change questionnaire, part 2

part 2 of the change questionnaire. let me know what you think – it’s really just an adapted draft at this stage.

17. Please rate these areas of your life on a scale of 1-10. 1 would be very poor, 5 would be acceptable and 10 very good.

a. Finances ___
b. Relationships ___
c. Work ___
d. Emotions ___
e. Motivation ___
f. Spirituality ___
g. Physical Health ___
h. Mental Health
i. Recreation / Down Time / Fun ___
j. Other ___

I. Change History
What has been your own response to change in the past?

18. Changing the way I DO things – e.g. a change how I do things at work, or a change from eating lots of carbohydrates to eating more vegetables.
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

19. Changing the way I COMMUNICATE – e.g. how I communicate with my spouse, children, coworkers, relatives, friends, etc.
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

20. Changing the way I THINK – e.g. how I talk to myself, how I think about others, etc.
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

21. Changing ROLES – e.g. from single to married, from parent to empty nester, or a change in your role at work?
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

22. A CAREER/WORK change – e.g. becoming unemployed, changing careers, starting work after university
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

23. A change in _________________________________________________ (a significant change in your life)
a) No problem
b) A few difficulties but not many
c) Not so easy
d) Almost impossible
e) No experience with this kind of change

24. Have you experienced any changes which normally would have bothered you, but which did not disturb you? Describe what the change was, and what the factors were that made it worthwhile for you to change.

___________________________________________________________________

25. Rate your general readiness to change
a) Prepared to give all the time and energy it takes to succeed.
b) Prepared to put in quite a bit of time and energy to support the change.
c) Prepared to commit a modest amount of time and energy to support the change.
d) Prepared to support the change, but don’t have time to give.
0) Not prepared to actively support the change right now

26. Rate the readiness to support the change on the part of the important people in your life
a) Prepared to give the time and energy it takes to succeed.
b) Prepared to put in quite a bit of time and energy to support the change.
c) Prepared to commit a modest amount of time and energy to support the change.
d) Prepared to support the change, but don’t have time to give.
0) Not prepared to actively support the change right now

J. Dealing with the Stress, Loss and Trauma of Change
People often go through certain stages in dealing with change, sometimes even loss and trauma. By assessing where you stand with this, we can look at how best to support the change with the least pain

Difficulty accepting: Sometimes we find it hard to acknowledge that things need to change (or are already changing). We sometimes minimize the need for change or the fact that things are already changing. Sometimes people know things are or will be changing (e.g. at work, upcoming work shortages; in personal life, deteriorating health or relationships) but look the other way.

Disagreeing with change. E.g. We don’t take steps to prepare for change; fail to look at important signs, facts or information; search for even small evidence that “everything is ok”; actively resist change that is already occurring; react negatively to people associated with the change

In the pit: We acknowledge the inevitability of change and feel hit emotionally by
it. We don’t defend against the change anymore and may experience feelings of confusion, helplessness, lack of motivation, sadness, or perhaps even depression. The emotional and physical immune system is under a lot of stress. Sometimes we become ill; people tend to get more colds in these situations, or certain pre-existing physical or mental health conditions may flare up.

Coming to terms: Accepting the change emotionally, including the losses involved. The perception of the situation, maybe even of the “big picture” changes and begins to include the circumstances/feelings/actions which have changed. We begin to make the best of the change and look for alternate ways of meeting
our needs and become involved again. We become open to rational problem solving (thinking about/accepting alternatives, looking for/accepting information, etc.).

Adapting and coping: A stage of learning, growing, and active problem-solving. We mobilize energy and commitment to deal with the change, to overcome what problems and barriers are amenable to effort, and to develop the skills, attitudes, beliefs and perceptions helpful in dealing with the change.

27. Where are you in the change sequence? We go in and out of the different stages and are often in more than one stage at once. Please rate on a scale of 1 to 10 where you are in each stage.

a. Difficulty accepting change ___
b. Disagreeing with change ___
c. The Pit. ___
d. Coming to terms with the change ___
e. Actively adapting and coping with the change. ___

K. Change History 2
Your change history gives valuable clues to how you are likely to respond during the next change. If you have frequently undergone major change, you will probably deal with change more easily than someone whose life has been stable for a long time. On the other hand, if you have experienced a number of traumatic changes in the recent past, you may feel particularly vulnerable.

28. How frequently have you undergone significant change during the past five years?
a) Change is a way of life for me
b) Several major changes.
c) One or two major changes.
d) No major changes.

29. What has been the dominant effect of these changes on you?
a) The changes have been energizing and stimulating.
b) The changes have been coped with without overt effects on the people.
c) The changes have been stressful, physically and/or emotionally, but I have
recovered.
d) I can’t take any more change!

30. What lessons can you draw from your response to past change efforts? Give
attention to such areas as
– The way the change was introduced, the kind and amount of information given about the change.
– The degree to which you were able to participate and be involved in planning and implementing the change.
– The timing and pacing of the change.
– Other people involved in the change.

L. Assessing the Level of Pain
Optimum pain for change exists when people recognize that significant aspects of the way their life are not working; they believe that if they knew a better way to operate they could adopt it successfully; and you can find the resources of time, money, support and energy to invest in making improvements while at the same time continuing to meet current demands.

The level of pain is suboptimal for change when people generally feel things are working well enough. They perceive the costs of change to outweigh the gains.

When a person is in continual crisis, and is using all their resources just to meet current demands, they are probably in too much pain to undertake substantial change. Since change requires learning, nearly every significant change results in an initial decrement in “performance” while being “on the learning curve.” In such cases, diversion of resources to manage the change process may well reduce the current performance below the level required for survival. A person can only afford to adopt “quick fix” improvements which require little basic change. It “can’t win for losing.”

31. Rate your degree of pain
a) Little or none; relatively content
b) Some: low level unease and disquiet.
c) Substantial: definite unhappiness with the way things are.
d) Overwhelming: the organization is in crisis and can barely cope.

M. Picking the Right Place to Start Change
Many changes have failed because they got bogged down in the first place they were tried. It is important to choose the part of your life where the change is initiated carefully. Here are some factors to consider in making this choice.
– It is not normally a good idea to institute change “across the board.” Not only does it create a lot of stress, but the change resources are then spread too
thin. You lose the advantage of trying a change in one area, learning from your mistakes, and revising your approach the next time.
– Look for optimum pain (see above)
– Look for where the “free energy” is. This can be found in areas of your life that are not already overwhelmed by current demands and that have the resources necessary to take on the overload required by the change.

32. Given these considerations plus any other criteria that seem valid to you, what areas in your life seem like good candidates for beginning the change? Give your criteria for choosing them.

N. Looking at the Downside of Change
Even though the change may be desirable, there are inevitable losses and possible negative consequences to any change. It is important to be aware of these, so they may be planned for.

33. What do you personally stand to lose if the change takes place as proposed?

34. How would you deal with these losses?

35. What do you stand to lose if the change does not take place?

36. How would you deal with these losses?

37. If applicable: What do others in your life (work, family, etc.) stand to lose if the change takes place as proposed?

38. What do others in your life stand to lose if the change does not take place as proposed?

Now is a good time to return to your original formulation of your plan for change, and update it in the light of your work on the organization’s readiness for change. You may also want to reexamine and possibly revise your change goals.

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