The Chief Psychology Officer

Ep72 Managing Change Fatigue: Strategies for Adaptability and Resilience

• Dr Amanda Potter CPsychol • Season 4 • Episode 72

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What if your brain's craving for predictability is the real reason behind your stress? In our latest episode, we explore the complex emotions tied to change fatigue in our fast-paced world driven by relentless technological advancements. With AI reshaping the landscape and social media perpetually altering trends, the pressure to adapt can seem insurmountable. We unravel the psychological and physiological impacts of this constant flux, touching on how our intrinsic desire for stability clashes with the modern necessity for change, leading to a pervasive sense of exhaustion.

Join us as we navigate the nuances of change fatigue within organizations and the personal sphere, with insights rooted in Brené Brown's research on resilience and psychological safety. Through a compelling case study, we highlight how effective communication can transform resistance into acceptance, creating environments that foster adaptability and decision-making. We also delve into the neuroscience behind stress, revealing the taxing effects of continuous demands on the prefrontal cortex and the stress-induced grip of the amygdala.

But it’s not all doom and gloom—our discussion offers practical strategies for coping, inspired by tales of personal resilience and Robert Sapolsky's insights into stress. Hear how mindfulness and self-care can counteract the wear of change fatigue, bringing balance and compassion into our lives. Special thanks to our interns Izzy Jones, Emiolaey, and Gracie Weston, whose valuable research contributions enriched this episode. We hope you find the insights as enlightening as we did, and look forward to your thoughts on managing change in today's ever-evolving landscape.

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Kristian Lees-Bell:

Welcome to today's episode where we're diving into change fatigue, that relentless exhaustion that comes from facing constant changes in work and life. We'll discuss why these shifts feel so overwhelming, explore the science behind it and share strategies to help you build resilience and regain your sense of balance. Welcome to this episode of the Chief Psychology Officer with Dr Amanda Potter, Chartered Psychologist and CEO of Zircon, and I'm Kristian Lees-Bell. Hello.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Hi, Kristian, thank you so much. This is such an interesting podcast because we know from the neuroscience that our brains are pretty lazy and that we like predictability and we seek comfort and consistency and we also avoid change. As a result, we have a new podcast topic, which is all about change, fatigue and avoiding change.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

And this is so relevant, isn't it, if you consider the world's relentless pursuit of innovation and the rapid advancement of technology. And technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate. We've got artificial intelligence, automation and digital platforms which are transforming how we work, communicate and live, and I guess, while these advancements bring incredible opportunities, they also contribute to that relentless pace of change that can be exhausting.

Dr Amanda Potter:

You said, relentless, twice in that summary which is so important because I couldn't agree more how much has changed in the world since I started work 30 or so years ago, because I remember mail being those internal envelopes with crisscrosses on and you had to write the initials and the room number of the person that the mail was going to.

Dr Amanda Potter:

That's my version of male when I first started work and in fact, it makes me think of my mum, who never used the internet before she passed. She died in 2010. And now we're looking at the utility of artificial intelligence in BTalent and the risks, the opportunities and the benefits of bringing AI into our product and our platform. It's just crazy.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

It is incredible, isn't it? And in such a short space of time around 10 years we're actually integrating AI into our business and thinking about how to do that. It's such a good point to look at artificial intelligence. While it has the potential to revolutionize industries, it's also leading to very significant changes in job roles, the requirements we need for skills, and even the structure of entire organizations that we work with. Our employees are constantly being asked to learn new tools, adapt to new processes and stay ahead of the curve, and this constant need to keep up can lead to significant stress and anxiety.

Dr Amanda Potter:

