Origin Story Time.
I’m not a fast person. More than 16 minutes to walk a mile, happy without a microwave, and often “get” the punchline after folks are done laughing.
But we don’t work in a slow world. AI capability morphs in months; private equity beats the drum for “grow now”; bad actors aim to steal data every nanosecond. I want to work with Beta Technologies here in VT, but their plan to double their workforce in the next 18 months knocks the wind out of me.
I’ve had complicated feelings about this contrast. I’m proud of my slow, careful work. Months to prepare a speaker (years for a cello piece), or hours with a team to define their sentences of direction. But where is my onramp to this fast world? How to connect? Fit it? Serve?
Then it struck me: Change. One thing I know and do is change.
Yes, there are my multiple life experiences of change, but I realized it is also the focus point in my work.
- “I want to change how I speak up in meetings.”
- “I need my team to shift into more professionalism with clients.”
- “What do I say when I’ve had surprising harsh pushback during a meeting?”
- “With the pace of change these days, I need help getting my team to focus and get grounded.”
Of course, I don’t have a pill or potion to instantly grant the wish of change they seek.
But I do have questions to help them find their path, and maps to help them see the territory they are traversing.
In fact, I realized I’m fascinated by these moments of change and thrilled to work with folks on how to show up and what to say to navigate them.
Fascinated and energized enough to make a podcast about it.
For the past many months, we’ve been researching, learning, building, and, most fun of all: interviewing and recording!
I’m talking with people about their moments of change and how they prepared, responded, spoke in them, or reflected on them afterward.
I’ve spoken with an Olympic Gold coach, an Air Force officer, a Shark Tank deal-winner, and a wartime photojournalist. (and all these folks have many, many more experiences and titles than just these)
I’m humbled by their stories, grateful for their time, and curious by what I’m finding.
First, here are two places to focus that keep coming up for facing change and speaking through it.
TWO THINGS FOR YOU
#1: Your nervous system
Our nervous systems are sensitive little creatures that do a great job of keeping us alive. It turns on fight-or-flight mode every time we get side-eye from a stranger or encounter even *tiny* things we didn’t expect. (Orange freeway cones: I’m looking at you.)
With change, our social fabric is ruffled, and relationships come into danger. This shows up in the same region of our brain as physical pain.
When there is change, there is stress, even if the change is good and wanted. Even if it was something we prepared for a long time. It is still entering a new, unknown territory, and our brains and bodies will steer into reaction mode if we’re not careful.
Sweaty brows, jittery hands, jiggling legs, flushed cheeks, and a brain that can’t think in a straight line.
Take a breath. Take a beat. Unless a tiger is actually chasing you (or you have to veer to not hit an orange cone), you have time. Time Dilation is a real thing. You know – when you’re stressed and time slows so feel you have to rush to fill the space with words or action.
Stop to take the breath,
the walk,
the drink of water,
the space,
the moment you need to focus.
#2: Your Bigger Picture
After you’ve taken the breath, the moment, the time, and you’re back in your body with your smart brain back in gear… what is the bigger purpose you are heading to right now?
In an upcoming episode, we talk with executive coach Chris Hutchinson, who learned to successfully give suggestions to his superiors in the military. He phrased things in a way that made them feel unthreatened by his new ideas, but also let them be the heroes if they accepted the change.
His key: focusing on the bigger mission. What was the path that could best serve the bigger picture?
Chris now works with teams that need to change to work better together. In his blog post on leading through uncertain times (um, for everyone right now?), he suggests avoiding the question of “Should we plan in uncertain times?” and shift instead to…
“How do we plan in a way that strengthens us, no matter what happens?”
Do you see that future vision focus? That future picture of a stronger team, no matter what? When we shift to future-positive thinking, we release dopamine and serotonin into our system, boosting our thinking and mood.
Until next time,
— Margaret Watts Romney
Founder, The Speakership Lab