Having worked for over a decade with models such as William Bridges’ Transitions and ProSci’s ADKAR, I have considered myself quite fluent in the language of change management. But a month ago over dinner, a neighbour, friend, art teacher, illustrator, and lawyer (now retired) introduced me to Virginia Satir’s process of change — and I found I still have a lot to learn.
Virginia Satir was a pioneer in the field of systems family therapy from the 1960s until her death in 1988. Her process of change is based on decades of work with families — but of course, people are people, and her findings in that area are, I believe, as applicable to organizations and leadership as they are to domestic life.
Satir defined five stages of change, the first being Status Quo — life before transition.
When we want something or someone to change (including ourselves), we often malign the status quo. We call it resistance. We call people stick-in-the-muds. We berate ourselves for persisting in old habits.
Satir, however, emphasizes the high value that homeostasis has for us. From this place, we have enough knowledge to be able to predict what will happen. We have a sense of certainty, of identity.
This is true even when the events we predict are unpleasant or harmful — even when the status quo is a place of frustration or dysfunction. At least we know.
Based on recent research in neuroscience and economic behaviour, this preference for the status quo makes sense. If our thinking system is biased towards conservation of energy; if our brains are constantly comparing our environments with our expectations and making predictions based on that; then maintaining a foundation of familiarity has many advantages. The status quo makes thinking and planning easier. It gives us a sense of control.
What I most appreciate is that Satir emphasized and normalized this stage in the process of change before any of the neuroscience or economic behaviour research cited here was available; even before William Bridges wrote about honouring the endings associated with change.
In a world of rapid change, unpredictability, and disruption, where do you find stability, familiarity, and consistency? Where do you find the ground on which you plant your feet and know yourself?
Virginia Satir, The process of change. (video, 43 minutes), 1978.
Copyright © 2023 Lynn Thorsell, All rights reserved.
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
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