Learn to love change and embrace the chaos

“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar…

“I – I hardly know, Sir, just at present,” Alice replied rather shyly, ”at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.” – Lewis Carroll 

Change is hard.  Instability, volatility, fear of losing our roles, our relevance, our identities, our sense of control, it’s bewildering and disorientating - like being on a roller coaster that we didn’t ask to ride.  We resist change, not just individually but collectively: consider how the creative industry is only just recovering from the decade that it stuck its fingers in its collective ears and pretended that the digital revolution wasn’t happening.  And it’s not just major change that we avoid, you’ve only got to watch how people always choose the same seats in meetings to know that we’re fundamentally creatures of habit. “Better the devil you know…” as the saying goes.

And yet change is happening constantly: new tech, processes and colleagues, restructures and resignations, winning and losing business, leadership upheaval, office moves...and that’s just the stuff that’s happening daily in our workplaces, let alone the stunning pace of change that’s happening in the industry and wider world right now.  No wonder it can leave you feeling like Alice, with the unnerving sensation of having the rug pulled from under your feet.

 And yet…creativity comes from divergent thinking and novel connections.  It stands its best chance when we expose ourselves to new stimulus, ideas and thinking.  Change, therefore, literally creates more opportunities in the great lottery of creativity.  It’s fundamental to living a creative life and provides the raw materials for innovation and originality.  So why do we often fear it so much?

 “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent.  It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

 As Darwin showed us, human beings are designed to adapt, as we have so successfully demonstrated over the 200,000 years we’ve been on this planet.  However, perhaps a little ironically, human brains are hardwired to be resistant to change, as part of our primal survival mechanisms.  Change always entails an element of the unknown, which means risk and uncertainty.  So instead our brains prefer to seek repetition, consistency, comfort and safety - the nemesis of creativity.   Sometimes it’s pure complacency that keeps us stuck in our comfort zones, as change often requires effort and thought, but more often it’s our fear of the unknown, of potential failure, embarrassment or loss of control that holds us back.

 Perhaps the most difficult part of change, is the transition rather than the change itself.  As William Bridges explores in his book ‘Transitions’, that no-man’s land between “the good old days” and the “brave new world” is “strange and confusing”.  What you thought was The Way It Is – is now The Way It Was and yet The Way It Will Be is still far from being clear.  This can be especially hard to deal with if you’re half decent at your job because what’s to say that The Way It Will Be will be any better?  

 What if it’s worse?

 And what if you’re no good at it?  

 When we’re exposed to uncertainty like this, the fight or flight centers of our brains flick into action, putting us into a state of hyper-alertness and triggering waves of anxiety. But despite our fear, one thing is certain: clinging to the past, will make things harder in the long run.  If you don’t learn to embrace change, you will be left behind and creativity will pay a heavy price.

But how, as a creative leader, do you manage this natural human preference for stasis in a world of accelerating change and help yourself and your team embrace ambiguity as a means to even greater creative thinking?  

1.     Switch it up

One way to keep things fresh is to guard against routine by constantly challenging familiar habits and behaviours.  Make proactive change part of the culture, so that change is normal and stasis weird and uncomfortable.  Innovation coach, Stan Gryskiewicz calls this Positive Turbulence and argues that challenges to the status quo can be catalysts for creativity, innovation, and renewal. In practice, this can range from exposing your team to disruptive thinking from outside your business, to hiring for diversity, to regularly changing their working environment. At Independents United, an innovations agency, staff move where they sit every day, so they have the chance to interact with someone different daily. From mixing up project teams with unexpected skillsets, to changing the venue for regular meetings…sometimes the simplest changes can reinvigorate creative thinking and stop your team getting set in their ways.

 2.     Create purpose

If there’s one thing worse than bad news it’s uncertainty, which is not good news for an industry dealing with near constant ambiguity.  But how do you plan for a future that’s unknown?  Having a clear purpose for the business will help to elevate it above the current course of change.  It gives change a reason why and creates an inspirational context, so that your team understands where they’re heading, even when the path isn’t clear.  As Jonathan MacDonald explains in his recent book, “Powered by Change”, businesses that have an elevated view of what they do, are the ones that are able to pivot or expand their offering to meet rapidly changing consumer needs.  He cites Nike as being in the business of bringing “inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”, rather than being just a sportswear brand, and Wonderbra as selling self-confidence rather than simply selling lingerie.  These are just two examples of enduring businesses that have been able to “survive the winds of perpetual change” through having a clear and elevated purpose. When you consider the lofty missions of the newer tech players, such as Google’s aim ‘to organise the world’s information’ or Airbnb’s goal of helping you to ‘feel like you’re home anywhere’, then the message is clear: think big for your team and business and your scope for innovation and responding to change becomes exponential.

 3.     Support risk

“In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” - Mark Zuckerberg

 The great creative pioneers like Da Vinci, Jobs and Disney all embraced risk in the pursuit of their passions by committing their lives to breaking new ground in their fields.  However, there are no safety nets when you leap into the unknown and putting yourself out there, comes with the risk of rejection.  Unfortunately, it's a fact of life that you have to go through being a bit shit in order to get good at something new…but experienced professionals mostly don’t enjoy the bewildering experience of suddenly not being top of their game. For some, this can seriously cap their ability to reach their creative potential.  Studies have shown that fear of judgment and criticism actually make ambiguity much harder to tolerate, so if you want to encourage your team to embrace new behaviours and risk in the name of progress and innovation, then you have to make experimentation safe by being supportive of the inevitable stumbles and mishaps along the way.

4.     Challenge your thinking

The way we frame change impacts the likelihood of us actually embracing it.  But when we think of change, especially significant change that will impact the way we work or live, it’s easy to assume the worst or place limitations on ourselves that make change seem scary.  But, of course, change can make things better, faster, cheaper, more exciting than they were before.  So next time you’re contemplating a period of change with a heavy heart…ask yourself what you’re assuming that might not be helpful and consider what a positive outcome might look like instead.  Most importantly, back yourself and your team to get there.  Of course, sometimes it’s not our fear of business failure that holds us back but rather our fear of a bruised ego...so examine the source of your resistance and if it’s the latter, it’s time to get over yourself.

 5.     Be understanding

Above all be empathetic to those that fear change. Our experience of change is individual, so those that have previously thrived on change will likely approach it with a more open mind than those that have had bad experiences.  So be sensitive to the inner turmoil it can cause whilst helping your team stay focused on the benefits instead.

 There’s no doubt change can be tough.  But creative energy comes from exploring the new and unfamiliar and from experimenting without fear of repercussion.  As Jonathan Fields says in his book ‘Uncertainty,’ “You cannot see the world differently if it’s already been seen in every possible way...if everything is known and certain, that means it’s all been done before.”  So, embrace change, lean into the unknown and learn to love that feeling of chaos.  When it comes to creativity, in a world of perpetual change, the devil you don’t know, might just be a safer bet.

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/how-to-deal-with-change/

Tanya Livesey