A word from Dr Hannah

Graduation day at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) could not have come soon enough for my Marine or for me. What a fantastic day! Welcome to a brief gallery of our graduation photos:

 

 

 

 

The final Oohrah!

I can’t thank you enough for walking this journey with me. It’s been a phenomenal ride and I treasure your participation. I look forward to future reflections soon. God bless you. God bless America!

There are no words to express the kissing of soul when it touches lips with spirit… Today was Family Day at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot), San Diego and I got to see my newly minted Marine. What a day!

We arrived on base at 630am via Uber and went swiftly through security. Peole who drove had to exit their cars and have them canine searched. Here’s the first picture on the graduation deck after their 2-mile motivational run (Moto Run) where we spent almost the whole time looking for him in a sea of bodies and faces that all looked alike. I finally picked him out with my Serengeti camera lens. He’s smack between the second and third windows from the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aunty Maggie from Kenya called us and we had a precious video call. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of technology. Thanks to you all for your support, prayers, and interest in his progress and my status. You are platinum to me. Thank you, Lord for being with my warrior, “like a mighty warrior!” Jeremiah 20:11.

Levels 7-10 of the ‘ChangeAbility’ Progression Spectrum (Part 4)

“Why can’t you just change already?” You may have heard, perhaps even uttered, or at least thought that phrase.

I hope you are enjoying our study on resistance to change. Change and adaptation are indispensable cognitive and strategic capabilities if we are to grow in self-leadership. My goal for you and I is to gain skills to increase our ‘ChangeAbility’ or Adaptive Intelligence. Adaptive Intelligence combines the concept of intelligence – the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills – with the specific focus on adaptation. So far we’ve addressed:

1. Antagonism
2. Aversion
3. Avoidance
4. Apathy
5. Apprehension
6. Acknowledgement.

Today we will look at the last four levels.

7. Acceptance: This powerful step rises beyond mere acknowledgment. Acceptance involves an emotional and cognitive embrace of the change. Individuals or groups move from understanding to agreeing with the need for change which is a very pivotal step. Note that you don’t necessarily have to fully endorse every aspect of the change in the organization, interpersonal relationship, or yourself. As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross taught in On Death and Dying, this stage (which is an integral part of the grief process) often involves a shift in mindset from “why change?” to “how can we make this work?”

8. Adaptation: At this stage, individuals and organizations begin to actively adjust their behaviors, processes, and structures to accommodate the new reality brought about by the change. Adaptation indicates that buy-in is clipping along at a high rate of speed and resistance is in the rear-view mirror.  Karl E. Weick, in his work, Sensemaking in Organizations teaches that this stage involves:

• learning new skills
• modifying routines, and
• integrating the changes into daily operations.

Once we adapt, we work on finding ways to function effectively within the new framework.

9. Ascension: Few groups or people reach this stage. JimCollins,in his fabulously titled work, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t, Ascension represents a significant leap beyond mere adaptation, whereby the change is not just accommodated but is seen as an opportunity for

• growth
• improvement, and
• reaching a higher level of performance or understanding.

Ascension is a high level of cognitive, social, and emotional intelligence that involves leveraging the change to achieve new capabilities, innovate, and elevate the organization or individual beyond their previous state. This can be likened to a “flow state” where the new way of operating feels natural and empowering. Individuals at this level are very vested and productive, operating in their purpose.

10. Alchemy: The ultimate stage of radical transformation, alchemy signifies a profound and fundamental shift in:

• identity
• purpose, and
• operational paradigm,

According to Margaret J. Wheatley in, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World, it’s not just about adapting to change or even growing from it but about transforming the very essence of what was before into something entirely new and superior. This involves a complete re-imagining and re-creation, where the old constraints are dissolved, and a new, more potent form emerges. This stage often involves a deep cultural shift and a redefinition of core values and strategies. As noted in point #9 above, very few organizations or individuals function at this level, yet it is what we are called to. It entails excellence in our work, being, and attitudes. It is the manifestation of our very identity.

CTA:

Please share your thoughts on these levels of functioning and any experiences you may  have had. What would lyour life be like if you functioned regularly at these levels.

