Derrick Mueller: Blog

Healthy change involves people growing in skill, attitude, social connections and dedication and knowledge. Change seeks to grow and develop people. I believe there are of four stages of growth that will not only help a business grow but it’s people. Stage One is envisioning change. Stage Two is about initiating change. Stage Three is about managing and sustaining change. Finally, Stage Four is all about multiplication, the actualization of change.

 What follows is not a method or formula for change but more of an attitude to embrace when working with people. Lets explore four stages of change and the various principle one can use in incorporating change into ones business context.

Stage 1-Visualizing

 The first stage of growing involves vision and planning: we need to see what can be realized and plan accordingly. The growing leader develops a picture of what can be and then puts a plan in place to realize it. It can be an organizational plan or a personal development plan. In staff reviews, I have often asked the employee what five things they would like to accomplish or achieve if money was not a problem. A healthy organization sees the potential of each individual and guides them on the road to success and effectiveness. In summary, Stage One is envisioning change; it is the beginning point.

 Stage 2-Intiating

 The second stage of growth involves more than a changed perspective, it involves preparation. Here the plans and dreams are initiated. It is not enough to have a vision and plan of a preferred future; you need to initiate it to make it come alive. To prepare is to begin the process of initiating your plan. For instance, if you are going to get a degree or a certification, you need to investigate where you will study for it. If you need licensing, you might need an apprenticeship. Preparation can be likened to plowing and planting a field. Plowing refers to those things you do that set the stage for accomplishing the plan. It stimulates, coaches and trains others. Planting is the follow-up to plowing. If plowing prepares, then planting involves and initiates. It moves past investigating opportunities and initiates action in a certain direction; it starts a new endeavor. In summary, the second stage of growth initiates change through preparation and involvement of  others.

 Stage 3-Management

 The third stage of growth moves from preparation and initiation to sustaining change. Once the idea has germinated, it is important to keep it going. For example, I remember working on a plan to develop an education center. It took four years of planning and sharing the vision before it became reality. The stages started with sharing the big picture and developing a long-term plan for this new initiative. The building was never the goal. It was a way of fulfilling the mandate to educate. There was a lot preparation. The preparatory work ranged from getting financial quotes, talking to stakeholders and fundraising, obtaining board approval, and commencement of the project. The third stage of growth involves protecting and pruning, making midcourse

corrections and sustaining change. In the example of building the education center, it was important that we serviced our students and continued to pay the bills. The third stage sustains change and continues to protect, assess, and evaluate progress.

 Stage 4- Actualizing

 The fourth stage is the climax of growth. It is the fruit, or results. Remember that growth is not a linear but a cyclical process. True growth is transferred and multiplied. It maintains a healthy system. Here is the need for bringing together others to produce something new. A plant that just flowers and is not pollinated dies with no fruit. Some people in organizations have based the success of their department only on their own efforts. Succession planning has never been developed, so when they leave, the company experiences extreme loss because that person was a lone ranger who blossomed but never multiplied their talents. Anyone who has done financial planning knows that you cannot multiply your money underneath your bed. It needs to be invested and the investment diversified. An employee who is not connected to the whole, not interacting and sharing skills and talents beyond themselves,

may bloom for a while but the success is short-lived. The key is to have people investing in people so that health is maintained and fruit produced. The coming together of many increases the chance of fruit and insures continued success and growth. With growth, the journey begins all over, with new life coming forth and the growth cycle continuing.

 Within these fours stage of changes visualizing, initiating, management and actualizing are all part of The Amaryllis Way- Growing leaders who Grow Leaders.