Vol.8 Forest Lessons

The Forgotten (oops)

Quick follow-up to Vol.7 Marshmallows where I said this, “My backpack will be filled with all of the essentials: flexibility, adaptability, versatility, resilience, and the ability to transform and of course, MARSHMALLOWS! It's Adventure Time! – Look out wilderness, here I come!”- Let me set the stage:

The time came to build a fire. My list was ready, I had desire, a plan, wood, kindling, etc. Next up – to live the dream of the ooey-gooey roasted treats!?

Now, you may think this next statement was planned for the newsletter (I assure you it was NOT) – I FORGOT TO BUY MARSHMALLOWS! All that planning, all that anticipation, all that dreaming and I still forgot. And yes, audible laughter ensued. ?

Quite often, despite even the best of efforts, things don't go according to plan. Fortunately, I’m a person that really does enjoy the journey just as much as the destination.

TBH, I wasn't always like that. I clearly remember so looking forward to reaching a goal in a way that nothing else mattered. Life taught me otherwise, and I eventually learned.

Pay attention to each moment, enjoy every twist and turn, learn to thrive during the times of uncertainty, and laugh at yourself (as often as you can).

I see it as a sign that I forgot the marshmallows. That signpost was clear, take a break from food comparisons in this newsletter, and share the moments that the forest taught me while on my adventure.

The Nurse Log

I was hiking in the Pacific Northwest of the United States at the Hoh Rainforest. The picture at the top of this installment is absolutely authentic, it was taken with my phone (not generative AI).

While traversing the trails I came across an amazing sight, a colonnade of trees (Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock) all in a row, exactly lined up next to each other. Upon closer inspection, the reason for the lineup was obvious. Each of these trees (in a straight line) straddled along the remnants of a fallen tree log (approximately 150 feet/45 meters in length).

Even though that log was completely molded and decayed away, the roots of the trees we're standing, filling the void of where the majestic log once laid. This was evidence of their amazing origin story, the story of how their life began.

These "new" trees were giants, I felt like a small woodland creature standing next to them. Their immense strength and resilience were on full display. I touched my hand to the tree bark and could feel their power and energy. It's pretty humbling standing next to, and being in the presence, of giants.

Looking down at the root structure, it was obvious. These trees were nursed by the fallen log. The tree, that had fallen so long ago, brought life to these trees, helping them to stand the test of time.

The nurse log created a foundation for small seeds to grow, provided protection, provided nutrients, provided all the things necessary for life to begin and thrive. Although that nurse logs resources were consumed, the life force of the nurse log lives on in the new trees.

The Nature of Change

I stood there in shock, awe, and amazement at this site. Although I did my best not to think about work, because it really is important to take a break when it's break time, I couldn't help but to think about life and change management.

I know, it seems like I'm doing this for the shock value of the article, again, I assure you that this is not the case.

I started thinking about all the people in my life that helped support me through the years, the people that I have loved, the people that I’d lost, the people that were taken too soon from me, the casual relationships, chance encounters, relationships that are functional and those that are strained, and of the work that I still need to do to repair those relationships, and the work required to continue to be a pillar of strength for other people.

How can I not think about change management here? The very essence of change management is to do the right things, in the right ways, to nourish, support, and impact change.

The Natural Advantage

Nature has an advantage over humans, the whole ecosystem is designed to support new growth. People? Well, that’s up to you to decide.

While in the forest, I don't hear trees arguing with each other about the latest social media post, political position, or the countless ways to tear each other down. I witnessed nature in all its glory including the death, decay, life, hope, and inspiration.

The forest is an amazing teacher for those that can open their hearts and minds to listen. The forest is not some magical fairy tale place. While on this adventure, I happened upon two disparate sets of Mountain Lion tracks that were very fresh in the mud along the river. I was also almost seriously injured by falling branches (not an exaggeration) during a windstorm, and often fell victim to the perils of an overactive imagination.

Hey sasquatch, is that you?

Change Management Realty

So, what does any of this have to do with change management?

The answer, simply put, is everything. The rest of this volume will focus on one aspect, resistance.

In the context of change management, resistance is normal and expected part of the process. Ahem, let me repeat that for the people in the back row > RESISTANCE IS NORMAL AND EXPECTED.

Whenever changes are being implemented, resistance from individuals and groups affected by change is expected to occur. Doesn't matter what the change is, it could be simple or major, people are very complex (and ill prepared for change) whereas trees are not.

