The ‘Change Oasis’ is both the name of our company and also our framework for helping leaders, teams and organisations to change.
The name was inspired by our experience working in large, complex organisations where the biggest deficit most leaders have is a lack of time and space to think. Change is not only constant, as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus wisely noted, but it is accelerating and we are poorly equipped to manage it. We live in a world which moves so fast, we spend most of our time trying to catch up. It can be exhausting. In such a world, how can we possibly do our best thinking and navigate change in the best way?
I worked in this world for more than 25 years, for large, complex companies like Barclays and GSK, and often fell into this ‘busyness’ trap where I was always stretched and often struggling to think clearly. By contrast, my best thinking often happened when I was forced to step back and slow down. When I had time and space to do my best thinking, whether that be when detached from work and surrounded by nature, or when in a ‘thinking space’ with my own coach, it was an opportunity to take perspective. The ability to slow down and think better felt like a calm space in the midst of a frenetic, large city – like an oasis.
This combination – helping people to change positively by providing a calm and safe space to think better, for themselves – was the inspiration for creating Change Oasis and also our framework for positive change. We believe that there are 5 Cs which hold the key to changing positively – curiosity, clarity, courage, confidence and conviction.
These five steps work as a catalytic cycle, helping leaders, teams and organisations to think boldly, change positively and perform brilliantly:
- Curiosity – to gain new insights, take fresh perspectives (what do you really want to have happen? ) and uncover any thinking traps, unhelpful assumptions or beliefs (what’s holding you back?);
- Clarity – to see how you can get what you want, what would stop you and what you need to do to make it happen;
- Courage – to change your mindset, move out of your comfort zone and try new things, and notice what happens;
- Confidence – that builds from seeing the impact of experimenting, fuelling your self-belief, learning and growth; and
- Conviction – to take necessary and consistent actions and stay the course, despite the inevitable distractions and setbacks you will encounter, using your conviction to realise your full potential and be the best, most authentic version of you.
Then repeat…
At face value, these are deceptively simple. Yet the real power is in practising these steps consistently and continuously, gaining increasingly valuable insights and competence that drives higher and higher levels of performance.
We founded Change Oasis in December 2018 to help leaders, teams and organisations to think boldly, change positively and perform brilliantly. If you would like to explore how I can help you to navigate change in your world, drop me a line at joss@changeoasis.com and I’d be happy to have a conversation with you.
