We’re currently going through something extraordinary and seemingly completely outside of our control. In the last seventy years we’ve been lucky enough in the west to experience a largely uninterrupted period of stability and prosperity, and witnessed amazing technological progress and economic growth.

Right now, we’re experiencing the sort of chaos and anxiety at a global level that we thought was forever behind us. Collectively, we’re going through a period of unforeseen and unplanned change, and at such a pace, that we are struggling to take stock and make sensible decisions.

There isn’t any quick fix to this and we’re not going to pretend that there is. But this change affects us, individually and organisationally, in similar ways that change of any scale will. And given that, we need to take the time to understand what is happening, how it is affecting us emotionally, and to apply some recognised, structured, and meaningful ways to deal with change in order to allow us to regain some control.

In the attached document, we apply our shared 4OC experience and also draw on William Bridge’s seminal work on change, ‘Managing Transitions: Making The Most Of Change’, to highlight some simple things that you can do to help you, your team and your organisation best respond to this current crisis.

If we can take some learning from what is happening now, then hopefully we can get through this and come out the other side better prepared for any change we face in the future.