Almost everyone is trying to change someone else. I bet that at this very moment, someone wishes you would change. Becuase change and adaptation are indispensable cognitive and strategic capabilities if we are to grow in self-leadership, my goal for you and I is to gain skills to increase our ‘ChangeAbility’ or Adaptive Intelligence. Adaptive Intelligence combines the concept of intelligence – the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills – with the specific focus on adaptation:

INTELLIGENCE (i.e. the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills) x ADAPTATION = ChangeAbility

In this series we are exploring my  ChangeAbility Progression Spectrum or CAPS, a continuum showing people’s 10 ten resistance levels to change. So far we’ve seen:

1. Antagonism and
2. Aversion
3. Avoidance and
4. Apathy.

Today we will address the next two levels, Apprehension and Acknowledgement.

5. Apprehension: During this stage, you have a clear shift away from outright resistance. You clearly understand that change is necessary but experience intense emotions of unease or anxiety about what needs to happen, the process of change, and maybe even the results thereof. William Bridges, in his work, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change explains that there is a recognition of the impending change, but also a fear of its implications, potential difficulties, or personal impact. At this stage you must prepare to field questions and concerns. The person may say things like, “I didn’t say I’m going, but tell me more about who will be there,” indicating interest mingled with indecision. Two things needed to support people at this level are:

• reassurance and
• clarity

Honesty on your part at this stage is paramount as you are setting the stage for trust in the future. If you breed mistrust at this level for the sake of coercion, you jeopardize your chances of future success. It is wiser to be honest with phrases like, “I don’t have that information,” than to make things up.

6. Acknowledgment: This is a crucial turning point where the reality and necessity of change are formally recognized and comprehended. The person or group may not be gang ho about the change and apprehension may still exist Nonetheless there’s an intellectual understanding that the current state is unsustainable or suboptimal, and that some form of change is inevitable, according to Kurt Lewin, in Frontiers in Group Dynamics: Concept, Method and Reality in Social Science; Social Equilibria and Social Change. At this stage encourage: 

• data analysis
• discussions, and
• a shared understanding of the problem.

Most people and groups are happy to stop at this level of buy-in. While this is sufficient for most situations, we will see in the next two posts that the needle has a few more pertinent steps to go yet that will bring about dynamic and progressive change.

CTA:

1. Share what changes have brought you apprehension.
2. Share what changes you tried to bring and how they brought apprehension in someone else or in a group.
3. Share an experience you had of being in the acknowledgement stage.
4. Share an experience you had with people being at the acknowledgement stage of a change you were trying to bring about.

The 10 Levels of the ‘ChangeAbility’ Progression Spectrum (Part 2)

Change and adaptation are indispensable cognitive and strategic capabilities if we are to grow in self-leadership. My goal for you and I is to gain skills to increase our ‘ChangeAbility’ or Adaptive Intelligence. Adaptive Intelligence combines the concept of intelligence – the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills – with the specific focus on adaptation:

INTELLIGENCE (i.e. the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills) x ADAPTATION = ChangeAbility

We are exploring the ChangeAbility Progression Spectrum or CAPS, a continuum showing people’s resistance levels to change. In the last post we saw the two most resistant levels:

• Antagonism and
• Aversion.

Today we will address the next two levels:

• Avoidance and
• Apathy.

 

3. Avoidance: While less intense than aversion, avoidance still represents a significant barrier to change. Here, individuals or groups acknowledge the possibility of change but actively try to circumvent it, hoping it will simply go away or that someone else will deal with it. Behavior may include:

• procrastination
• deflection
• a passive resistance that prevents any meaningful engagement with the need for transformation.

This category may voice some degree of buy-in buy their actions don’t move the needle of progress towards change. A person who tends to be tardy may say, “It’s terrible how those tractors on the highway keep making me late.”

4. Apathy: Some individuals or groups might exhibit complete indifference or apathy towards the idea of change. They don’t care enough to resist or engage. This passivity is a subtle but distinct form of non-engagement that can be just as detrimental as active resistance. It’s not dislike; it’s a lack of interest or perceived relevance. There is no inclination to initiate, adopt, or try new patterns or to adapt oneself to change.

Apathetic people don’t bother to create options, or to weigh costs and benefits for decision-making. Cognitively, their capacity to learn from outcomes gets in the way of change. All this results in a passive acceptance of the status quo, even when they know change would be beneficial.

CTA:

1. Share how avoidance on your part has impacted you
2. Share an example of avoidance in others that has impacted you.
3. Share how apathy on your part has impacted you
4. Share an example of apathy in others that has impacted you.