Lessons from Real-time Virtual Collaboration - May 09

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We Don't Resist Change, We Resist Its Impact

The most common myth about change is that we resist it, but this is a misunderstanding of change.  Change is an event.  Change is a point in time when something old stops and something new begins.  What people resist is not the change itself, but the impacts of change.  Change is external to people, yet the impact of change is not.  The impact is not only personal, it's emotional.  The impact is something that author, scholar and teacher William Bridges named transtion. 

Change is outcome or results-focused, often the consequence of a perceived solution to a problem or opportunity. It is quick and has a well defined start and stop. Yet problems remain unresolved and opportunities are lost when the impact of the change is ignored.

The most significant impact of change and what we are truly resisting is some form of loss and the experience of disorientation. For example, if I have been teaching for a living and I get laid off or quit my job, my identity as a teacher is challenged.  For better or worse, in most cultures our jobs, marital status, possessions, relationships and even our natural capabilities . . . define us and help us make sense of our place in the world.  So when a change occurs it challenges us to redefine ourselves and until we do we experience disorientation.

Even when we are  happy about a change and it's something we've chosen to do, such as getting married or having a child, we leave something behind and take on something new. Transition is a process of letting go of the beliefs, assumptions and expectations we have held in relationship to something else.  Unlike change which is quick, transition is a process that gradually reforms new beliefs, assumptions and expectations in order for us to regain our energy and enthusiasm for something new.

Understanding what this  transition process is and how the process works helps us to understand what we are losing and how to deal with it.  Whether the change you face is simple or complex, it will carry transitional impacts for everyone involved.  Planning for transitions is change is part of creating a successful foundation for change.  

Did You Know?

So what? It's a bit overwhelming, right?  Important information can be overwhelming, but the important question is more interesting how to harness this as power for collaboration for positive change.  Thinking about collaboration is about thinking about the future.  Online collaboration provides a way to stay connected to issues and people who matter.  Contact us for a free consultation on how we can help?

The Time For Global Collaboration Has Come

In the last month I helped design and facilitated the world's first real-time global collaboration on the subject of positive change.  This work excites me because as technology is providing new ways to connect and work together, RTVC provides an opportunity to reconfigure the way people collaborate in organizations as well as across organizations, communities, institutions and governments. 

What is real-time global virtual collaboration (RTVC)?

RTVC is a group of change consultants and facilitators who adapt and integrate traditional collaborative change tools and facilitated techniques, such as inquiry, dialog and other group processes, for positive change. 



The concept of the world’s first Real-time Virtual Collaboration Conference was to hatched about four weeks ago. It demonstrates what is possible when integrating facilitative change tools such as Open Space, World Cafe, Three Lens Conversation, etc. with real-time social media, such as VOIP, wikis, online collaborative tools and social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, or facebook.

Conference participants prepared for the conference through a Mind Map portal created especially for this event.



The 1/2 day conference was designed and organized by the RTVC Team, itself a self-organizing group of consultants and facilitators living in seven countries: Germany, S.Africa, Brazil, United Kingdom, Ontario, USA, and Canada – most of us have not yet met face-to-face.

Conference participants from 30 countries convened on Skype Chat for the opening plenary session, posting  topics for break-out sessions on positive change. Break-out sessions were held on the a variety of social media chosen by conveners of the break-out sessions. Think of a sort of virtual, conference hotel. 
Over 50 participants from around the globe signed on to the opening session using Skype Chat. 
Opening and closing sessions were facilitated by members of the RTVC organization.

Reactions To The Conference Taken from the Closing Session Transcript
thrilling 

excitement 

multilevel 

smooth 

encouraging 

engaging 

conversations 

learning
like riding a roller coaster
technically challenging

possibility 

engaging
falling off the cliff 

bacterial 

crossing boundaries
engaging 

exhilarating 

surfing 

disruptive 

just starting 

difficult connections
interesting 

complex 

What's next? 

calls for more 

germinal

Click on the RTVC Mind Map to see facts, key learnings, session topics and more. Note instructions on how to navigate the mind map in the lower right corner of the page.

To learn more about RTVC join us at the RTVC Forum on the Change Management Toolbook.

Click to see how countries were represented at the Conference. RTVC%20skype%20sign%20ins.pdf