And your point is a really good one, because what we're talking about here is the impact of change, the pace of change, on how we feel and our emotions, and then, as a result, how we interact and engage with our environment, with our colleagues and our friends, and the choices we make both at work and outside of work. After all, as we are psychologists, christian, it would be really brilliant to look at the impact of that change on our mindsets, on our feelings and our emotions.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, absolutely, and social media, too, plays a role in accelerating change. Fatigue, doesn't it? So platforms like Twitter, instagram, tiktok not that I use the latter have shortened trend cycles to mere weeks or even days often. So what's seen as popular today might be outdated tomorrow, and that can create a never ending pressure to stay new, to stay current, and nobody is saying have you seen this TikTok post from last year, are they?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Isn't that interesting, because I wouldn't say I'm particularly trendy, and the one I probably go on and look at the reels is Facebook, because I'm of that generation. But I think most of the stuff that's on those three feeds that you've mentioned maybe a little bit Instagram, otherwise they pass me by but it does make me think about children and the toys, the latest trends that they must have, how much it changed from Christmas to Christmas and how much that's driven by the children or the parents. Anyway, I'm going off track, the point being that everything is changing, it's constantly moving, and if our brains are one that looks for predictability, consistency, simplicity, then we're getting the opposite from that. It's going to create a friction, it's going to create a sense of discomfort.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Definitely you mentioned kids and toys and those changing trends and the pace of change, and obviously we're going to talk about the pace of business change here today, but we're talking about people. So businesses are full of people and people. If they're struggling with change and they find it uncomfortable, we need to find and discuss ways to be able to help those people in organisations manage that change.

Dr Amanda Potter:

The one thing that's inevitable in organisations, as we know, is change itself, isn't it the change mentality, that rapid change mentality in organizations can leave individuals and teams feeling like they're perpetually behind, struggling to constantly adapt to the latest process. Methodology must have idea or technology, or the desire to come up with the next biggest idea.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So I think that creates a real sense of pressure in people. So we need to face up to change more. So we need to spend more time getting buy-in, for example, before we ask people to change the way they work.

Dr Amanda Potter:

It's a really good point. Antonia, who's one of our client directors, mentioned to me that in her previous role she spent 50% of her budget on communications and getting buy-in to a major project that she was running and rolling out globally and as a result of that investment, she got the project that she was rolling out embedded and achieved in 11 months rather than the predicted 36 months, and she achieved all of her ROI, so all of her return investment. It happened. She did it because she communicated the heck out of it and I don't think when we run major change programs we'd spend enough time focusing on the communications and getting that buy-in that Antonia's really, really focused on.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

I think you're right, because the difference that that made, with an ROI return on investment in 11 months instead of 36, yeah, that's a massive difference, isn't it? So change is an inevitable part of life, as we talked about, but what about the change fatigue?

Dr Amanda Potter:

The reality is. I believe, if we were to look at a graph of change over the last few decades, that graph is getting steeper and steeper. If you think about the technology, we think about global events like the COVID-19 pandemic and our constant need to adapt I mean, after COVID, we're now adapting to go back to the reality of full-time work in the office and this relentless demand for change can leave us feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. And this is the phenomenon, as you mentioned change fatigue.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Just so that we're all clear what actually is change fatigue.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So it's an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and stress that comes from the need to constantly adapt to new circumstances, technologies or environments. So it's not just about feeling tired. It's a much deeper, more profound depletion of our mental and emotional resources due to the need to constantly adapt and evolve.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

It's an interesting problem to debate, if people naturally like simplicity and predictability, as you've mentioned in the beginning. Yet companies need to constantly change and evolve to survive, so which is driving this fatigue?

Dr Amanda Potter:

So your points are really important. One, because teams come together and they create change and then a project is rolled out and then we live in a world where we have to then deliver another project. So there's always going to be the opportunity to keep delivering, keep striving, keep changing. Yet in business, everyone moans about change. I mean they recognize more than ever that change is inevitable, absolutely. Yet when they're faced with it there's an inherent discomfort and they grumble. So what happens? People struggle to adapt to new ways of working because they have this block. So change projects or new ways of working are not always embraced. In fact, sometimes they're even avoided. So change projects or new ways of working are not always embraced. In fact, sometimes they're even avoided. There's passive, aggressive behaviors that happen. And do you know what? It's made me really think about a client which I'm not going to mention the name because that wouldn't be appropriate to do so who is being extremely resistant to change.

