The Bosshole® Chronicles

Navigating Change and Uncertainty in the New Year (Part 1)

Share episode

Change isn’t new, but the pile-up is real. Between shifting budgets, reorgs, tech churn, and personal life turns, even strong teams feel their vitality drop. We open up a practical, empathetic way to navigate uncertainty using the change curve: status quo, disruption, exploration, and rebuilding. Instead of pretending the dip doesn’t exist, we name it, normalize it, and use simple moves to climb out—without burning people out or shaming them for human responses.

  • Click HERE to download The Change Curve
  • Click HERE for our episode on Change Readiness
  • Click HERE for our episode on Head, Heart, and Briefcase

HERE ARE MORE RESOURCES FROM REAL GOOD VENTURES:

Never miss a good opportunity to learn from a bad boss...

Click HERE to get your very own Reference Profile.  We use The Predictive Index as our analytics platform so you know it's validated and reliable.  Your Reference Profile informs you of your needs, behaviors, and the nuances of what we call your Behavioral DNA.  It also explains your work style, your strengths, and even the common traps in which you may find yourself.  It's a great tool to share with friends, family, and co-workers.

Follow us on Instagram HERE and make sure to share with your network!

Follow us on X HERE and make sure to share with your network!

Provide your feedback HERE, please!  We love to hear from our listeners and welcome your thoughts and ideas about how to improve the podcast and even suggest topics and ideas for future episodes.

Visit us at www.realgoodventures.com.  We are a Talent Optimization consultancy specializing in people and business execution analytics.  Real Good Ventures was founded by Sara Best and John Broer who are both Certified Talent Optimization Consultants with over 50 years of combined consulting and organizational performance experience.  Sara is also certified in EQi 2.0.  RGV is also a Certified Partner of Line-of-Sight, a powerful organizational health and execution platform.  RGV is known for its work in leadership development, executive coaching, and what we call organizational rebuild where we bring all our tools together to diagnose an organization's present state and how to grow toward a stronger future state. 

Send us a text

John Broer:

Welcome back to all of our good friends up there in The Bosshole Transformation Nation. This is John Broer welcoming you to another installment of the Boss hole Chronicles. Yes, you can tell, I still haven't fixed my voice yet. It's been about a month, but I'm getting there. However, I just wanted to tee up a two-part episode that I did with my amazing friend and business partner, Sara Best, about navigating change and uncertainty in 2026. This is going to reference a number of different tools and resources we've provided over the years. But this is such a critical time for organizations and especially for managers and supervisors to give them the tools they need to be more effective in helping to grow and develop their people and also just keep their sanity with everything shifting and changing in the workplace, which it always has. It's always done that, but nowadays it seems more profound. Let's jump into part one. The Bosshole Chronicles are brought to you by Real Good Ventures, a talent optimization firm helping organizations diagnose their most critical people and execution issues with world-class analytics. Make sure to check out all the resources in the show notes and be sure to follow us and share your feedback. Enjoy today's episode. Well, hey Sarah, how's it going today?

Sara Best:

Good, John Broer. Good to be with you. It's always a treat and a treasure because we don't get to do this as much anymore as we used to. So uh we got some good stuff to talk about today.

John Broer:

I know. You've got you've got a really critical topic, well, set of topics teed up for us today. So just let us know what's the journey we're going to be taking today, Sarah.

Sara Best:

Well, the journey is about navigating change and uncertainty. John, I remember back in the beginning of the pandemic when everything was literally upside down and unknown, we did a lot of work with companies. We just tried to share these messages as a support and help to companies that were trying to navigate something they'd never experienced before. And although we're not in that dynamic, what I'm seeing with our clients, and some in particular who've been dramatically affected by funding cuts and other significant unanticipated challenges that, you know, they're they're struggling and people are really in some cases frozen and stuck. So we uh dusted off this presentation and kind of updated it. And we've been sharing it. And I just thought for our listeners, this would be helpful content. No matter who you are, uh leading people, process things, uh, chances are you can resonate with some of this content. And we just wanted to share a few tools today about navigating change and challenge. And depending on how we do it, this, John, maybe it's a two-parter, I don't know, but I do think it's very relevant.

