TransforMAP: User Guide
The TransforMAP provides a foundation for both understanding and facilitating organisational or personal change. It enables those involved in change to unravel, understand and organise complex and confusing thoughts in a way that enables them to let go of the past and embrace the future; TransforMAP is therefore a powerful tool for gaining buy-in to the need for change. The TransforMAP allows and enables individuals and groups to confront their fears and come to terms with the things they stand to lose as a result of change. Having achieved this, it then enables people to brainstorm what might be possible as a result of change, develop valued options, and finally commit to a new set of targets.
The TransforMAP is a facilitated conversation about change:
To develop a foundation of understanding during times of change
To help people to move people on by helping them to understand and organise complex and confused thoughts in times of change
To facilitate change conversations in groups - small or large and with individuals
To design various interventions such as meetings, communications, training programmes or indeed complete organisational change processes
To identify areas to investigate more closely or to do further work on
The TransforMAP is a guide for making headway through the uncertainty, confusing feelings and conflicting thoughts which accompany significant change. It is a basic structure for conversation with yourself or another person embarked on change.
Changes can seem pretty messy because we have so many conflicting thoughts, feelings and urges going on in us at the same time. When someone says, “Things are changing”, it is generally worth asking what they mean by that. Over the years, thousands of answers to that question have seemed to emanate from three different and very distinct ‘Voices.’ Each voice has a particular language and an affect associated with it.
All three voices are at work at once, as if three different people are talking inside our head. Hence the confusion. At any time, one voice will be dominant. While there is an overall sequence, we are wherever we are at any moment. So the TransforMAP may be entered wherever your interest or feeling or need demands.
Each voice has three expressions (or domains):
A thinking expression which we refer to as the ‘Head’, where we form concepts and pictures and use logic and language.
An emotional expression which speaks in physical sensations and moods we refer to as our ‘Heart.’
A kinaesthetic, physical expression – our ‘Feet’ – the seat of our body memory, our urges to get into motion and action, from where we ultimately act out our physical existence.
There is no guarantee that at any one moment these three expressions are aligned with each other.
Our emotions have deep memories and take lots of time and real experience to accomplish a true change of Heart. And so our bodies… our Feet learn through plenty of repetitions. Once learned, these are very hard to forget. Could you unlearn how to ride a bicycle? Have you tried to unlearn a bad habit in a golf swing lately?
If I have grown up with a deeply held belief, and that belief is thrown into question by a world which no longer works as that belief demands, changing my mind to accommodate the new world may well be the hardest journey I will ever take.
Any one of the three minds can lead, but all three must get through the transition before we can really say we have actually ‘Changed Our Minds.’
If changing our mind did not involve our Head, Heart and Feet, it would be easier and faster. If changing our mind did not run headlong into the other drive to maintain a healthy status quo, which comes from our immune system, it would be easier and faster yet.
Each voice must be heard, fully, to genuinely complete a transition. Whatever comes up has a place to fit and a positive reason to be there. Everything is helpful because everything is real. There are no ‘bad’ or ‘good’ voices. Just voices.
When, individually or in teams, we are caught up in the struggle with a transition, the map takes all the feelings and thoughts and activity and gives each a place to rest. It all fits. The sooner they are all heard, the sooner we move on to the rest of our life.
For those who are facing a change in the future, the map is a great planning and awareness tool. The map predicts the type of material which will come from ourselves and others when the change hits. We also remember the processes of past changes and learn what our natural responses are so we know them when they reappear.
For those leading a change, the map is predictive of what to expect and helps the leader:
Locate where he or she is in the process
Move along as quickly as possible
Develop empathetic personal stories
Appreciate the dilemma of those who have not yet engaged the change
Develop a creative communications plan for the whole system
Voice 1: Ending.
Endings are afoot when the world we are used to changes, or when the way we think about something no longer makes sense.
Angst
Angst is the ‘heart’ domain within the first voice – the voice of Ending. In times of change everyone feels like they are losing something - some more than others. These are heartfelt emotions; we feel the angst. In order for people to let go of their perceived losses and move on they must be given the space to state what they feel they are losing.
Ask the individual or group:
What do you stand to lose as a result of the changes taking place?
What do you feel is being taken away from you?
Where does it hurt?
How do you feel these days?
Have you experienced a loss like this before and how did it feel then?
What is missing from your life as a result of the change?
Losses might be real or anticipated, and include: an area of responsibility, our job, a relationship, a material possession or your favourite meal at the canteen.
Worst Fears
In times of change, when uncertainty rises and we perceive that we are losing things we count on, our mind is racing, constructing a future picture that can look pretty scary. As with Angst, it is essential that people be given the space and opportunity to express their fears. Worst Fears are ‘head’ generated predictions.
Ask the individual or group:
What’s the worst that can happen?