Dr Amanda Potter:

We've been hired in by this organization to help them create a vehicle for behavioral change across the organization. They've identified through our research and quite inappropriate ways of working and habits I'll use the word habits that are counter to their values and to their aspirations as an organization and to their brand as an organization and to their brand, and we've identified through our research the behaviors that would counteract those habits and would help to put them on the path that they need to go on. But we are not getting the buy-in at the level we need. In fact, there's real barriers and there's real resistance to implementing that model and to sending the communication out to the business about the reality. So they're a good news organization. So, as a result, they're avoiding actually having the real conversations about the real problems and they'd rather stick their heads in the sand.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So the evidence with that organization is I think we've reached an impasse. I'm not sure where it will go now, but the reality is they need courage and they need conviction, they need bravery at the very senior levels in order to create that momentum for change across the organization. But I think it comes from change fatigue and also there is successful organization. So do we really have to do this? Is it going to make that much difference is probably what they're asking themselves. Can we just carry on as we are? But the reality is, when you see the types of behaviors that we've seen and the type of evidence that we've gathered, eventually trying to be careful with what I say, but something could happen that they may regret in the future if they don't start to counteract some of the behaviors that are potentially quite challenging.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, so interesting and it reminds me of some of Brené Brown's research on the importance of courage, bravery and vulnerability.

Dr Amanda Potter:

But, as you picked up, the fact that that might be harder and more challenging for people to demonstrate when they're experiencing such a level of change fatigue- Completely, and I think that the reality is if you remember the conversations about cognitive dissonance, when we have two competing thoughts we'll stick with the past and we'll stick with the trusted ideas and we won't change. So if we're faced with the opportunity to change and to grow, or the opportunity to stick with something that's working you know in the previous example, the organization is hugely successful and they hire incredibly talented people then why change? Because it creates a sense of conflict.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

I suppose there's things like status quo bias as well, along with cognitive dissonance. That is also playing a part in this too. Yeah, it's fascinating.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Our role as consultants is to hold up the mirror and to ask great questions and to challenge and to do everything we can to help them understand the impact of the decisions that they're making, but we cannot change their minds necessarily we can't tell them what to do. It's a privilege to be in the position we're in to go and work at these senior levels with people there must be a link to resilience here, amanda I.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

I mean, we do a lot of research on resilience and obviously have our resilience tool.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Yeah, I think there is actually, and we know that resilience links to psychological safety, to decisiveness, and that people who are low on positive affect, who experience negative emotions, are less likely to be decisive because they're hesitant and they're less likely to create safe places because they're negative, because they look for faults and they come in with that negative language. So actually, in order to be open to change, we need to be resilient, we need to be operating in a safe space and also we need to be working in an environment where people are decisive and taking accountability for decision making. So all three of them are actually important.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

We mentioned neuroscience in the introduction, recorded a podcast previously on the neuroscience of burnout and resilience, which I think is also relevant here. But why is this important when considering change?

Dr Amanda Potter:

What's so amazing is the human brain, while adaptable, it's incredibly energy intensive, so we know it's adaptable because of neuroplasticity, so we can recreate and reconnect aspects of the brain when we relearn. But the brain is only 2% of our body mass, yet it uses 20% of our energy production. And when we're faced with continuous change, our brains have to work even harder, so it's even more energy is required to think through, to sort out, to understand, to look at options, and that can result in increased cognitive load and stress.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So why is change so taxing on our brains? What's going on in the brain, Amanda?

Dr Amanda Potter:

It's all about the CEO of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, which handles decision making, problem solving and is heavily involved in that processing of change and deciding whether to or not to change and when we're required to adapt constantly. The prefrontal cortex is continuously activated and it's using up all the energy, and that's what researchers call the prefrontal cortex overload. Goodness, come on, amanda, I can say this stuff honestly.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

You can do it.

Dr Amanda Potter:

And there was a really good study actually that looked at the overstimulation of this brain region and how it can impair cognitive function. It can make it harder to concentrate, to make decisions, to regulate emotions. So we have these flighty emotions. They're all the classic symptoms of change. Fatigue Actually, mine's brain fog and mine is I just can't think clearly, and also is brain fog and mine is I just can't think clearly, and also I find it really difficult to answer questions or delve into my memory bank for specifics when I'm really tired.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, me too. The brain fog, mush brain. I know the feeling. Getting your words out and thinking quickly in the moment, particularly when you're tired and exhausted, is something that I've experienced too.

Dr Amanda Potter:

We're thinking about all of that change fatigue and the impact on the prefrontal cortex. But when we were in the resilience and the burnout podcast, christian, we often talked about the battle between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala and that when the amygdala is activated and really energize, what happens is there's the shrinking of the prefrontal cortex, if you remember that kind of battle between the two. So if you think about the overstimulation of the prefrontal cortex and that change fatigue, there is, of course, an impact on the amygdala and our ability to regulate emotions, and I think that's a really important point actually, that the two are so connected.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So what happens with the amygdala? Can you say a bit more about that?