John Broer:

Oh, yeah. And and with that, navigating change and challenge, and something other you uh something else you would emphasize is uncertainty.

Sara Best:

Yeah. And and nothing we can do will ever fix uncertainty. So we're not here to, you know, calm, like make people feel better and take away uncertainty. We can't do that. But we can help people recognize what we naturally will encounter at times like this to be able to decode it for themselves and use that information to make decisions about, you know, any number of actions they might wish to take to move and navigate through this change and uncertainty that's pretty predominant right now.

John Broer:

Outstanding. Outstanding. Okay. So, Sarah, where should we start?

Sara Best:

Well, I think we have four little tidbits here, four buckets we can dig into, John, with navigating change and uncertainty. The first one is the change curve.

John Broer:

Okay.

Sara Best:

And you and I did an episode a few years back on the change curve. So we'll revisit some of the key ideas about the change curve, how we're on it all the time. We can't avoid it. We can't like logic our way through it. We have to experience the feelings and what can be produced by doing so, how we can navigate change and uncertainty through the change curve. Something called the circle of control, another bucket. Uh, there's there's a great perspective we can take instead of being overwhelmed by all the stuff. What's a more healthy perspective? So that's another tool. We're gonna talk at some point about in and in short order about how the brain responds to uncertainty, like what happens in the brain. And then lastly, just a couple of tools that people may already have in their toolbox. Um, but but maybe it's time to dust it off and give it a shot.

John Broer:

Love it. That sounds good. Okay. Okay.

Sara Best:

Well, let's dig into the change curve.

John Broer:

All right.

Sara Best:

Well, um, John, the change curve is in fact one of the most powerful lenses we have for helping all of us understand the emotional and cognitive journey we take when there's uncertainty. And we borrow from the work of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. That's a name that most of us know and understand, uh, the five stages of grief. Uh, so in the change curve, which really is about grief and loss, we can figure out where we are and how to navigate it. Um, people move through the curve at different speeds. And you know what's interesting, John? We do move differently. Like stress and uncertainty affects people like you and I differently than it does, you know, we're a captain and a persuader. We're pretty risk-friendly. Right. We like to move, we're oriented toward action. We don't necessarily get stuck in the details or what did or didn't happen. We kind of just keep moving. Whereas other reference profiles like guardian and artisan, they might have a little uh more predisposition to challenge in change. Actually, John, you've done some some research around people and their change friendliness, their change readiness, if you will. Do you want to talk on that for a quick second?

John Broer:

Well, yeah. And and back in 2019, when you and I were actually we were speaking at Optima. It was a conference, uh international conference, and you and I talked about change readiness and the three categories of the 17 reference profiles, you know, the change champions, change challengers, and the change catalysts. The whole idea of change management, I've always found to be, I think we've you and I agree. We've it's it's sort of a an anomaly. I mean, how do you how do you manage change? And and the approach we talk about is how about if we understand the individual response or readiness to change, and it's different for everybody. And so, yeah, you and I are in a category of what, 20%, five reference profiles that are very comfortable with change, but 64% of humans are what we would call change challengers. They approach it and they they step into change in a very different way. And we have to understand that.

Sara Best:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, and so as we think about the change curve and each of us as a whole person, we know that our behavioral wiring is the head. There's also a heart. You know, we talk about head, heart, briefcase. The heart part is our why and our values and what we believe in.

John Broer:

Yep.

Sara Best:

It strikes me that if if the challenge in the uncertainty is bigger than our why and maybe the foundation of our values isn't quite as stable, we may struggle more. But in the heart part, wow, if if there's a belief and maybe even a faith, the uncertainty can be experienced very differently. So we got the head, the heart, the briefcase, as we know, is where the tools are stored, the the skills, the abilities, the capabilities, and not just the ones we put on LinkedIn or on our resume, there are other abilities that we've developed throughout our lifetime to acclimate and address challenging times. So I always like to remind people, man, you've been through a lot already. There's stuff there to grab onto. And it's helpful to think about head, heart, briefcase. Like this is a whole person. And of course, we added our own baggage, head, heart, briefcase, and baggage.

John Broer:

Yep.

