Developed by Steve Trivett, ChangeZone 2002

The art of living in the 'change zone' involves the balancing of two dynamics or four change perspectives. They are:

an inside-out persepective realised through free will and human capability, which includes ideas, metaphor and creativity of thought
an outside-in perspective which is deterministic and reflects the world of separate events, the natural environment, artifacts and technologies.
a top-down perspective which reflects a common vision and shared rules for operating in the world, and
a bottom-up perspective which reflects the culture or social reality experienced in relationships that are significant or valued by those involved.

The four perspectives reflect McWhinney's Theory of the four realities, Ken Wilber's Four Quandrants and the work of Gregory Bateson on levels of learning.

You are in the Change Zone when these four perspectives are combined to give you a multi-dimensional awareness of who you are in your environment. This higher level of consciousness enables you to tackle the problems, preoccupations, hopes and dreams of everyday life more effectively.

You are in the Change Zone when you . . .

1. experience symmetry, balance and coherence
2. know what you want to change and why
3. understand how to go about achieving that change
3. can choose an appropriate route to deliver the change
4. deal with unpleasant facts and barriers to that change
5. can celebrate successful change in a meaningful way

Change only happens when you take responsibility for raising your level of consciousness from four directions (inside-out, outside-in, bottom-up and top-down). This gives you a laserlike focus on the best way to effect change in your life.

When operating in your comfort zone you tend to display a one-dimensional perspective on problems and issues because of low levels of curiosity, energy and a lack of focus - not believing that you even have a choice. It is your free will to choose your level of consciousness. Knowing how to increase it lies at the heart of achieving meaningful and lasting change within yourself and your relationships with others. Just responding to what is demanded of you allows others to determine your future. What's required is adynamic balance of all four perspectives

LIVING IN THE 'CHANGEZONE'
What emerges in your 'change zone' is spontaneous, multifaceted and diverse. This reflects how you are as a whole person. In the 'change zone', life unfolds in exciting and unpredictable ways, and it's not easy. As a result, living in the change zone offers you a completely different worldview from the one that you occupy in your comfort zone. Transforming your life can, and should, be a magical experience, but you have to make it happen. It involves some risk. As Antonio Machado reminds us in his poems "change is a path made by walking".

LIVING AT THE 'EDGE OF CHAOS'
Your fear of chaos could be the way you defend yourself against having to think or take responsibility for what is happening in your life. You may be pretending not to know something because it might force you to confront the issue or change the way you live. As a result you stay in your 'comfort zone'. Your problem then becomes one of denying your authentic self - a somewhat more difficult thing to live with.

Being in the 'change zone' is therefore a state of mind that exists between a state of comfort and a state of chaos. In any situation, just stop and reflect on what you notice in terms of energy and information coming from inside you, from your outside environment, from those around you and the voice of authority or vision that influences your choices. The feedback you get in the 'change zone' is often insightful, rich in meaning and metaphor - but you need to be fully conscious to see it.

THE INSIDE-OUT & OUTSIDE-IN DYNAMIC
The first dynamic is about balancing your inner and outer worlds. Nathaniel Branden (the internationally renowned guru on self-esteem) observed that we energise our thinking and reasoning by focusing our attention on the dynamic tension of seeing things from the inside-out and the outside-in.

In order to change you must focus on your environment, seeking to observe and understand the world around you with empathy, looking for evidence that tells you what is in your interests to pay attention to, searching for information that supports your goals or intentions. But this is only part of the story.

You also need to be self-aware - capable of paying attention to your inner world of needs, motives, thoughts, mental states, emotions and bodily feelings. Your mind is as real to you as your physical world.

THE TOP-DOWN & BOTTOM-UP DYNAMIC
The second dynamic involves balancing the top-down and bottom-up perspectives. Barry Oshry (a renowned expert in inter-personal relationships) observes that seeing change issues from these two perspectives is empowering to the process of change. It helps release energy, share information and achieve harmony.

In order to change we must view reality from different perspectives. Empathy and understanding are born of the ability to get connected with other people (culture) and with a cause much bigger than yourself (vision).

POSITIVE DEVIANCE
The work of Richard Pascale and Gerry Sternin at Harvard is interesting in that their work on 'Positive Deviance' refers to traditional change being typically top-down, outside-in and deficit based. It relies on a gap being created between what exists and what's wanted. The solution focuses on what's wrong or not working - thriving on negative feedback. It assumes reasonable degree of predictability and control which is seldom the case. Lots of analysis can breed paralysis.

They argue that a 'positive deviance' approach to change, by contrast, is bottom-up, inside-out and asset based. It thrives on positive energy and free will because it empowers change by identifying a desired future and leveraging new ideas, feeding off quality relationships. See the paper Leadership for Change written by Steve Trivett and Martin Straker-Welds on distributed leadership in schools.

Return to top