Dr Amanda Potter:

So if we are in that constant change during this time, the amygdala the brain's emotion center it's frequently being triggered. Now I don't like the word triggered because it's overly used in society now, but actually I'm going to use it from a neuroscience perspective. The amygdala is triggered and it leads to heightened stress response, because what's actually happening is that we're being hyper alert and we're in our vital flight mode, which is really useful in short bursts. But if we're in a chronic state of change, for many this can result in really long-term anxiety and mental fatigue. So that constant, continuous need to change leaves us feeling really mentally and emotionally depleted and we are less able to regulate our emotions and we get those very highs and we get those deep, deep lows.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

And what happens when we have that continuous change, or an enduring change that just never seems to end?

Dr Amanda Potter:

So the brain, when it perceives continuous change, it activates the body stress response via something called the HPA axis and it's the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. So the HPA. What happens is we release cortisol, which we know is the stress hormone, and it's really good for us, the stress hormone. I mean I definitely use it in short bursts, but it can be detrimental if we elevate it constantly. So actually we can become immune to that cortisol. It doesn't have the impact it needs to have and if we have prolonged cortisol levels it means that we can damage neurons in the hippocampus, which means it impairs memory and learning. It results in mood swings, anxiety, feelings of being low, in depression, and there's so many health problems like hypertension and weakened immune function.

Dr Amanda Potter:

I've mentioned on the podcast, I get alopecia and I definitely know that that was a stress-related autoimmune issue for me and it's all down to the cortisol. So I have operated at such a high stress level in the past. I'm completely different now, amazingly actually a great reflection. I haven't had alopecia for at least I would say, 10 years now, maybe.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Really, that's amazing.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Because in the past I was really dulled to the cortisol from a coping perspective. All of those symptoms I've experienced to a minor level because of putting myself in really, really difficult, stressful environments. But now I'm much kinder to myself now, which I've never been in the past.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

We know that the kindness and compassion also has a positive impact, isn't it? On our physical health and our thinking. This is a common thing in my experience in terms of if elevated stress can sometimes make me probably think less positively about the future and it becomes sometimes more defensive and less hopeful or unoptimistic. So I definitely see that and obviously the physical symptoms of stress can affect literally every part of the body and we know that isn't that amazing that if we could take one message from this podcast, it's be kind and be compassionate to yourselves but what's actually happening in our brains?

Dr Amanda Potter:

with change fatigue. What we can't forget to also mention was neuroplasticity. So neuroplasticity is when the brain has the ability to reorganize and reconnect itself by forming neural connections, which is a critical factor, of course, when adapting to change, because we need to learn. It's all about learning because brain plasticity helps us to learn to adapt. But if we have excessive change change this can overwhelm these adaptive processes.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So if the change is too rapid, too frequent, our capacity for neuroplasticity is taxed and that results in that change fatigue and the research that I've read quite fascinated by stress and its impact on the body clearly shows that elevated levels of cortisol can have quite damaging effects. I recently read a book by Robert Sapolsky called why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, and learned about cortisol and it's linked to inflammation in the body. So there's no part of the body that isn't affected by chronic stress, it seems. And at Zircon we do a lot of work around resilience. So, given the stress response, is there a negative relationship with resilience? So are people who are low on resilience more likely to be fatigued with change? And what about people who are low on resilience? Are they less tolerant of change?

Dr Amanda Potter:

They're completely less tolerant of change. But what came first, though? Is it the change that created the low resilience, or did the low resilience mean that they can't cope with the change? Remember, the resilience is affect, and if we think about resilience in terms of affect, it is partly a product of our environment. It's partly a product of our physiological makeup, but a lot of it is down to our experience of the environment. But before I go into it any further, why don't zebras get ulcers? Christian.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Oh, put me on the spot. I think it's something to do with. Humans are more likely to get ulcers because they experience chronic stress. So, zebras, they'll be stressed. The cortisol levels will rise if they have to chase after their food, for example, so they experience episodic stress.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Wouldn't they be chased, rather than chase after their food? Or chased, yes, true, they will be Good point Become carnivores.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Zebra carnivores Changing zoology here, they experience a shorter term stress response, and obviously we're talking about most animals here, but zebras was the topic of the book. So when they're chased by a lion, for example, so the body releases adrenaline and cortisol to help the zebra escape, and then the excess cortisol is burned off while running. So once that stress is down, once the lion's gone, then that experience of stress and the cortisol goes. Humans are different. Often we experience chronic, as we've talked about psychological stress. We worry about losing a job, for example. So it's that sustained stress can lead to immunosuppression and then in turn that can cause ulcers.

