I have been fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your purr-spective) to have been a part of leading teams through massive change, most specifically in the form of company acquisitions. I say fortunate, because the experiences taught me, not only about my own ability to navigate change, but also to allow and support others to move through the millions of emotions that they experience as individuals, and as groups, through processes that most people would like to avoid completely.
In particular, I worked with people from hundreds of medical device clinics whose companies were bought by a large corporate entity. Some of these people were the original owners of the company, some were family of the original owners, some were decades-long employees, some had been newly hired right before, during, or after the sale, and many things in between. And all these people had one thing in common.
The change they experienced caused them stress.
The changes weren’t always even bad. Sometimes the changes were incredibly positive to individuals and to groups, but regardless of the overall theme of “good change” or “bad change,” there was stress.
I am one of those strange people who actually embraces change, but don’t let that fool you. My statement doesn’t mean I always like it or that I don’t experience stress. I just happen to believe that change is vital for our growth, even when it isn’t comfortable. Probably most importantly when it isn’t comfortable.
The key, I believe, is to always strive to get people, including myself, to try to see things from every other single perspective, and not just your own.
This takes incredible patience and maturity, and some people are simply not willing to do it. Those are the ones that, during the acquisition process of bringing once independent clinics into one large, single entity, were the first to either self-select and quit, or those who had to be terminated.
Neither one of these scenarios were what I wanted, or what the parent company wanted. The ideal situation would be to have all employees adapt and embrace the changes and bring their wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, to help the new, much larger, family.
However, attitude is the defining characteristic. Those with the best attitudes were willing to give things a chance, to understand that different wasn’t always bad, and most importantly, from my point of view, they were willing, not only to ask good, thoughtful questions, but they were also willing to listen with an open mind.
Those that would ask questions, even those questions that seemed antagonistic at first, were often the people that would adapt the best over time. When they could ask questions, even tough and uncomfortable questions, and have them answered, did better. Even if they didn’t like the answers to the questions, those that went to the effort of asking, actually faired so much better and with so much less stress.
This brings us to Fred. And the porch. And to a completely different scenario where he was no longer “fed,” on his own, and to his own sense of safety and control. I changed the dynamics. I changed the pattern. I changed the vibe.
I turned the table.
Fred wasn’t able to ask me any questions since he neither speaks human and I don’t speak feline, but we both understood the dynamic. Something big had changed, and he could either adapt, or he could run away. Both were possibilities.
And yet, hadn’t we set the stage for success already? Yes, some of the rule had changed, but wasn’t the underlying truth the same? I come here. You feed me. I go about my life.
He didn’t need to know then that I had other plans in mind for the future. He was able to accept that simple truth.
The employees of those numerous companies who realized that the fundamental truths still existed (you have a job, you can do a good job, we will give you a paycheck every other week, but you need to do a good job and be a good employee to receive these benefits), were rewarded with new opportunities.
In fact, several of them ascended to higher heights because of their commitment to and trust in these fundamental truths. Others were able to stay on and adapt and be confident in the process.
Others ran away or were so bitter that they caused their own demise.
Yes, there were other good people with great attitudes and belief who unfortunately lost their jobs to redundancy, but those people who still kept great attitudes left with a nice going away package and some great reviews.
Fred weighed all of his options in a matter of minutes. These people feed me. They still want to feed me. I need food. They are changing the rules but seem like they still want to feed me.
I think I’ll give this a chance.
A = The Art of Purr-suasion: Leadership Feline Style
W = Whisker Wisdom = Purr-fecting Your Skills
S = Stray Cat Strut: Purr-Poseful Practice