Sara Best:

And why we should reference that is because our lived experiences, even when we kind of feel them all the way through and and we address them and we work through them, they're still part of us and they're still with us. So they come along as baggage. Yeah. I know uh I had a therapist a long time ago who said, you know, it's like dragging some furniture with you into each room or each conversation you're in.

John Broer:

Right.

Sara Best:

So just knowing how what we've been through before can make the current uncertainty that much more challenging. It can get reactivated. So I think that's a an important sort of context for all of this.

John Broer:

I I think it is. And and probably we should at some point redo a uh do another episode on headheart and briefcase, you know, 2.0 and include the baggage because uh one thing that I think is really critical, and we added the baggage element a couple of years ago, but something I think, Sarah, that is really helpful in how you frame this is not all baggage is bad. I mean, again, the baggage we carry forward or the the echoes of the voices that we had when we were younger saying you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, you'll never be able to do this. That's the kind of crap that we do bring with us. Yes. Yes. And at the same time, there is baggage that can serve as wisdom. And some of that crappy stuff can ultimately help to shape how we view the world today. And and we choose not to let it let it hold us back. But that takes a lot of work. That takes a lot of work. And I think that I think there are people dealing with uh maybe they hadn't even acknowledged the baggage until they find themselves in that low point on the change curve. And I know you're going back to that.

Sara Best:

No, you're right, John. Um, haven't acknowledged it or I'm over here saying, let's celebrate it. It has made you who you are. Right. And I can say that now, I'm about to be 59. I can say that, you know, 10, 20 years ago, I was in a very different mindset and had a lot of concerns about how I showed up. But I think that just by reverencing and appreciating, you know, what furniture we drag along with us, how it has made us stronger, how it has defined many of the things that create resilience and a different kind of presence today, that's priceless. You can't read that in a book. You can't, you know, have that in a group discussion. Like it has to be a lived experience. So as we head into better understanding the change curve, we just recognize that that's all at play here. And so the other couple of truths about the change curve is we can't logic our way through the change curve. And it is a curve, it dips down, down into the low valley of probably um, it's it's a low emotion valley of depression and detachment and maybe even apathy or hopelessness, but it comes up on the other side where there's commitment and rebuilding and new beginning. So we can't logic our way through that. And we don't just have one change curve going on. We have many change curves going on. Yes, yes. And I think when we present this and I'm I'm looking at members in the audience, and you know, that it kind of starts to register like, oh God, yeah, I got these five personal things that are changing and moving and and and not clear and they're uncertain, and the work situation and the geopolitical situation and the economy and so many things. So it it layers on. And our our job is to just say, hey, where am I on the change curve right now? Like in this particular situation or challenge, where do I find myself? And there are four definitive stages in this model, anyways. We'll make sure our graphic is in there. You know, we have the status quo, which is representative of all the stuff we know. And again, reference profile-wise, some people really like familiarity. They like to know what they know and they don't like things changing because what do we do with all the stuff we already know? Right. But now I have to know new stuff. So, status quo is when what we are familiar with or what we anticipated ends. And it is, it is an ending. And of course, the natural response is denial. I remember when Governor DeWine made the announcement here in Ohio, everybody's going home. It was like March 13th, I think, or March 16th, something like that in 2020. And I remember where I was sitting, I remember what my thoughts were. That's the moment like everything changed. But for a minute, and even for a while, I was like, you know, it's not gonna be that bad. It won't, things won't really be that different. And it won't take long to get through this. Like it'll be okay. Like it's we're gonna get back to normal quickly. And and when things are shocking, when shocking changes, oh my gosh, I just lost my job, or we just lost 80% of our funding overnight.

John Broer:

Right.

Sara Best:

What happens is disruption. And disruption is the the source of many, many things, including fear, anger, frustration, worry. So as we get into disruption, what we know is gone, we dip down. And so on the left axis, if you can imagine two axes, the left axis is vitality. We dip down, we lose well-being, uh, we we feel negative emotions, we might lose our focus, we might drop in productivity. And this is the point we got to say, this is normal. Hello, this is normal. Uh, it it would be crazy to think otherwise. That um if if you think about negative feelings, they make sense when we're shocked, when we're um jarred out of what we believe was the reality we had, right? That's gonna stir up some emotion.

