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Change can be scary. So what can you do about it? SCARED – SO WHAT? can help you through change.

If you’re like most people, the thought of a major announcement that “Something’s Changing” at work can be a bit scary. That’s because change can be scary. And for some, change can be downright gruesome. There’s a term for it and it’s called Metathesaphobia, the fear of change. But change can also be encouraging and exciting.  

Change is personal. Change is relative and individual. And as such, there’s no real change management process model that covers every situation. If you’ve ever wondered what was happening to you when a change is announced, join the club! Most people have a reaction to hearing or witnessing change. It’s up to us to learn what is happening and navigate our own way through a change process. And if you are a leader of others, we must be responsible to understand if we want to lead our teams through a change process – we cannot dictate the terms or stages they might go through, but we can COACH them through it. 

There are many change models. Google them and tons will come up. Kotter’s 8 Steps or the Positive Change Cycle and many others. One change model that is known all over the world is the SARA curve. But it originated as the 5 stages of grief change curve that was invented by Mrs. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying”. The original change curve model says that a person who is facing death or dying “might” go through 5 stages known as Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finally Acceptance. Over time, it’s been morphed for everyday usage to be known as the SARA curve for Shock, Anger, Resistance, and Acceptance. Unfortunately, I do not believe that this is what Mrs. Kubler-Ross had intended. But what it does say, is that many people around the world are searching for an explanation of what is happening to them during a change process and most importantly, what can they do about it?

Below is the framework of the SCARED-SO WHAT? model. It’s not a definite science and is born out of the need for something new in a modern workforce environment. It focuses on the underlying feeling behind most change scenarios and addresses that fear head on. The philosophy is to embrace that possible fear and understand what you may be going through so you can find your way through. If you are a leader, then you can coach others through the SCARED process, and help them develop their own SO WHAT to complete the transformation.

Part One: SCARED – Understanding the feelings that occur during the change process. 

 As a pre-requisite one must understand the situation they are in at that moment. If you are in a situation of bereavement, the SARA Curve or Change Curve model may be of significant relevance to understand what is happening to a person’s mental / behavioral state.  If you are in a situation where the change is anticipated, then perhaps Connor’s Positive Change Cycle can inform where people who resist the change may be in their mental / behavioral state.  Both may be applicable in any situation. 

However, in the work place, not every change is anticipated or known. Therefore, one may not be feeling sincere fear, but this model can help you navigate your way through your own feelings. 

1st, what does SCARED stand for? Below are the feelings you may encounter during a workplace change. The feelings are not mandatory and are not linear. You can bypass some and go back and forth between them. 

If we look at it like a circular process it might look like this below. Knowing you could bounce between or bypass a feeling. The goal is to navigate your way through these feelings about the change happening to you or with you and break out of this cycle with a favorable decision. 

These are the definitions of each stage that you may experience:

Surprise: People are surprised or could be caught off guard when change occurs. The SARA Curve begins with shocked. In a bereavement situation, I agree this applies. But in a work place situation, in my experience, I think it’s more along the lines of being surprised. But as we get further into the model it can turn immediately into fear. That fear of change is normal and is known as Metathesophobia. 

Conflict: The next phase that one may transition into is conflict or the act of being conflicted. This is also ambiguity and people may get lost in learning about the change happening to them or with them. 

OR 

Champion: The person experiencing the change may transition directly into being a champion. If this is the case, then they may move onto Action and immediately into Receptive / favorable decision point to be onboard with the change.  

Action: It is here that an action might possibly happen. This can be in the form of asking for more information to better comprehend the change; or a physical action that can either excite or drive further fear into the persons behavior. 

The next step in the module is also a behavior that can be driven by fear in a positive or negative fashion.  The person experiencing the change my go one of two ways: 

Receptive: If the person has embraced the change, the next step is that of being receptive. From here they will move onto the next thought process. The SARA Curve also suggests this is the process. But it does not account for another very real possibility of the person rejecting the change all together. 

OR 

Rejective: If the person going through change does not accept the change, they can then reject it all together.  This can then lead to avoidance of the change process or full on retreat from the change and the environment they are currently in.  

