Finally, the light has been switched on at the end of the Covid 19 tunnel.
This week’s news on the success of the phase 3 trials for the Pfizer vaccine is a relief for everyone. Whilst China and Russia are already progressing vaccinations, for most of the western world, this is the first time that the end has started to come into sight. The announcement was rapidly followed by, and rightly so, words of caution by various authorities to make sure that it was clear that whilst there was finally a light, it was still a long way off and we have much to do before we get there, including (possibly) a few bends in the track where we may even lose sight of it again…
The journey we are on with Covid is very similar to any change program that any business goes through. The Kubler Ross Model describes the first two stages of change as shock and denial, something I think, we can all associate with from back in March. Starting as a small outbreak in Wuhan it grew to something that rapidly spread around the world, creating a great deal of shock. After all, this wasn’t the first time we had heard of a deadly virus from the East that may infect the globe, but this time, it really happened. And as that realisation hit, that was when we went into denial. It was easy to think that the virus may spread in densely populated China, and where some thought the medical system was not as advanced as ours. However, it was not long before it took grip in Italy and Spain, and finally started sweeping through our green and pleasant land.
The stage of any change program can be shorter or longer depending on our personal make-up, as well the specific circumstances each of us finds ourselves in relative to that change. So, whilst any model helps us understand the phases, the reality is an individual one, something a change management professional has tools to manage – wouldn’t it be so easy if everyone in a change environment was in the same phase all the time. What this means in reality is that some people may have even completed the change journey, whilst others remain at the first stage – and when this happens, communication can be very difficult and disjointed – something we are all experiencing with the pandemic.
Not long after the realisation that Covid was spreading wildly in the UK, we went into our first lockdown, where frustration set in. We couldn’t do what we wanted to every day. There were all sorts of controls and restrictions in place. The frustration, for some, eventually turned into depression. There was a growing realisation of the impact of the virus and the longevity – many were talking about debts that will take a generation or more to pay back. Personally, on the whole, as a nation, I think we got through it fairly well, but sadly, there were casualties along the way, with many suffering mental health and stress related issues.
Release from lockdown enabled many to experiment with the new situation. There was still no end in sight, and for many frustration and depression was the relevant phase. But for some, a huge learning journey had already been completed, and if survival (or more) was to be achieved, now was the time to take action, work out how to operate in this new world and instead of letting it beat them, find a way to work with, or indeed to take advantage of it, to achieve that human need for esteem (the 4th level of Maslow’s model).
The summer was a good time for many, whilst absolutely not for others. Travel restrictions were released, more socialisation was possible with pubs and restaurants being open, and at times, for some, the world seemed almost normal again. For many others, shock, denial, and frustration remained, as the consequences of a broken economy were felt through job losses, pay cuts and the loss of loved ones. However, it was also a time when some took decisions on the situation – finding a new job, setting their business off on a new course, accepting that the world would never go back to how it was enabled many to move forward.
The final stage of integration is one many are still not clear on. What is the end game? That’s the one that we really don’t know. Will the vaccine last a long time before further vaccinations are needed? Over time, will there be unexpected side effects that haven’t come out in a trial of 46k people? And many other questions. At some point, we will all need to make closure on the pandemic. That may be a change in how we live or work. How our business operates, who our customers are etc. The ‘new norm’ is often what is talked about, and setting some non-preferred status as the expectation can often help us cope, not least as if things improve from that low baseline, euphoria and other positive emotions help us make the step change to a new, improved end game.
But, amongst all this lack of knowing, what we do know, is that change is always thrust upon us. Sometimes we see the benefits and engage with it positively, other times, it’s just a hurdle to get over. As a change management professional, what I do know is that how we choose to approach change has a massive impact on how manage our way through the change and the lasting impact that it has upon us. If you or your business are contemplating a change journey (and given all the changes in the global economy right now (Pandemic, Brexit, US election, Chinese-US relations) you probably should be) then please do consider the support of a change management professional to help you make that journey quicker, with less pain and more effectively.