracy: The revolutionary management system that abolishes hierarchy. Penguin UK.
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. Broadway Business.
Shaw, P. (2002). Changing conversations in organizations: A complexity approach to change. Routledge.
Stacey, R. D. (2010). Strategic management and organisational dynamics: The challenge of complexity to ways of thinking about organisations. Pearson education.
Taleb, N. N. (2012). Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder (Vol. 3). Random House Incorporated.
Uhl-Bien, M. (2006). Relational leadership theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. The leadership quarterly, 17(6), 654-676.
Van Gelderen, M. (2012). Perseverance strategies of enterprising individuals. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 18(6), 630-648. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551211268101
Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2015). Managing the unexpected: Sustained performance in a complex world. John Wiley & Sons.
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Navigating Change With Wisdom and Grace. Human Capital Leadership Review, 12(1). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.12.1.14
