 He wears bright blue baseball pumps and has a regular mentoring stint on the reality TV show “Extreme Makeover UK”. But there was nothing “cosmetic” about performance coach Struan Robertson’s entertaining, powerful and inspiring session on coping with change in an uncertain business world, writes Eddie Gormley.
And his keynote message for delegates was this: you might not always be able to change the circumstances you face, but you can change how you feel about them and how you respond to them.
Struan says his speciality is “transforming mind-sets”. Using anecdotes and observations from his work with business leaders, organisations, the general pubic – and of course reality TV contestants – he offered a string of quick-fire, but meaningful insights into the impact of change on individuals and organisations, and techniques for turning it into a positive life experience.
Here is a selection of them.
Reality is shaped by the context of a given situation. The way you see the world affects how you feel about it. Remember, redundancy is in itself neither a good thing nor a bad thing, it all depends on how you perceive it.
How you come through a situation is affected by what you do, what you say and what you feel. Try to build “positivity” into all parts of your life – in your body language and posture, through your own internal dialogue and by fostering a strong sense of your own worth.
The future is more significant in our lives than the past. Step into tomorrow believing everything will be fine and it will be.
If you fight against change, then you will usually lose. Go with the flow, accept what is happening, but also realise that you do not have to be a “victim”. You can take personal responsibility for your circumstances by realising that everything you do in life is a choice.
Fear is a product of your imagination, and not a product of the reality you actually face. When they look back on change in their lives, people often conclude that the actual experience was nowhere near as bad as what they expected.
For communicators, Struan also offered a number of valuable insights about how to help employees through the process of change.
Remind leaders in the organisation that they are there to deliver the truth and guide people on their journeys. They are not there to “protect” employees from harsh realities by hiding the truth from them.
People don’t want you to “sugar the pill” about bad news. They want to be told in a direct and straightforward manner – and also be treated with dignity and respect.
Keep communicating even when you have nothing definite to say. If you don’t, people will just make up their own story about what is happening in your organisation and create a picture for themselves that is far worse than the reality.
Where you can, build a picture for people about the future that they can identify with. This will help them to feel more motivated and better able to look ahead positively.
And finally, ask yourself what is the next chapter for the people in your business? And how can you, as a communicator, help them to transform what they perceive as negative changes into something positive for their work and in their lives?
Eddie Gormley works in partnership with a graphic designer, offering a full editorial, copy writing and design service on corporate publications and other items. He also offers training on Apple Macs in Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop.
See www.editorialanddesign.com
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