A Case Study By Régine Gerard, Wellbeing-Transformation Coach, FRANCE
Irrational Beliefs in an Employee-Facing Organizational Change
Background:
John is an experienced employee at a large technology company. He has been with the company for over a decade and has developed a deep understanding of the current technologies and processes used in his department. However, the company is undergoing a major reorganization that includes the implementation of new technologies. John is feeling anxious about the changes, believing that he lacks the knowledge and skills to keep up with the new technologies and that he will not be able to successfully adapt to the changes. He also has a lack of trust in himself that he is ready to deal with the change and does not want to admit it as he is considered an expert in his current role.
In the following, I will show some example steps including questions that have guided our conversation about the presented issue. It is important to note, that these questions have worked well for me with this particular client. However, as every client is different, it is not presenting a schema, but rather a flexible coaching process, that needs to be adapted every time depending on the client’s needs. This respective case study describes a whole coaching session, with a particular focus on the exploration of the underlying beliefs (I acknowledge and celebrated with him):
Step 1: Set a Goal, Identify Success Measure and Check the Client’s Motivation
Me, Coach (M): What would you like to focus on today?
John (J): I want to focus on my problem with new technologies. We have just undergone a major transformation into a more flat organization, more agile, more teal, and so on. Even if I am a recognized specialist in my field, the new programs, technologies, and IT skills that will be needed in my “new” job are overwhelming me. I feel not ready for this change and not good enough. As I am more of an informatics naïve person, I struggle with all these new tools and makes me fear being replaced quite soon by someone more experienced or more flexible, a fast learner in IT tools.
M: Thanks for sharing and explaining this, John. Sounds stressful for you.
M: What would you like to get at the end of the session?
J: I would like to find a way how to feel more confident in my job.
M: How will you know that you got more confidence in your job?
J: I would be happy, less stressed, released, optimistic. In addition, I could go again to work every day without fear, as I am good enough.
Step 2: Check the Current Situation
M: What do you like about your current job?
J: My job is not boring it has a wide range of different technologies, protocols… I work manually, but also I have to think about how to solve problems, and issues that encounter the clients or us, as a company to sell our technology. I can go in many different directions with my expertise. A lot of time, my boss tells me to think about a new tool to can better explore the special need of a client. I use IT tools for sure and sometimes I even helped to create an IT tool that we then used in our daily work.
Step 3: Explore Fears, Beliefs, and Their Impact
I asked questions about underlying beliefs and helps the client identify and challenge irrational beliefs that are causing negative emotions or behaviors. I helped John to recognize that his belief that he lacks the knowledge and skills to keep up with the new technologies is irrational. It also helps him understand that his belief that he is not ready to deal with the change is also irrational. My questions were the following:
M: What is making you worried about the changes at the company?
J: As I do not be using informatics a lot, at least programs. I cannot program like R or Python… All these new things were not important before, we did not use them. And in a few weeks, everything changed.
M: What do you think you don’t know or can’t do that would stop you from changing with the new technology?
J: It is not only about not knowing something, it is also the number of new things that arrive. All these new tools, programs… all these small details to know to can use them. It is too much. If one tool would arrive, you learn and you continue with it, and then another one is arriving…Even the ordering system changed after 20 years now, and the sending (Post) system changed. Everything changed at the same time. Everything is new. I am in the same company, sitting in the same place, but everything else changed.
M: How does believing this makes you feel and act?
J: I feel too old. I feel overwhelmed. I feel lost. I feel useless. How do I act ??? I try to make myself invisible.
M: What do you mean by invisible?
J: Just saying nothing, trying to hide when questions are coming. I do not propose myself when they ask for volunteers…
M: OK I see. You said, I feel old, Is that true?
J: Hum, yes that is true.
M: What makes you think so?
J: As I cannot follow anymore.
M: Is the company giving any help or support for the changes, to facilitate the integration in the new structure?
J: Yes luckily. I already followed a few online courses, that helped me to learn about several programs and I can go outside of my company following some training in a specialized Learning Centre.
M: You said that you learned already several programs, how does this resonate with “I’m too old”, or “I’m not good enough”?
J: Very good question… I learned already many things that help me to go with the changes.
Step 4: Shifting Perspective
At this point, I tried to make him see that not only the new things can help him to be a person of value to the company.
M: Can you think of other ways to look at the current situation?
J: Maybe to look at this like a new opportunity to learn something new.
M: What are the good things that could come from the changes?
J: To develop differently in the organization.
M: Give me an example of a time when you learned something new and changed well.
J: When our welding machine was changed to an automatic welding machine. It looked to me like a big challenge. I could not sleep days before it arrived and then… It was so easy to handle.
M: Have you ever felt unsure, but still did well in a situation?
J: Yes sure! Many times. Like with the welding machine, I had to volunteer to use it the first… And it was just perfect.
M: Can you think of any past successes or experiences that can help you believe in your ability to change?
J: Yes true, thanks for asking. At the beginning of my job, there was NO computer at all. And I had to introduce this machine into my daily life. It was so new, as at home I had also no computer.
M: What skills and resources do you already have that can help you with the new technologies?
J: In my job creativity is asked but also curiosity and courage to explore our current skills to find a better way to do our job. Better but also faster, ways that can help around the world. Therefore, I think, now, that I see these new tools as a help for me to do my work better and faster, differently but in the end, it is what my job was since the beginning. Only it is someone else who brings these tools to me and not the other way around.
Step 5: Learning
At this point, John realized that he arrived at a point where he can trust himself and be confident with the changes as he undergo already had many different challenges that he managed well.
M: What have you learned about yourself?
J: That I can trust myself and I can look with positivity at changes if I look the same from different angles.
M: What have you learned about the way you think about the company’s change?
J: I went through many changes in my career that I managed with success. I should sit down and instead of going through negative thinking’s; I should take this time and energy in believing in myself and face each challenge that appears head-on.
M: How can you use this learning towards your goal?
J: If I look trustful to the changes instead of directly blaming my age and old ways of working, I think I can be confident at the next reorganization.
From now on John was more relaxed, he was smiling, positive and optimistic. I ended the session with questions that could help him to deep dive a bit more to reach his goal. These questions were the following:
Step 5: Make a Plan
- What can you do to try out this new way of thinking?
- How does this new belief make you feel?
- What steps can you take to make this new belief a part of your everyday life?
- How can you use this new belief to move towards your goal?
- When will you start using this new belief?
Step 5: Accountability
- Which support do you need at the moment?
- How can you remind yourself of this new belief when you face similar situations in the future?
- How will I know that you will stick to what we have discussed today?
Step 6: Follow-up
- How has this new belief affected your thoughts, feelings, and actions about the changes at the company?
- What extra support or resources do you need to keep challenging and changing this belief in the future?
Using Shifting Perspective Method to Address Irrational Beliefs
John starts to see that his worries about not being ready, skilled enough, or too old to deal with changes are not true. He realizes that he has been able to adapt to new things before and can do it again. He also sees that his company is giving help and support to make the changes easier, which makes him feel better about himself and his ability to handle the changes. This makes John less anxious and more positive about the changes happening in the company. He ended the session by saying that he sees now his age, his know-how, and his flexibility are big values for his group and company.