Emerging through Transformation

It's the season of emerging here at the Edge of Ontario's Algonquin Park.

• snapping turtles crawl from the lake to lay eggs in rocky soil - often at great risk to life and shell as roadside gravel seems to offer the perfect mix of digability and protection for the ping pong ball-like eggs from predators like weasels and foxes.
  
• what we know as dragonflies emerge from the lake bottoms where they have spent seven years as creepy crawlies... hatching out of their exoskeleton and unfolding their wings on a tree or rock they wait for the right moment to take flight and enjoy new sources of food and sex. Of course there is the risk that one of many types of birds will snatch them out of the air ending their adventure.
  
• spring peepers gather in a courtship ritual and attract mates with a deafening chorus in the early evening . . . in the morning, a stork-like blue heron, stalking the mud is looking to lower the volume by a few such frogs with a breakfast snack.
  

When an organization undergoes reorganization, change, or growth there is often great anxiety coupled with great opportunity. Successful organizations take risks, but also mitigate against the threats that wait to stifle growth.

Just think about it: What changes is your organization going through? How are you stepping out and enhancing your current operations?

Just do it: Be sure to understand the fear that your team members have about change. Listen without judgment to the threats and risks they identify - whether personal or organizational. You'll be better able to draft an emergence plan that balances risk / reward so that your organization isn't someone else's dinner.