Caroline Watson, Co-founder of Progressive Women, writes about our first Progressive Women and ANKLe Leadership workshop for 2012
I picked up this week’s copy of Stylist magazine on the tube to work on Wednesday morning. Columnist Sophie Cornish refers to Darwin: ’It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’
This was a real coincidence, as I was really looking forward to our first Leadership workshop of the year, ‘Understanding Change & Transition’ with the founder of ANKLe Judy Oliver. Little did I know that this statement would reverberate with me more than once that day.
Later that day, during my day job, we had a staff meeting where I learnt that mass changes were afoot in my organisation including a staff ‘reorganisation’ that would have some significant ramifications on my team and some of my closest colleagues.
So by the time I got to Judy’s workshop at 6.30pm that evening, I was feeling she had been sent from the gods to deal with my mini career crisis.
Ticket sales for our ‘Understanding Change & Transition’ workshop were slow to sell out, unlike other more perhaps tangible subject matters such as communication skills (which is happening on 22nd Feb – a couple of tickets left but they are selling fast!). I think this is because unless you are currently in a state of real change it’s not something you really think about.
However, you never know when the unexpected will hit, and to excel at work and in personal relationships it is definitely a real asset to be ready to face changing circumstances. As Sophie says it’s those most responsive to change that are the most successful.
So on Wednesday evening, firstly Judy outlined the difference between change and transition. Change is what happens to us – the circumstances. Whereas transition is the psychological process that we go through when reacting to change. Judy helped us recognise the in-between stage we often face while going through change, which she referred to as the ‘wilderness’. Which makes perfect sense as that is how it often feels!
One of the most important things is to realise that feeling emotional, or ‘wobbly’ during this time is perfectly normal. What can help is to visualise where you want to be and write it down in the present tense. This can help you identify how you get there and what your next steps can be. This may sound intangible without an example. My ‘promised land’ was to think about 5 years time and where I want to be career wise. It made me think about what I am doing, what I need to do, to get to this ‘promised land’. I realised by discussing this with others in the group there were many of us who felt we were in the ‘wilderness’ and we were given techniques by Judy to visualise coming out the otherside. Ask ourselves ‘what is it I can stop doing to get where I want to be?’ ‘What do I need to start doing?’ ‘What do I have to leave behind?’
Judy shared a really clear example of this with us, someone who starts a new role but can’t leave behind their old one – effectively doing two jobs badly! Another example she used was the divorcee who wouldn’t part with his ex wives left-behind possessions. We can’t move on and accept change if we don’t leave the past behind us.
My conclusion was I need to stop making excuses. There are always good excuses to avoid what needs to be done, such as ‘i’m moving house’, ‘it’s winter and I have no energy’, ‘i’ll do it when I pass my driving test’. Sound familiar? Well at this rate I could be in the wilderness for years to come unless I recognise what I need to do differently.
As one woman said during this discussion ’some people spend 40 years in the wilderness and I don’t want to be one of them’
Progressive Women are hosting two more Leadership workshops with professional coaches from ANKLe. Join us for ‘Communication Skills: Embracing the Hidden Potential of Your Voice’ on 22nd Feb, and ‘Designing Effective Events and Meetings’ on 28 Feb. Learn more here
Follow Progressive Women on twitter @sylviapankhurst. Find out more about future events by joining our mailing list email progress@progressivewomen.org.uk
Excuse me,this is not feminism,but good/bad old-fashioned “do-as-you’re told”.It is not progressive either.Here we are told that some columnist writes,courtesy of Charles Darwin,that the most responsive to change survive.Next,that the founder of ANKLe,Judy Oliver,has said that change is what happens to you and that transition is the psychological process of reacting to change.This is the old recipe for the slave mentality which is constantly being regurgitated in new guises.It is telling us that the best slaves will survive.Ergo,if you want to survive,you’d better be a very good slave.This message,when internalised,leads people to unthinkingly compete with other slaves to be as slavish as possible.
This is neither progressive nor feminist.But perhaps I was wrong about this being a feminist site.
Let us look at this progressively,from a feminist,democratic and civil/human rights perspective.
Change is what happens every day.Change we propose and deal out to others and accept from others to the degree that they are willing to accept the changes proposed by us(Fair exchange).Losing your job and its pay/conditions happens every day,except you don’t notice it.Your employer thinks he/she has got you forever(or maybe not),but you are not a slave.If you don’t like the job you can decide not to turn up for work,or re-negotiate your pay/conditions.This means you can make a new start everyday,like your employer,who can make you redundant,at some cost/against some consideration,every day.
If you really have a watertight enforcible contract with your employer,with no corresponding/balancing obligations on your part,you have a sinecure for life.That means whoever ultimately pays your wages is your slave-You would then be a slave-keeper-Neither progressive,feminist,democratic or in keeping with human rights.
Transition:Accommodating to changing outer circumstances,not to be confused with transformation of your personality/psychology.
Intelligence:This,apparently,is not for slaves.We are not even allowed to think about intelligence,which is used by apparently unknown forces which will forever be effecting change without it being able to be questioned by slaves.To even suggest that change is designed and effected by some coterie of mortal human beings is,apparently,taboo.
The government,our parliamentarians,our top bureaucrats,our bankers/financiers(Yes,they are handling OUR medium of exchange,remember),our leading business people who enjoy the benefits of our lawfulness and our government’s regulation,and some other cliques,all are effecting change,which the above post is trying to suggest is not so much God-given as totally to be accepted without question,without thinking about who and what causes change.You are propagating a slave mentality with these kind of posts.