{"id":16085,"date":"2021-11-22T21:16:22","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T21:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franklincovey.co.uk\/?p=16085"},"modified":"2023-03-03T14:05:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T14:05:31","slug":"how-to-turn-uncertainty-into-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franklincovey.de\/en\/2021\/11\/22\/how-to-turn-uncertainty-into-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Turn Uncertainty into Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Do you remember back in March 2020 when many of us thought it \u201cwould all be over by September?\u201d. Now we\u2019re entering our second COVID-19 winter and talks of a \u2018Plan B\u2019 hang overhead, a warning writ large that the social and economic uncertainty isn\u2019t easing just yet. In business as in life, change is inevitable, imperative even\u2026but the difference is stifling uncertainty doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/h3>\n

Human beings are wired to search for risk round every corner and mitigate it. In the face of consistent<\/em> uncertainty, we come up with concepts we can make sense of, like the \u201cnew normal\u201d. We recruit the alphabet, with our Plan As, Bs, even Cs, to give misfortune or \u2018failure\u2019 a semblance of order. Grappling for understanding, we seek control, familiarity, trends we can understand.<\/p>\n

Basically, people love predictability. This may not seem like a helpful statement when talking about change, but<\/em> the good news is that behind the wildly oscillating human experience of change, there is<\/span> in fact<\/em><\/span> a predictable pattern. One that can be engaged with deliberately, and leveraged effectively to help employees overcome their discomfort, embrace opportunity, and reach desired results quicker.<\/p>\n

Leaders who understand this pattern don\u2019t just hope their people take to new processes, but purposefully engage them in the realities of the change.<\/p>\n

But what does that look like? When talking about turning uncertainty into opportunity, ultimately we can’t escape the fact that people-including ourselves- naturally react to even the same change differently. Here is what\u00a0 our recent global research and experience tells us all successful leaders need to know about the choices and influence they have, when it comes to the human element of change.<\/p>\n

First, understand that all reactions to change- from resistance to engagement – are normal<\/h2>\n

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The human condition is a contrary thing. We are ultimately built for adapting- and some of us are great at embracing that skill- but many of us instinctively resist change. Even change that we choose or see coming can prove difficult for us; it still means \u2018different\u2019, and \u2018different\u2019 often means uncertain, even scary.<\/p>\n

There have been innumerable studies done on the psychology of change. I read a BBC Work Life article<\/a> recently that found the impact of uncertainty to be so strong that people will even avoid positive or \u201cpotentially profitable\u201d situations if they involve any element of unpredictability.<\/p>\n

This phenomenon is reflected in the research FranklinCovey has undertaken over the last two decades, around the response to change. The findings are deeply challenging. When asked about a change they were experiencing at work, right now<\/em><\/span>, a global audience responded as follows:<\/p>\n