John Broer:

Yeah. Oh, if I may, I mean, again, I love the word vitality and uh the definition, well, I I just as a basic definition, the definition of vitality is the state of being strong and active or having energy. Yes. Nobody can nobody can sustain that at a at a peak level all the time. So those dips are to be expected. It's just that when you're stuck in those dips, and I know you're gonna get there, but yeah, strong and active, I mean, it's there are times when I feel strong and active, and other times it's like I've got nothing left. And it's like, okay, all right, now I can kind of name it and understand what's happening to me, and I can have a little bit more influence on how I approach it, and we'll get to that as well. But go ahead.

Sara Best:

That's good, John. We want to normalize that dip, that that loss of energy, that loss of productivity and focus. It is part of what naturally occurs. Because what I hear a lot of people doing is beating themselves up. Yep. I shouldn't, I shouldn't feel this way. I have to be more productive. Something's wrong with me. Actually, no, no, you're coping with something that uh is pretty significant. What you expected, what you anticipated, what you hoped for is not happening. It's a loss. So as we dip and we move through the stages of disruption, people may find that they're looking for someone to blame. Very common and normal. Uh that's if if we liken this uh sort of map it over to above the line and below the line, we fall below the line. We are on the drama triangle, villain, victim, and hero. We we may, you know, like momentarily work into superhero mode and like do a whole bunch of stuff and like take jobs away from people, or we may um villainize uh our leaders and the people around us and say it's your fault. You should have you should have thought about this, or you should have done this differently, or it's not fair, it's not right. Normal. Very normal.

John Broer:

Or villaini villainize our direct reports. We've had managers do that. Blame them. Yeah.

Sara Best:

And so anytime we're in that zone, could we just notice what it is instead of being all caught up in it, get present to it and say, Oh yeah, this makes sense. I'm in disruption. There's been a significant change. I gotta work my way through this. I gotta feel the feelings. Uh, this is something we're talking with all of our clients about, John, more and more these days is feeling your feelings through and out of your body. Like if you don't feel the feelings and acknowledge them, they get stuck. They stay, they create physiological patterns. And um, I was sharing yesterday that for me, when there's fear or uncertainty or, you know, but maybe frustration, it seems to lodge itself in my right shoulder. And I used to think, oh my gosh, you know, I'm lifting weights too heavy or something's wrong with my shoulder. I'm gonna get frozen shoulder. Actually, no, I can resolve issues in my shoulder when I attend to what's happening internally. So I think there's uh a really powerful way to get in tune with what are the emotions I'm having, even the negative ones, and allow them to be there. Like, okay, you make sense to me. Anger, frustration, resentment. Yeah, I'm pissed off. Good. Feel it. Um, match it with a sound or a movement. That's something we've learned from the conscious leadership group. And find your way if you can. The bottom axis, by the way, is time. So as we take our time and we let this thing play out, we may find ourselves um at the very bottom of the change curve, which can be a dark place for some of us. Apathy, detachment, depression, hopelessness, live there. And maybe it's for a moment, but that's okay. It we have to recognize it's not forever. And if we can just embrace and be with those feelings and then take an action. We'll talk at the end of our little episode here about what are some actions we can take once we know where we are. Sometimes it's a good night's sleep or a great conversation with a trusted colleague or friend, but something happens and we move from disruption. There's a little fine line between disruption and exploration. So from the bottom of the curve, we kind of flip over the line, if you will, into something that feels better. There's not maybe any more clarity, there's not any more certainty, but our energy is more available, our focus is coming back, and we sort of re-engage our executive function, you know, that prefrontal cortex, our thinking brain. When we move out of the frustration and the anger and the below-the-line things, we can bring that function back online and start to think differently about what we're experiencing.

John Broer:

Can I offer something up? It's because this happens to me all the time. And and I think it's through the years of this work and and just the insights you've provided me as a friend and a colleague. Until you can sort of identify what that feeling is. Okay, so uh, even recently there was something where I was so distracted, I was bothered by something, I was distracted. I was distracted, I was not focused because I was, I wasn't angry, I was just really disappointed in something. But yeah, what happened it was something that had happened, and I really hadn't processed it, but it was still impacting the way I was focusing on work or family or anything else like that. Yeah. And I literally had to take a walk. I put everything down and I said, I have to figure out why this is such a why I'm stuck in that that vortex down at the bottom of the change curve. And and it just took took a moment or two. And really what it was is realizing that I was just really saddened and disappointed because I'm I'm a member of an organization here in Columbus and somebody that's on the team, they they had they found it necessary to step off for personal reasons, which is totally understandable. I was just really saddened by that. Yeah. But I hadn't sort of worked through that in my head, and it was a total distraction to me. And I I know it sounds mundane and even maybe trivial, but it's not because it actually had me stuck at the bottom of that. It was a change that I was experiencing. Experiencing that disappointed me, it saddened me. And I wasn't able to sort of get back into that exploration phase until I sort of figured it out. Does that make sense?

Sara Best:

John, it does. I'm so glad you shared that really personal example. I think two things. Number one is uh you recognized that you were stuck, and you recognized that you did not want to stay there, like you didn't feel like yourself. And I think that's okay. And then you gave yourself space and time to be with that. And, you know, I think you said, you know, I had to think, I had to figure it out, and you pointed to your head. The listeners didn't see that, but I did. But you also feel you also um identified and felt the feelings of sadness and disappointment.

John Broer:

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Sara Best:

And if we can just be with that, do you know it only takes about 90 seconds to two minutes for uh an intense emotion to kind of be experienced and move out of our body and be processed? So giving yourself time to process, taking a walk, changing your location, allowing you um to to to see it differently was probably exactly what you needed. How did you feel after that? Like what what kind of what happened next?

John Broer:

Oh, well, I was able to sort of refocus on the things of the day and uh and really come to um just an understanding. Uh again, this is somebody that uh it's a great individual, and this is just a decision that they need she needed to make at this particular time, and that's fine. And and want want to support her in that. I was just I I was just really able to resolve the feeling I had with how I wasn't making it, connecting it with my brain and and and and just kind of coming to a rational conclusion. And like you said, it did not take long. I just had I had to stop what I was doing because I was no use to the work that I was trying to accomplish because this was such a distraction. Yeah. And like you said, we experience those all the time and taking a moment just to resolve it, um, and it doesn't take long, but taking that moment is incredibly helpful and I think it's you know therapeutic.

Sara Best:

Yeah, absolutely. It made you available uh in the way you like to be available to do your work versus you know trying to power through. Right. I have found myself um, you know, feeling very uh scattered and unfocused at times just because that you know there's a lot of things happening at once. And it doesn't matter what I try, it doesn't matter what uh, you know, productive like productivity system I try to tap into, ultimately after a short time, I will find myself staring out the window. Like it just I'm gone. Like it's there's nothing in there. It's not the computer is not working. So doing something like what you did, and and each person should think for a moment, what's my thing? When when I feel, when I recognize that I am spinning my tires and I'm exhausted, my tank is empty and I'm frustrated. What do I get to do? Uh, who do I reach out to? What's the the tool I use? You know, it's a walk, it's uh a meditation of some kind. And just that thing, John, is what takes you from disruption into exploration.

John Broer:

Yep.

Sara Best:

And, you know, your situation and what you're unhappy about isn't necessarily completely gone or resolved, but you're now moving. You're moving through the change curve and you're you're actually experiencing greater vitality and focus.

John Broer:

Yep.

Sara Best:

And I love it. And you did mention the vortex. So I was telling this group yesterday, do you ever feel like you're a dryer sheet, you know, in the dryer, like just like bouncing around? Oh, yeah, like smooshing and against the wall at one point and out in the middle of nowhere at the next. And and I think that's what the vortex can be like. Like I just can't get my head around this. But it's also kind of like an eddy, you know, if you're um kayaker, which I really am not, or a whitewater rafter, you know, you can get stuck in that little vortex or eddy where you just keep, you know, it like pulls you down.

John Broer:

Right. Right.

