Dr. Vander: Retinal Change Agent

Are you looking for yet a little more insight into change and how to deal with it?

Visit Dr. Vander.

Yeah, I know you haven't a clue who he is. I didn't either until this morning. Dr. Vander is now my Retinologist, a kind of ologist I never had before. He turned out to be the "once I was blind but now I see" kind. That made me verrrry happy.

Long story short: Three weeks ago my regular eye guy told me I had macular puckering. Sounded like one of those flat fish that swim off of Nantucket. Dr. Vander likened it to a layer of wallpaper that starts to wrinkle; except it's the coating of gel in your eye that does the same thing. It itches. It makes you squint. It starts to annoy you to the point where you sometimes can't focus your vision or your thinking. In my case, I was convinced I was going blind. His thorough diagnostic revealed that it was not serious and that my vision itself is ok. He advised against surgery at this point (a risky option) and suggested that I take a few weeks to allow my brain to get used to the condition.

What? Do nothing and expect something to change?

The good doctor explained that my brain (he was also gracious) needs time to adapt to the changes in my eye. If you've ever had floaters--those little dark thingies that can shoot across your vision like tiny meteorites-- you know that somehow you get used to them and life returns to normal. He said calmly that my condition would most likely be resolved in the same way.

What does this teach us about change in individuals and organizations?

1. If there is a change, give everyone's brain the right amount of time to adapt to the new situation and make its systemic corrections.

2. Be clear and honest about the change and hold firm--that way the brains involved will know what they are dealing with and how to make the adjustments. If you start changing what you changed, you're asking a lot of the collective neurons in your company.

3. Just because something changes and it "itches" doesn't mean the discomfort won't stop.

4. When the itching gets so tough that you think you're going to fall apart, there's no substitute for the leader showing up and offering reassurance, accurate information, and an understanding of the time you need to reach equilibrium again.

5. After the initial shock of the change subsides, notice that you are still whole and intact. Take a moment to be thankful.

I know I am.

Comments

[Mark Goodyear]

Thanks for stopping by GoodWordEditing.

I like this idea. Change hurts, and sometimes the discomfort goes away on its own.

On the other hand, I've seen people use this logic to justify their own delusion--that major problems will resolve themselves.

So how do you know the difference between pain that is temporary and a pain that is systematic of a larger problem?

[Steve Roesler]

Well, Mark, that is one important question, eh?

While writing this particular post I hadn't been thinking about that at all. In this case, the only thing I knew to deal with the issue was go to an expert and find out the reality of the situation, good or bad. The good doctor was convinced that the brain would sort this out, based on his breadth and depth of experience. (BTW: It's been nearly a year and the brain has, thankfully, "rewired" to accommodate the situation).

You ask "how do you know the difference between pain that is temporary and a pain that is systematic of a larger problem?"

Maybe at least part of the answer lies in looking at any discomfort as acute or chronic. A quick, sharp pain can be caused by a single incident, such as stepping on a piece of glass or pricking one's finger. You know the cause and can choose to take action (antiseptic) to prevent from becoming systemic.

The second type--an indicator of a larger, systemic problem--usually manifests itself in chronic pain.

Since organizations are systems, my experience in them has been that they are like the human body. If you pinch them in one place they will go "ouch" in numerous locations. If you see something bad happening with regularity (chronically) in one part of an organization, you can bet that it is happening--and perhaps even has its cause--elsewhere in the system.

Thanks for weighing in, Mark. I think you've lit a fire for a more fully-developed thought and future post on this :-)