ALL WE NEED IS LOVE AND ADKAR

A True Life Personal Story – The Power of Prosci AKDAR by Ejemen Okojie 

Despite the emotional upheaval caused by the pandemic and a real sense that our world as we knew it was quickly spiraling out of control, I wanted 2020 to count and took a deliberate decision in April 2020 to proactively focus my energy on my circle of control and influence and spend zero to minimal time on my circle of concern. Yes, easy to say right? Well, refreshing my 5 core values in this tumultuous season was helpful in this regard especially in framing the series of decisions I have taken so far in a bid to manage my productive energy.

Two of my core values are curiosity and family. As a ‘curious generalist “learning about change leadership fit well under my circle of control. I found the ADKAR Model particularly engaging and powerful given its simplistic and practical methodology which I have used recently to shape our return to work /flexi work program and personally with my 11-year-old daughter-my only girl and last of 3 children who is going through her own emotional upheaval amid this pandemic as she transitions from pre-teen to teenage hood. This is my personal story and so far, ADKAR has made what has been a difficult and mostly frustrating time for my daughter and I an exciting and liberating experience.

MY WAKE-UP CALL

My first two kids, both boys went to boarding school once they finished their primary school. Transitioning to teenage hood was a non-experience for them. At least so I thought from where I stood, it appeared seamless and uneventful. My husband and I focused their energy on maintaining good grades, tying their rewards to their performance in school and good behavior at home. I am guessing the positive peer pressure in boarding school must have been good and having helpers- a cook and cleaner at home during the holidays helped especially as it gave them time to relax and decompress.

With the pandemic, boarding school was now completely out of the equation and the helpers were asked to take paid and extended time off. As a result, our lives literally transformed overnight with #WFH, schooling online and dealing with the house chores. I lost 4 kg in the first week of this change, was mentally and physically exhausted. So, I do not know why I expected my daughter’s transition to be just as seamless as her brother’s and was shocked when I realized she was not as excited as I was about the idea of her growing up….at least not just yet. I realized with using ADKAR that she needed a lot of patience, empathy and then support to build her confidence to even want to try and grow up in a judgement free environment. This was a new experience for me that tested our relationship in no small way.

PROSCI’s ADKAR CAN BE THE GAME CHANGER FOR YOU TOO, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEXT PROSCI CHANGE MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION CLASS. Visit www.academy.afrissance.com and secure your seat. If you need more information, kindly fill this form. 

THE ADKAR MODEL

Simply Brilliant! It helped me become the parent my daughter needed in this season. It also helped my daughter understand that I understood exactly what she was going through with her transition. I introduced the model to her and explained that I thought it could help her find an easier path to overcome her growing pains. At some point during our conversation, she exclaimed to me, “Mum, are you coaching me?!” with a huge smile on her face and I was startled at first, then it suddenly hit me that I WAS actually coaching her.! She then got really involved in the process as I walked her through the model, and we related each stage to her current state. As we did this, I captured her emotions in words. When we got to A for Ability her request blew me away, “Mum can you please get me a calendar so I can create a timetable for what I need to do each day so I don’t forget? So, no surprise this is now on my to do list. We also agreed consequences like no device days and different ways to celebrate her progress from reward stickers to her favorite pizza and “suya”(assortment of grilled and spicy meat) to reinforce the right behaviors.

I am so happy I found ADKAR especially in this season and really love how it reaffirms my values not just for curiosity sake but for my family wellbeing.

PROSCI’s ADKAR CAN BE THE GAME CHANGER FOR YOU TOO, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEXT PROSCI CHANGE MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION CLASS. Visit www.academy.afrissance.com and secure your seat. If you need more information, kindly fill this form. 

#happyandrelievedmum