Change, and being ready for change

Ready!… ready when you are…ready and willing… ready, set, go... oven ready…alright already…ready for action… ready and waiting…ready to rumble…ready to roll…Ready Brek…coming ready or not… all fired up and ready to go…make ready…ready for the off…born ready…ever ready…Ethelred the unready…not ready!

Being ready is an odd concept. Even though you think you’re ready, sometimes you can never be ready. Like when I had my first baby. The reality was that no amount of classes or advice could have prepared me for that. Or when that baby grew up and left home – I knew he was ready and thought I was too, but when it actually happened I was far from ready.

So what is readiness, or feeling like you’re ready?

Thinking about it I have concluded that being ready is a personal sense of preparedness. Because, for different people the idea of being ready for something can evoke a host of different emotions; nervousness, worry, apprehension, even fear or excitement, strength, empowerment. For example, I might feel nervous about a job interview while another candidate might be completely panic-stricken and another relaxed, taking it all in their stride.

There are levels of readiness by which we feel more or less comfortable. When I’m travelling abroad I know I absolutely need to have my passport and boarding pass ready, but if I forget to pack my flip-flops I might feel less prepared than I could have been, but know it’s not the end of the world.

On arriving in Spain recently, I thought I had forgotten to pack the travel adaptors, which seemed no big deal to me, but my teenage daughter nearly had a complete meltdown when she realised she wouldn’t be able to charge her phone! Fortunately they turned up, which had the dual effect of diffusing the tantrum and reassuring me that I had indeed prepared well for the trip.  

The best we can do to be ready then is assess our levels of comfort and prepare for the eventualities we think might arise. Like having answers prepared for likely interview questions, a checklist of things to pack for your holiday and your phone charged ready to capture those precious holiday moments.

Being ready for change or transformation programmes at work is no different. It’s about being prepared.

You know the destination – where you’re aiming to get to – so think about your role and what essentials you’ll need once you get there to be able to do your job effectively. And, then think about the things that you’ll need to know eventually but can get by without for the first few weeks while you get used to the changed environment. If it helps, make a prioritised list. Or have a team discussion to ensure you’re all packing sun-cream and you’re not the odd one out stuffing in the thermals because you think you’re going to Reykjavik when everyone else is headed for Marbella.

At the end of the day, I know I wouldn’t want to feel nervous, apprehensive or fearful about change. I’d much rather feel excited and full of a sense of anticipation of a better way ahead. In the same way as I’d hate to be kicking myself if I hadn’t charged my phone and missed capturing that awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience!