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As of right now, which aspects of the change do you agree with? Which seem like bad ideas? What supporting evidence is compelling to you and what other justifications are you discounting? What questions are emerging for you and how might you get them answered? Where are you making assumptions? On which issues is your thinking biased? Answering these questions will put you in touch with the narrative you’re creating about the change. What am I thinking? Start with the easiest level to access: what you’re thinking about the change. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to gauge your reactions to a change. If you aren’t aware of what’s showing on your face, you aren’t aware of what you’re communicating to your team. It’s much like when a child encounters an unfamiliar situation and immediately looks to a parent for reassurance. During upheaval, your team is looking to you for cues about whether they are safe, whether the change is good or bad, and just how nervous they should be. When you are leading others through change, it’s critical that you’reaware of your current state because everyone else is. Some of the most valuable reflections come in an instant if you’re open to noticing them. Half-way through your commute home you realize that you’re struggling with one aspect of the change your organization is implementing. While sitting in a meeting, you notice that you’re slouched in your chair looking exhausted and defeated. As a leader, the most valuable reflections are often split-second moments of self-awareness within your daily activities. It’s also worth defining “time.” Reflecting doesn’t require a trip to a yoga retreat in the mountains. For our purposes, let’s talk about reflecting as taking time to think about your current state. You can also reflect on what’s going on beneath the surface in your thoughts or your emotional state. You can reflect literally by thinking about what other people see when they look at you.
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For me, reflecting is thinkingabout yourself. I thought about using “think”’ instead, but that’s too broad.
![reflection about change reflection about change](https://addicted2success.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/The-Power-of-Self-Reflection-How-It-Can-Change-Your-Life.png)
Reflectis probably an over-used word at this point one that sounds fluffy and the domain of the purple-aura people. This sets them up to be saying one thing while believing another-a deadly combo that erodes trust and stalls change efforts. In my experience, leaders are too quick to jump into action and spend insufficient time reflecting on their own reactions to change. I’m going to share my advice with you, starting with step one: take time to reflect. This month, I’m conducting sessions with the leaders in a large multi-national company to help them cope with their own reactions to a major organizational transformation, to better position them to cascade the change to their teams. You’re expected to mobilize your team while you’re struggling to master yourself. Leading through change is a particularly difficult assignment.