Hello all! We are in a series called What does improv have to do with change management? In this series, I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned so far from improv class that have direct application to my work as a change management practitioner. Last week’s post was Be open and curious. This week’s lesson is….

Expand your comfort zone

On my first night of improv class in January of this year the instructor suggested we reframe getting outside our comfort zones to expanding them. While I don’t remember everything he said that night, I do remember that his reframing resonated with me. Instead of “getting outside” of something, leaving something behind, or needing to purposely make myself feel insecure/uncomfortable, I could honor all the experiences I brought into that first class and encourage myself to make room for ones.

I really like this reframing when thinking about change management work. So often we frame current state as “bad”/something we need to leave behind and future state as “good”/something we need to adopt quickly. We forget that many times people have been operating in current state for a long time. People have been reinforced and rewarded for operating in current state. People have helped the company be successful by performing well in current state. Instead of “getting outside of” current state or villainizing it perhaps we could honor how current state served us/helped us get where we are today while encouraging people to make room for future state.

We could honor how current state served us/helped us get where we are today while encouraging people to make room for future state.

Closing thoughts

I want to hear from you! How have you handled current state in your change initiatives? Do you usually villainize it? Have you tried honoring it while encouraging people to make room for future state? How have each of these approaches affected the outcomes of your change work?

Please post your thoughts and comments below. Let’s help each other become the best change management practitioners and enthusiasts we can be!

Thank you for reading. Until next time, take care and keep up the good work!

Mike