The Ripple Effects of Change
Initiating a change in your work, your relationship, or your lifestyle can initiate change in that area of your life, but rarely do these types of changes occur in complete isolation from the others (i.e., the change in my relationship + the change in my work = a drastic change in my lifestyle). Regardless if it’s a small next step or one that requires a bigger Nxt change, it’s important to think about how the ripple effects of a change in one area of your life may affect the totality of your life.
Or in my case, on a lot of other people’s lives.
When I recognized I was no longer the right person to take my company forward, the decision to initiate a change in the work area of my life prompted a transformational change in the work area of all of my employees’ lives (new owners, new leadership, new ways of doing things). In other words, the change I initiated ended up being a huge deal for a whole lot of people—not just for me. I really needed to think through the ripple effect and prepare for the impact it would have on others.
We were a pretty tight company, and I knew that most of my employees were going to be shocked, confused, and sad that I was selling the company. Change can be hard enough when you initiate it on your own, but when it’s thrust upon you, it can be painful, unnerving, and scary as hell.
I also knew the news of the sale was going to prompt a rousing chorus of concern from everyone. People would be asking, “What does this mean for me?” This was a perfectly valid question along with a ton of other questions I’d need to be prepared to answer. They’d want to know who was buying the company? When was it going to happen? How was it going to happen? What was going to change, and probably most importantly, would they still have a job?
They’d also want to know why? Why was I selling? Why didn’t I want to run and lead the company anymore? Why was I changing everything?
Change is scary, and the fear of the unknown is powerful. Questions need answers. People need time to adjust. Understanding that when you initiate a change in your life there will most likely be a ripple effect on others in your life will help you think through and prepare how to explain the who, what, where, when, how, and especially the why behind the change you’re making, providing context and answers to all those affected.
Provide Context for Changes You Initiate
We know that changes don’t happen in a vacuum. And we know that change is uncomfortable for most people. So it’s incredibly important to anticipate the discomfort and be prepared to provide context to those you know will be affected.
When I announced the sale of the company to my employees, it would have been irresponsible to do so without being prepared to explain the context around the change and provide as many answers as I could. So we prepared a presentation that explained the rationale, the players involved, the benefits for the company (and, hopefully, for the employees), and the reason(s) why I decided to make that change, not just for the company, but for me as well. Because they wanted (no, needed) to know. And even though everyone was still shocked, confused, and sad, they were given the information (with more to follow over the coming weeks) to help them navigate the change as best as possible.
It’s important to remember that when you go through the process of deciding to initiate a change, you live in your head for a while. You spend a lot of time thinking it all through. You think about the pros and cons, the potential risks and benefits, and the different scenarios that could play out. And once you decide, you know how and why you got there. So it’s easy to forget that others haven’t gone through that process with you and won’t automatically understand why you decided to initiate a change. So, you need to provide them the context and help make your change less painful and uncomfortable for them.