It's common for the term resistance to be seen as a negative. I'd argue that it's not. Let me explain, in terms of the nurse log, during its life it resisted the conditions and stood firm until one day it fell over, most likely due to a windstorm.

That resistance built up its strength, it built its energy, it built its size, and it built the ability to supply nutrients to pass onto the next generation. In that context, resistance is actually quite beautiful.

In terms of people, resistance is often experiences as opposition, pushback, reluctance, skepticism, discomfort, resentment, fear, and more nonproductive descriptive words - in short, an emotional reaction.

Fighting the Resistance

Organizations the world over have launched aggressive campaigns against those words and are generally not tolerated by leadership. Problem is, there are people and feelings behind each one of those words and they are absolutely 100% normal and expected.

Change management is all about dealing with resistance. There's so many different reasons for resistance to reveal itself. In fact, the person showing resistance often doesn't even realize its happening.

At its core, resistance is a normal emotional response that comes from a place rooted in fear, it can mean a loss of familiarity, a change of habit, it could be a perception of loss, it could be a lack of understanding, it could be about culture, politics, lack of trust or credibility, disengagement from the process, and so much more.

A big flaw in most change management approaches is an assumption that resistance can be dealt with through education and communication. This is simply not true.

Recognizing Resistance

Resistance can manifest in many different ways, here are some of the common signs and behaviors that really must be paid attention to, and not ignored, otherwise they just fester and grow out of control.

Have you ever seen these examples out in the wild? - Vocal opposition, lack of engagement, increased turn over, reduced productivity, rumors and/or gossip, compliance without commitment, increased conflict, “zombie” engagement, unwarranted accusations, increased tension, lack of communication, negative social media posts?

How about a lack of collaboration, quiet quitting, silent sabotage, an overemphasis on the past and/or the way things were, reduced satisfaction scores, not sharing, missed KPIs missed OLAs and SLAs, blaming others?

How about graffiti on the bathroom walls or kitchen? (This is especially bad when considering work from home situations ??)

Are you seeing my point here? Resistance is all around us and probably the single largest product (export) of any organization. It's also VERY real.

Embracing the Positive

It's easy to view that entire list as a negative, I challenge you in this newsletter to view every single one of those things as a positive. When change managers are involved, from the beginning, there is a greater opportunity to look for any and all of the items on that list.

Working strategically, with empathy compassion and caring, all of those items can be turned around into productive dialogue instead of destructive discord.

If there’s no resistance, then there’s no growth; if there's no resistance, then there’s no progress; if everything were easy, how would we ever know what's a challenge?

The nurse log is a pillar of strength. The physical manifestation of resilience forged in resistance. Change Management (the type that's rooted in psychology and human behavior) is the key to the opposing forces that block change.

Change does not need to be a battle of the Titans. Embrace resistance, embrace change management.

Instead of fearing resistance as a negative, our #SoftwareOne #ACM team specifically works with resistance as a positive.

Making the AI Connection

Like resistance, AI is also a shapeshifter and takes on many faces. Everything is called “AI” now, but what is it really? How will it impact the average person? How will it change the average organization? How can organizations get started?

The answers are actually quite simple. Those questions are actually classic signs of resistance (in disguise). There's fear, real fear and concern, while on the other side of the spectrum, the absence of fear and the absence of concern. Most people and organizations live somewhere in the middle.

Change management is a key differentiator to the adoption of AI.

Like the nurse log, change management will foster and provide nourishment to the next generation (iteration, version, etc.) and help plan a pathway to AI adoption.

I hope you're curious to learn more. Let's have a conversation with myself or the SoftwareOne team. Let's turn the unknowns and the uncertainties (that are resistance in disguise) of AI into a realistic strategy and tactical planning.

This time I'll make sure to bring the marshmallows ??

I love this topic, let's have a conversation.

~Kevin (aka "The Cloud Therapist")

Please submit topics and questions for future volumes (I'm listening)

A quick note to my readers - thank you for your feedback, support, and encouragement. I strive to bring you relevant thought-provoking content.?#grateful?that you choose to spend your time with me.

I appreciate your commitment to reading these all the way through. I know they can be quite lengthy. My goal is to bring you unique perspectives and things to mentally chew on.

#ChangeManagement #EmbraceResistance #TheNurseLog #StrengthThroughResistance #NatureTeaches #LifeLessons #JourneyAndDestination #AIandChangeManagement #AdoptingAI #PositiveResistance #GrowthThroughResistance #ChangeIsNormal #EmbracingUncertainty #StrategyAndTactics #SoftwareOne