Sara Best:

What we what we noticed in uh 2020 when we were sharing the change curve with uh people during the pandemic, this was a group of physicians, and it they they felt like one minute they were a hundred feet off the ground because they were helping patients with this unknown virus and they were making strides and doing great things on the front line. And 10 minutes later, they felt like utter failures because their kids were at home, they needed help with their homework, they they just didn't know how to navigate this whole new situation of all being together. And I think that's a good example. We need to recognize that moment by moment, we're gonna move. Uh, we could be in disruption with one thing, uh, complete exploration and rebuilding in another. We might find ourselves like we're straddling uh or spinning around in there. And I think that's normal. We just have to recognize we're gonna stay above the line, if you will, or on the the right side of the change curve, probably for about four seconds before something, some stimulus comes along and upsets the Apple cart. Sure.

John Broer:

Well, I I've and I think this is a really useful takeaway for our managers and supervisors out there, our leaders, because they may be thinking, oh, this is helpful. Yes, Sarah, this is awesome, awesome. This is gonna help me through my the dynamics of my change curve. We are asking you to be mindful of the change curve and the the the dynamics other people have to go through as well. And how can you be causing the matter or um how can you help? Or to what degree can you help people navigate this? And it could be just leaving them alone and letting them it could be. But here's the thing this is what I call the moonstruck moment that I think some bossholes face. It's do you remember Moonstruck when I can't remember Cher's her the name of her character, but anyway, she slaps Nicholas Cage and says, snap out of it. And sometimes I think managers are using I I call that the moonstruck moment of man of management. Just snap out of it. That's you can't do that. You know, you can't you can't assign to somebody else just sort of a slap across the face and say, Snap out of it, it'll be fine, you'll get through this. Uh it doesn't work that way.

Sara Best:

And to a point you made earlier, John, when you and I were talking about a completely different situation this morning, we have to believe that person and their experience of change. Yeah. So uh it's often the case that I we hear managers and leaders say, I can't believe they they think that, or can't believe they they view it that way, or I can't believe they did it that way.

John Broer:

Yeah.

Sara Best:

Well, that's the truth for them. And the appropriate, you know, show of empathy would be to try to understand that, not make them wrong because it's not the way you would do it. Right, exactly. But believe them and use that as information. Okay, now I know what they're feeling. Now I know what they're experiencing. How can I support them? Yeah, well, guess what? You can ask them. You can ask them. You can I I I appreciate uh the moonstruck slap.

John Broer:

By the way, Loretta, Loretta Castorini Castorini, that was her name.

Sara Best:

Yeah. I remember when she got her hair colored in there. Yeah.

John Broer:

I love I yeah, I love that movie, but um, but yeah, just snap out of it. It doesn't work that way. So go ahead. Sorry.

Sara Best:

No, and as we wrap up our just our looking here at the change curve, exploration becomes rebuilding and new beginning. And the curve, you know, it dips down and then it rises back up. The time and space it takes us to move to um new beginnings or to feel committed, fully committed to the next thing, is unique to each one of us. And sometimes we have to give ourselves a little more space and time. Uh, it might not come immediately. I know, John, you and I went through a pretty significant change a few years back. And I I think it was about a year at least before I started to feel differently about it. I don't know about you.

John Broer:

So, Sarah, I was gonna bring this up. I'm glad you brought it up. I yeah, yes, we did, and at the same time, I was I I think this is sort of reflective or a reflection of our comfort level with risk, our proactive nature, the excitement we get. Even though it was in the year of the pandemic, we decided to, you know, create real good ventures and do this amazing work.

Sara Best:

Yeah.

John Broer:

But interestingly enough, we we both remember a time when a business owner that we knew or that we know said, well, we're not participating in the pandemic. In other words, if you look at the if you look at the change curve, we'll put this image in the show notes. But you know, it was the comment was, well, we're going from um stage one to stage four. We're we're not gonna go through the dip. And it's like, really? Okay. And it didn't work out, and it never does. Right. So, so that sort of um, I don't want to, I don't want to say ignoring it, but that sort of unrealistic um perspective that this change is not going to impact me, whether it's a pandemic or anything else, yeah, is really naive. And it's like, once you understand this, it's very, very it, it's so much easier to help people navigate it.

Sara Best:

It is. I think, you know, we it makes sense as you were sharing that, John. You know, we we experience this when we have good change too. A new relationship, a marriage, the birth of a child. Um I was working with a group yesterday and I was doing the, you know, hey, buy a show of hands. Raise your hand if you've experienced any of these changes in the last six to twelve months, like a move, you know, from your home to somewhere else, a job to a different city, someone else moving.

