One of my clients is in a transition stage with her business.
Her practice has become so successful that she no longer has
the time to do her administrative work or even the marketing
work that helped her become successful. I am working with
her developing a plan to hire administrative and functional
staff that will allow her to continue to grow her business and enjoy
her work life.
One of the issues we are facing which affects many business
owners is that if she doesn't have time to do what she's already
doing, where will she get the time to hire new employees,
train them and do the marketing that is needed to justify the new employees? She keeps coming home to a pile
of work and it has created a huge block to her growth. We
just returned from a business trip where we learned new ways
to grow the business and improve operating efficiencies. During
the meetings and initially afterwards my client was incredibly
excited about the possibilities. But then something disconcerting
happened.
I've seen this happen before. In fact, it's happened to me
many times and probably has happened to you as well. As my
client started looking at the work that she would need to
do to match the new vision she had, she went from excited
to overwhelmed. This was painful to witness. I want to see
my clients succeed just as much as parents want their children
to. Watching her, I saw the excitement fade and fear and resistance
mount. As we condensed our notes from our business meetings,
the resistance became stronger and stronger and I heard resignation
in her voice as we talked about what was needed. The list
we had created was long and contained tasks that comprised
weeks of work. And in her current mood, she wasn't about to
do it.
As her consultant, it is my job to make this project work
for her. What I realized was that she was in the middle of
the classic change cycle. Whenever we go through a change,
we go through this six stage cycle.
Loss- Whether good or bad, the change will bring about
a sense of loss of what "was".
Doubt- You doubt yourself, the project, the facts,
the timing-and you try to find reasons to not move forward.
Discomfort- Or more specifically fear- This is the
danger area. If you can't move beyond the fear, the change
will be impossible.
Discovery- The light at the end of the tunnel. Options
and possibilities open up and optimism builds based on your
new choices.
Understanding- You now really understand the change
and are proactively involved in it. You see it benefits and
know its usefulness.
Integration- The change has stopped being a change
because it has now become a part of you and you have integrated
the challenges and successes into your life.
The critical stage in this process is the discomfort or fear
stage. If you can't get beyond the fear, you can't move forward
and you will be stuck. I've found that the most useful thing
that we can do is acknowledge that we are scared. It's not
easy for most people to say that they are scared of a change at
work or at home, especially when they can see the benefits
that the change will bring. But speaking up and saying that
you are afraid is the most important part of moving ahead.
You may be afraid to speak out the fear because it may seem
"silly". It may be the fear of the unknown, the
fear of success, or the fear of failure. It may be an insecurity
that you aren't good enough and the change is going to expose
your weakness. You can't hide from the fear. Dig deep and
get it out of you. Put it on paper and take a good look at
it. Remember the saying that fear is False Evidence Appearing
Real. Now give it to friends, associates, and co-workers and
let them help you. They can give you perspective on the change
and how it will help you and how you can overcome the fear.
This will also help you with stage four, seeing the light
at the end of the tunnel. As the fear dissolves, you will
start to see options and possibilities and become optimistic
about the change. And now you are moving forward again embracing
the new.
Understanding the six stages of change and especially the
critical fear stage is important for any business's long-term
success. We have to embrace change and be proactive to stay
competitive and be profitable. Whenever your business is faced
with a change, minor or major, be aware of this and work to
help everyone involved to move as quickly as possible through
the fear stage and into the abundance the change will bring
you.
Business consultant and professional speaker Michael Clark
has been helping businesses including Fortune 500 companies
such as IBM and Cellular One succeed for over 20 years. Michael
is an authority on getting business owners out of overwhem
and getting the most out of their businesses. For more small
business success tips goto http://www.biznbeyond.com