Dr Amanda Potter:

That makes sense. And if we think about ruminating, that totally makes sense with ruminating as well, doesn't?

Dr Amanda Potter:

really does ruminate, and Sarah and I were talking about it this morning and we were talking about how counseling can dredge up emotions from the past. And actually sometimes it's not that helpful if we keep going up and dredging up the past, to put the past in the past. Sometimes, yes, to cope with things, but to keep going back, to keep talking about things, to keep bringing them up. Every time you bring them up you relive the trauma and you make that trauma even bigger. So we were talking about the importance of actually living in the moment and taking stock and showing empathy and showing love to each other and thinking about the future.

Dr Amanda Potter:

It's such an important point isn't it that, as humans, we are prone to rumination when we're feeling low?

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, and we predict the future and worry and ruminate about the past, for example, which creates stress, and the fact is that there's no actual threat or danger in many cases. So it's that imagined threat.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So you asked a question earlier about low resilience and change fatigue.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yes.

Dr Amanda Potter:

And I think there's a really clear negative relationship between the two, because change fatigue happens when someone is overwhelmed by constant and repeated change, leading them to be emotionally and mentally exhausted, so it then reduces their ability to adapt and to main their psychological well-being, which is basically resilience. And it's really important for quality, for standards, to be resilient in a workplace which is full of change. But actually what I'm saying is actually what we need from people is to be resilient and to be adaptable, but what the environments are doing is actually creating the opposite in people, is actually depleting resilience in people.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So there's a social aspect to this too. So, as much as it's critical, it's important, and it will be even more so for individuals, employees and teams to develop their own personal resilience. Then is there something in an organisation, in groups, to create that environment that helps people to do this more easily and supports their resilience?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Totally, and I mean there's so much data to show that actually, when we're faced with this continual change, we do have low resilience. There was a study by Brown and Foland in 2018 with nurses in hospitals and they found that change fatigue had a massive impact on resilience of nurses, particularly in those larger hospitals, and what they found is that you could address it by providing clear support, clear communication, time for recovery to prevent burnout and also a sense of community, that social support is really important. And if we go back to the original resilience research, we know that one of the key aspects for building resilience actually is social connection and empathy and talking. So not ruminating, there's a difference, but just chatting to people, being close to people.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

We know from our research that when we're low on resilience, we are more likely to procrastinate and avoid change or upheaval. So the impact of continuous change will be a stronger avoidance and reluctance to adapt and, as a result, the change is never ending and not fully embedded.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Yeah, that's true, isn't it? So the more we encourage people to change, the more likely they're going to procrastinate or avoid, and that was actually found in the study by Ford and D'Amelio in 2008. So a little bit old now the research, but they found that ongoing change often results in passive resistance and passive aggressive behaviours and kind of indirect opposition. So rather than overtly just saying no, I refuse just saying yes, but it's not that passive aggressive behaviour, saying yes but meaning no.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

No, I think I know what you mean, but I've never heard of this expression, so indirect opposition. So I suppose this is like withholding effort or quietly undermining the overall change process.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Effectively, it could create a potentially hostile environment in the workplace as well as within the team, I imagine if you're finding that they're not saying what they think, but they are actively trying to disrupt or to challenge through their behavior. I can't imagine it. Actually, it would be a terrible place to work if you had people around you trying to undo the work you were trying to do, if you were committed to the change.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Could another problem be sunk cost?

Dr Amanda Potter:

I love the concept of sunk cost I mean, it's a big one in our decision making podcast, isn't it and I find it fascinating that we as humans are so prone to the sunk cost bias, where we throw good time, money, resources after bad, because we hesitate which is the key from making new decisions or stopping an existing investment of time or money. The hesitation means that we just keep going, we keep thinking it's going to be fine, because we think that as soon as we've stopped investing or we make a decision to do something different, that we failed. And so, rather than fail, we just keep putting money in after bad, or good time after bad. And I think, when we're talking about change, what happens is we work towards these new ideas and these new propositions or new technology that we're embedding, or a new structure in an organization, and I don't know whether we spend enough time actually challenging our ideas and asking enough questions, or whether we feel like we just need to get it finished and implemented. So I think sunk cost does have real relevance.

