Is Transformation Fast or Slow?

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend. We were discussing the transformation process. Is it like a quantum leap where you have suddenly have a totally new and life-changing perspective on your life? Or is it more of an incremental development where you look back and then realize how far the journey has taken you?

In thinking about 'transformation' we can call to mind the Cinderella story in which the fairy godmother waves her wand and Cinderella's rags are immediately replaced with ballroom finery. Or religious transformations such as happened to St Paul on the road to Damascus. Or the stories of genies who appear and grant a seemingly impossible wish - interestingly, these stories often have a twist in the tale that seems to warn us to beware of asking the impossible!

We can think of more mundane examples, however. We've probably all experienced how a room can be transformed with a new coat of paint or a man transformed when he dons a well-cut business suit and tie. Even the addition of the right accessory, handbag, shoes, scarf - anyone of these alone can transform a woman's outfit. And what about the removal of what is distracting? I recently removed some long-standing spots from my carpet and was really amazed that not only was the previously dirty spot transformed into a clean area, but the appearance of the whole surrounding carpet became transformed. The effect of changing one small area of the carpet had a ripple effect that extended well beyond that little spot.

I'm reminded of hearing one of my teachers, Professor Al Alschuler, talk about the importance of finding a 'trigger goal' when planning organizational change. As I understood it, a trigger goal could be something quite small and apparently insignificant - much like the small spot on a carpet - but when this small goal was successfully achieved, the achievement had a ripple effect. This idea was implemented very effectively in my experience in changing the culture of a group of academics. Because they experienced increased effectiveness in one area, the faculty members became open to exploring other associated areas of change. I have found this concept of finding and acting on an apparently small but pivotal goal to be a useful idea in my own work.

Applying these ideas to transformational coaching, the transformational approach can help a person to identify a series of trigger goals that will, when progressively realized over a period of time, create major positively directional changes in their life. Sometimes these changes can appear to happen very fast, and there can be a readiness factor here. The person may have been progressively working towards these changes and the coach simply helped put the final stone in place, as it were. At other times, the person has just started on the journey of self-transformation and the coach may act as the companion along the way who works with the person to identify goals, and supports and encourages them on the journey.

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