making-sense-of-change-management

Individual changeTechniques for changeThe cognitive approach has generated numerous techniques forchanging the beliefs of people and thereby improving their performance.These include the following.Positive listingsSimply list all the positive qualities you have, such as good feelings, goodexperiences, good results, areas of skills, knowledge and expertise. Byaccepting that these are all part of you, the individual, you can reinforceall these positive thoughts, feelings and perceptions, which then lead toenhanced beliefs.AffirmationsAn affirmation is a positive statement describing the way that you wantto be. It is important that the statement is:• personal: ‘I am always enthusiastic when it comes to work!’ It is youwho this is about, and it is as specific as you can make it;• present tense: ‘I am always enthusiastic when it comes to work!’ It isnot in the future, it is right now;• positive: ‘I am always enthusiastic when it comes to work!’ Itdescribes a positive attribute, not the absence of a negative attribute;• potent: ‘I am always enthusiastic when it comes to work!’ Use wordsthat mean something to you.Try writing your own affirmation. Put it on a card and read it out 10 timesa day. As you do so, remember to imagine what you would feel, what youwould see, what you would hear if it were true.VisualizationsVisualizations are very similar to affirmations but focus on a positive,present mental image. Effective visualizations require you to enter arelaxed state where you imagine a specific example of the way you wantto be. You imagine what you and others would see, what would be heard29