There is an idea I need to explore about people-first change management, and I’d like to invite you to explore it with me.

I’ve been refining my marketing tactics, to really appeal to the clients I would love to work with. For me, it is important to work with people who believe their actions matter, who have a dream (however vague it is at the start), and who are willing to work from a place of hope. I have been throwing words around like dreamer and whimsical, and then tying them up with words like strategy, planning, and change management.

I understand how this can make some heads spin a little (we don’t usually hear those words together, after all). I did not anticipate the anger I would receive in return.

Change Already Makes People Uncomfortable

This is an undeniable truth. That’s why change management as a process exists, and why there are countless consultants already working in this space. Most of us need a little help to get used to even small changes, especially if we want those changes to be sustainable.

Of course, not everyone exists in the change management space. Many people are not in the corporate, municipal, or bureaucratic worlds that have used change management for decades. We don’t all have a personal life coach to guide us through our goals and the discomfort that comes from trying something new.

Because change makes people uncomfortable, proposing that the world we live in needs to change ALSO makes people uncomfortable. For better or for worse, the comment sections of proposed changes will be filled to the brim with people arguing against whatever was proposed. It doesn’t matter how well-researched a claim or proposal is. The research and validity doesn’t negate the icky emotional discomfort we feel in the face of change.

Now, imagine you are someone who already has reduced emotional regulation skills due to gendered socialization, and you hear someone proposing that change is not only needed, but the “whimsical girlies” should be in charge? If you’ve been socialized to neglect emotional regulation skills, you’ve likely also been socialized to have a negative perception of anything or anyone who seems silly, naive, childish, or indeed, whimsical.

The reaction here then makes sense.

You feel an unfamiliar discomfort. Your mind perceives that discomfort as a threat. You reject and/or attack the thing (social media post) triggering these feelings.

The men expressing anger and judgment about change management led by whimsy, dreams, and visions are angry precisely because they perceive it as a threat. Their anger is self defense.

Why Their Anger Proves The Need For People-First Change Management

When people get angry and defensive in the face of change, citing facts, studies, and evidence isn’t going to change their mind. This is because the defensiveness is coming from a survival instinct, and when we’re trying to survive (whether rational or not), we aren’t the best at critical thinking.

Having worked in climate adaptation for three years, and community spaces for the past decade, I have seen first hand how our emotional reactions to change can stall that change. In fact, they can pause it indefinitely! When people feel threatened, they are going to cling to what is already familiar, even if that familiar thing is actually dangerous, breaking down, or ineffective.

“But Danielle, emotions don’t belong in the board room! We’re trying to have serious conversations!”

In theory, perhaps I would agree with you. In practice, the emotions are going to be there anyways. Refusing to acknowledge the fact that we are human and therefore have emotional reactions to circumstances, changes, and strategies is why we experience this stall (and unprovoked anger) in the first place. It is why we can know a transition is necessary and imminent, and still resist that shift for decades.

Traditional change management acknowledges this, it doesn’t actually move towards embodiment.

Rather than pretending we are solely logical beings, people-first change management seeks to not only acknowledge our emotions, but to make space for them in the decision making process. Maybe this is as simple as giving people the space to air out their frustrations, doubts, or fears without judgment. Perhaps this is actively integrating different perspectives so we can create a full idea of what this change would mean throughout our community. Other times, this will look like practices in somatics, regulation, and playfulness, because we know what the answer is, we just need to feel safe enough to do it.

People-First Change Management Won’t Be For Everyone

I’m not expecting hospitals, governments, or tech billionaires to hire me for their change management processes (unless of course they are ready for that magnitude of change–we can talk). The reality is traditional change management is not for everyone either. It’s gate kept in the corporate and bureaucratic world, and wrapped up in red tape.

The institutions that need the sober strategic planning sessions will have it.

I am seeking clients, communities, and people who recognize their free will and are ready to put it to good use. I am seeking the dreamers who have a vision of what they would like to see in the world around them, and just need a little help and clarity to make it happen. I am seeking the community builders who believe in the strength of their community, and need an accomplice to help remind others of their strength too.

And yes, I am for the whimsical girlies who are ready to take their wildest dreams and ground them using a change management strategy that caters to playfulness as a pathway towards sustainability.

Every single one of us has a role to play in the world we are creating. Vibrant Systems offers a way to make your role effective, intentional, and fun, because I know strategy and joy are not opposites. Embodied, people-first change management is that strategy That may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but I promise you, it’s not a threat.

Whatever your story is, get in touch with Vibrant Systems, and let’s make it a vibrant one.