John Broer:

Yeah.

Sara Best:

You know, someone leaving your sphere, um, a new relationship, a marriage, a divorce, uh a relationship conflict or rift, birth or death of a loved one or a pet. I guess a pet is a loved one. Yep. Someone leaving your work team. Uh, and and there's in many cases there's been layoffs and reduction of force and even lots of turnover, a change in leadership. So a change in the leadership you're accustomed to, an illness, a change in your income or your financial security, job change, promotion, job loss, graduation or retirement, empty nesting, moving an elderly parent or relative, change in your workload. This was a big one for the group I was with yesterday, change in your workflow, like what you focus on changed. Like you are now doing new tasks, new processes, processes, and um, even like new technology, even a new laptop. It that can really throw people. So um, yeah, we find ourselves dealing with multiple levels of change, good change, bad change. The impact is the same.

John Broer:

Yeah. Can I okay? I'm gonna tell a story on myself really quick on technology. So I finally replaced my phone. You and I were talking about this. I couldn't remember the version of an iPhone that I had, but I went and I got a new iPhone and oh my gosh, this is now the equivalent of when my parents like got a VCR and I helped them set it up. Um I'm pretty I like to think that at my age, I'm fairly technically savvy. Uh and I I was having I was so frustrated with getting this new phone transferred and set up. One of our sons uh helped me do it, and it's like crap, I finally I now I'm my dad. Now now I'm I just it was like, oh my gosh, this is so funny how this is playing out. Can I say one more thing about the change curve? I think absolutely I love the idea, Sarah, that that that self-awareness and awareness of how things are landing with you, how you are feeling um, you know, emotionally, physically. You know, when we started Real Good Ventures, like you said, a lot of our work was around helping uh leadership teams around resilience. And resilience has a there's a finite amount of resilience that people have. Right. I mean, you need a break. And I know that there are people out there that sort of wear it like a badge of courage, like, I haven't taken a vacation day and I don't know how long. That is so foolish. You uh I can feel it. You know, you and I, I think we've been really good with each other on holding each other accountable about, hey, make sure you're scheduling time away, vacation, family, staycation, whatever it is. But you and I both know when we uh and and I've done this, I did it last this year. Um, I let too long of a time span go and I I felt it. I I needed a break. And that is just part of the your world in terms of how you navigate change and disruption and uncertainty. You got to have that downtime.

Sara Best:

Yeah. And as you say that, John, it strikes me uh one of the ways I can tell that I'm getting to that point is I get a little crunchy. Like my fuse get shorter, uh, my focus is more limited, and uh things seem a lot worse to me than they might actually be. So I just invite our listeners to try to identify right now, if you can, what are the signs that you need to be watching out for that you've gotten to that point?

John Broer:

Um I'm not laughing at crunchy. I'm laughing at uh if you get crunchy, I get too captain-y. I think that's what I think that's what happens.

Sara Best:

Yeah, yeah. Well, and I get a little captain-y too, even though I'm a persuader. I get a little bossy, a little disconnected. Um well, and could we just uh let this be a framework that kind of helps normalize our neurological response to uncertainty and change? That's the whole point of this. As I think about it, we probably should have talked about the brain first. But how about John? In our next segment, we we talk about the brain, the circle of control, and other tools people can use to get through this change.

John Broer:

Sarah, I think that sounds amazing. And I am so glad that you teed this up. Let's absolutely make sure that we get that scheduled. And I just want to remind everybody go into the show notes. We have referenced some amazing tools. The change curve image will be in there, and the other episodes that we talked about in terms of Head Heart and Briefcase, that will be in there as well.

Sara Best:

Great, John. It's so good to be with you, and we will see all of you next time on the Bosshole Chronicles.

John Broer:

Thanks very much for checking out this episode of the Bosshole Chronicles. It was so good to have you here. And if you have your own Bosshole story that you want to share with the Bosshole Transformation Nation, just reach out. You can email us at mystory at the bossholechronicles.com. Again, my story at the bossholechronicles.com. We'll see you next time.