What are you afraid of?
What is keeping you up at night?
In some cases it might be applicable to validate a particular fear through some sanity checking, since worst fears are usually exaggerations. Here is an example exchange to demonstrate how to go about the inquiry:
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I could lose my job”
“What would happen then?”
“I’d have to sell my house because I’d have no money”
“Is it true you’d have no money?”
“Well, no. I have enough for three months.”
“So what’s the worst that could happen?”
“I’d run out of money before I could find another job”
The result is cut down to something more real and fact based than where the person started.
Resistance
Our fears are extremely powerful and often, as a result of these, we end up running in the opposite direction. Resistance is the act of doing something to avoid the changes taking place and the fears that have been stated.
Examples of resistance might be the act of continuing with a certain role in the organisation, saying no to the need for a new member of the team or avoiding a change in the invoicing process. Resistance represents our ‘feet’ reacting to our Angst and Worst Fears.
Ask the questions:
What things are you doing to avoid the proposed changes?
What are you not doing that would enable the changes to take place?
What actions have you taken as a result of your worst fears?
How have you dealt with this type of situation previously?
What would you have to do differently to act on this change in spite of your fear?
Remember that resistance statements are those things that people do, rather than think or feel. These are actions that people take to resist change, to run in the opposite direction of worst fears.
Voice 2: Reinvention.
Experiments bring the unknown with them. They bring uncertainty as we set aside what we think we know, to explore what may be possible.
Release
The Release domain in the TransforMAP is the ‘heart’ domain of Voice 2, Reinvention. When in Ending most of the energy is focused on negative areas like fear and loss, in Reinvention our focus swings to a more positive mindset. The feeling that unfolds is one of relief and lightness – we have set down some sort of burden. These things are not being trashed; rather they are being put on hold and may re-emerge in a different form later on – they are put in the recycling bin.
By putting things to one side, people are able to open up their minds to new possibilities.
Ask the questions:
What no longer works?
What do you keep in your life, which is an impediment to new possibilities?
What do you keep around you which is a reminder of past problems, leading to unrealistic fears or to mourning losses all over again?
What could you give up for now that would enable you to experiment with new ideas?
Possibility
Changes in an organisation, no matter how scary they might appear, actually open the door to new opportunities. The Possibility domain is where we focus on the best things that could happen as a result of change. This is where we use our imagination and in a sense, make it up. Possibilities represent the ‘head’ in Voice 2.
Ask the questions:
What’s the best that could happen now?
What would be perfect for you and you alone?
What would be an exceptional life, work, relationship, house, child, or community for you?
Assume you are living in the best possible world for you. What are the components of this ideal situation?
Exploration
Explorations are those ventures or trial projects that might enable us to make the most of our possibilities. These are actions we can take in the short term to experiment and discover what is really possible. Exploration is our ‘feet’ investigating what will work as we move forward.
Ask the questions:
What are the first five things we can think of to get started learning about the possibilities we have outlined?
Suppose I was a person who had mastered this change. What would I be doing now?
Voice 3: Commitment.
Transformational stories always include the rise of burning intentions, making passionate decisions and commitments, and the work to make something new come true.
Passion
Passion is the ‘heart’ domain within the third voice, the voice of Commitment. Passion is all about choice, direction, focus and discipline. In the Passion domain we focus on the energising feelings of alignment which propel us forward, to achieve targets.
Ask the questions:
What’s the level of your energy for the objective we’ve set?
What are you really committed to in all of this?
How do you feel about where we are headed?
What decisions have you personally started taking in order to get going?
Intention
Intentions are very specific goals or targets. These are the specific things that the individual or group is hoping to achieve. This may appear as a prize to be won or it may be more of a compelling dream, which inspires tough, direct action. Intention is the ‘head’ in Voice 3.
Ask the questions:
What are your targets?
What are the measurable goals you are hoping to achieve?
What is the real purpose behind this change?
What has this transition led us to in terms of new outcomes?
What can we now achieve?
Our entire history has brought us past a point of decision, into commitment to a new future. What is that new future we are creating?
Discipline
The Discipline domain helps us minimise the risk to our investment and maximise the return. The focus here is on the new things that we must do, the rules of play and structures that will give us the best chance of succeeding. This is our ‘feet’ getting into action.
Ask the questions:
What structures need to be put in place to assure that this works?
What do we need to do to avoid risks becoming reality?
What will it take to get this done?
What are the new rules?
How will we know we’re on track?
Two fundamental rules when using TransforMAP with somebody else:
When enquiring into the domains, only ask open questions
When playing the story back in sequence, tell it as if you are the other person
This is a starting place to understand the domains of the three voices and use them effectively in conversations with another person or a group, reducing waste and angst, building spirit and vitality, and moving business and lives along.
