Weeknotes #67: Making Change Stick

A note for teams and leaders looking to create change that stands the test of time

You are reading Coaching Weeknotes by Roxana Bacian: explorations at the intersection of coaching, personal and organisational development. These week notes are multiply authored - arrived at in conversation with many:

Hello, if you’re reading this post it means you are interested in change processes and change management. I am, too - and I am getting more and more curious about how I can contribute to making change stick for teams and leaders who are short on resources and have complex transitions ahead of them. Before I dive into the factors that might create this type of change, I find it useful to map the process of engaging with coaching and what I’ve seen the different stages bring up for people:

a) Seeking Change - A team or a client seeks coaching because they have identified that something isn’t working in their current context. Often people describe this as a sense of stuckness, needing accountability and needing clarity.

b) Wanting Results - As the coaching work begins, often people start to get impatient about what is left unresolved and rush to action. Ofen times, this gets expressed into a tendency to want to see the work translate into recognisable signs of progress.

c) Unexpected Route - Typically, as we reach the middle of the work engagement, there is a clear veering off into uncharted territoriy. Initially this might be perceived as missing the mark, but often can become the catalyst for change that sticks.

d) Transformation - As the work comes to a close, whether it’s been perceived neutrally, negatively or useful, the team/client returns to their context with a new perspective. This is the point where we can look back with clarity. It may be that by this point, even the measurement criteria for progress have themselves changed.


So, how do we then recognise what makes for lasting changes in our teams and organisations? What skills do both practitioners and clients need in order to create sustainable change? In my practice, I’ve identified a few factors that can help teams and leaders create the conditions for this type of change across their organisation:

a) Team/Client’s Learning Capacity - The team and/or client come into the process open to giving and receiving feedback; willing to take accountability and lead the work. If you don’t already have this, it can be built and that may be the first step you need to take. This requires resources/time and buy-in from across the board.

b) (Coaching) Practitioner has developed a balanced relationship with uncertainty:
A felt, embodied experience of the coach/practitioner having strived through uncertainty and come out the other side of a deep change process. This translates into skills, knowledge and practices of managing change that can be trasferred to the team and client. The invitation here is to foster the facing of difficulty with playfulness.

c) Working in Partnership - Tailoring the focus and structure of the coaching to the current needs of the team/client and organisation and adjusting throughout. Co-creating the relationship, collaboratively setting the direction of the work is core. This means the client/team is supported in owning the change and new reality. Practitioner’s belief in the client system creates the environment for transformation.

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How do you approach this topic of sustainable change in your practice, whether you are a coach or another type of practitioner working with teams navigating change?
What are you learning about what helps us welcome change, adjust to change, maintain change, stay in relationship to change? I’d love to learn more about this area of work and connect with others who are asking similar questions.

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Coaching Offers & News:

I currently have availability for 1-2-1 and team coaching briefs for teams and leaders who want to make change stick. There is new information on my website about my coaching approach, methodology and style. You will also find case studies and testimonials.

To get a sense of what it might be like working together, book a short intro call with me on Calendly. You can learn more about my work on the website and get in touch on email: hello@roxanabacian.com.

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Community:

1. Last week I was thrilled to learn about George’s course, Certificate in Advanced Coaching Approaches, for coaches who want to work at greater emotional depth.

2. Had a fantastic time joining The Relationships Project community, to discuss relational readiness and how we might identify when a team or system might be best placed to engage in relationship-based practice. Join the next meet up here.

Thank you for reading as always. See you next week,

Roxana

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Roxana Bacian
Organisational and Leadership Coach
Associate Certified Coach with ICF

roxanabacian.com / LinkedIn / Instagram

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