 Explore: Depending on which direction they have chosen to behave in a receptive or rejective manner – they will begin to explore options, opportunities, and possibilities that might suit the change or suit them personally to exit the change being imposed upon them. 

 Decision: Once options are explored then the next step can be a decision. However, if they have moved into a rejective state, indecision can also occur. This could put them back at the beginning or secondary phases of the SCARED model and can also keep them inside the model until they find a way forward. They could further rethink their actions and perhaps come to either the same rejective path or switch to a receptive pathway. It’s all about how they succumb to their fear of the change. If they are receptive and have options to move forward the decision point can be to embrace the change and move onward out of the SCARED model. The goal for this change management model is for a person to move favorably through it to a positive decision point and then break out of the change cycle. Once they’ve achieved this mentally, they can move onto the next model to help execute the change. 

 Over time the model can fluctuate. It's not linear. Feelings / moods can fluctuate up and down. People can move back and forth between or skip sections all together.

It’s also important to note that people can reject the change all together once a decision has been made. And in the workplace, they may decide to leave.  But if you are an observant leader and can utilize coaching, you can find out where they are in the process and perhaps coach them towards a favorable decision.

One must also observe that a person can get stuck in the SCARED model. If they’ve come to Indecision state, they might find themselves going back and forth between conflict and rejection. Again, either the person can self-diagnose or a leader can help coach them through the process by asking open questions of “Where are you in the model?”

The next part is something that we all need to know. Once you’ve understood where you are in the change process you may be asking yourself “So What’s Next?”  And that’s where most change models that I’ve seen, fall short.  They only identify what you’re feeling. But they don’t help you with what to do about them.  Don’t worry, here’s some help!

Part Two: SO, WHAT – It’s logical people ask “So What do I do about it?” Everyone is looking for an answer and most of the time there isn’t one. Remember, change is personal, so your plan of what to do, or your SO WHAT, is also personal.

If we look at it like a circular process it might look like this below. Knowing you could bounce between or bypass a step. The goal is to navigate your way through these logical processes to formulate your own mental plan of SO WHAT you can do. The goal is to break out of the circle with you taking ownership of your own actions. 

These are the definitions of each stage that you may experience:

Strategy & Options: Being to think about what your strategy can be and start to annotate your strategic plan points. What would you do to implement the change? And if you’ve rejected it, what would your options and strategy be then? What tools are needed? What people need to be involved? What support do you need? What is your communication plan? What are your timelines? 

Way Forward: Now that you have a strategy and several options to either implement or reject the change – you need to then think about your way forward. Are your plans solid and actionable?  Who will be your reviewers / approvers? Do you have the positive momentum to action out your change process? 

 Hope / How:  This is a stopping point for a status check. If your plans are actionable then you have hope. If not, then you need to go back and re-strategize and re-calculate your options. If you do have hope of moving forward, then ask yourself If you know how you are going to do it? 

 Actions: Now that you see a hopeful outcome and you know how you are going to action on the change you can then begin to outline the actions you will take to move forward. 

 Take Ownership: Taking ownership is the last step. You’ve navigated your way through the fear of change and you’re no longer SCARED.  HOWEVER: You must keep in mind that each person you bring into the journey at different touch points may be entering into the SCARED model differently.  You’ll need to ensure that everyone reaches the same outcome by breaking out of the SCARED model with a favorable decision point. You don’t want detractors on your change implementation team. Help may be needed at different points along the way.  

Now you must take the necessary actions you’ve prepared to ensure that your strategy is fully executed. Make a timeline to ensure that your actions are fully executed and keep you on time to implement your change. 

Change is not easy. It can be a happy occasion or a fearful occasion. But hopefully the SCARED-SO WHAT? model can bring you some understanding and help you formulate your own plan for embracing change. If you like this model for navigating work place change or find it useful, let me know! Share your comments and feedback.

Change is nothing but constant. You can navigate your way through it. I wish you the best of joy and happiness.

The SCARED - SO WHAT? model for navigating change was created by Grant Van Ulbrich during the MSc Leading Sales Transformation program administered via Consalia Ltd. and Middlesex University. This innovative new master's program is the first of it's kind in the world developed exclusively for sales and sales professionals. For more information on the masters program please visit Consalia Ltd at the link below.

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