Dr Amanda Potter:

It makes me also think about the gym. I've just rejoined a gym, having moved counties, and I think gyms live on people's inability to face up to sunk cost and just cancel membership, for example. They have a real apathy. They always believe that they're going to go and start using it regularly. I'm going to use mine regularly. I've decided.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Well, you've joined in, maybe January, right, so as a lot of people do, but you have the excuse that you've moved. But I know what you mean about keeping a gym membership going just because I might want to go one day. I know my mum and sister had a gym membership for five years and went twice. Yeah, really. So thousands of pounds, probably a lot more than that, but always with good intentions. As you say, the roads are paved for good intentions.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Well, they are. Yeah, I won't be that person. I'll ask you to poke me to make sure that I go.

Dr Amanda Potter:

We'll remind you how does sunk cost play out at work, then so sunk cost can be a real problem when it comes to change management, because it means that teams might be at risk of procrastinating which, of course, is the opposite to being decisive and decisiveness is key for change or they might avoid implementing changes in a timely manner.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So we are the most prone to sunk cost bias when we are depleted and when we're tired, and also when we feel like we have already invested significant resources. So even when a situation has moved on and the original approach is no longer effective, because we've already spent a lot of money on something and implemented maybe 80% of a project, it results in us feeling like we need to complete something rather than make the decision to stop, and it can result in teams kind of lagging behind or lacking pace because they get stuck implementing outdated changes rather than saying actually we should stop because the market's moved, the problems moved on and we're still delivering something that was important a while ago but no longer has relevance. But there's this need to get it finished rather than adapting to current trends yeah, that makes total sense.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

So we continue with a project or an idea when we should really stop, and I think the dangers of sunk cost probably even more relevant today, where that change is more relentless, where we need to be more adaptable and more flexible. We need to be courageous as well, which is something that you mentioned earlier in the podcast.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Yeah, particularly if you think about that sunk cost mindset, it could create real friction within the team Because if you've got some people who are prepared to challenge the status quo and they recognize the change is no longer working or relevant or they feel trapped by the investment that they're having to make, this could lead to frustration and challenge within the team.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So it takes courage to refocus the team on the current priorities and, rather than being bogged down by those old decisions, encouraging the team to think differently and move forward efficiently and look at new problems. So avoiding sunk cost bias and knowing when to pivot we often hear about pivoting is really crucial for teams to remain agile and to be positive. Pivoting is really crucial for teams to remain agile and to be positive. But if you think about the point around change fatigue when we're tired and we're fatigued, we kind of trudge on, we just keep trying to get to the end and just get things finished and we can't face another project or face another problem, or actually the one thing we should do is change, because the change kind of re-energises and rejuvenates.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

I've also heard of empathy or compassion fatigue. How is this related to change?

Dr Amanda Potter:

It's a bit of a sidebar really. It's not completely related. It's more about when we have to constantly adapt and support particularly relevant for healthcare professionals, who are regularly exposed to the suffering of others, and we're constantly having to help and support other people and it can feel like we haven't got anything left. So it's when we feel emotionally drained.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

And is there a link between compassion and change? Fatigue?

Dr Amanda Potter:

I think there must be, mustn't there.

Dr Amanda Potter:

I mean it's not truly what we're talking about today, but if I think about the Compassionate Leadership podcast, which is episode 41, I think it was really showing in that podcast that when we're stressed, we're less likely to activate the vagus nerve, which is the nerve of compassion. So therefore we're less kind to ourselves and others. And the point we made earlier in the pod around being kind and being compassionate to ourselves, I think for me that's the link, that's the most important, which is when we're change fatigued, we are less likely to activate the vagus nerve, which is the nerve of compassion. So we're less kind to ourselves and others, which is why we might have compassion fatigue.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

There's so many links, isn't it? As we go through these podcasts, we explore so many different topics change, fatigue, compassion, resilience, stress and burnout. It's even more obvious how closely linked in terms of neuroscience as well these things are, isn't it?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Yeah, totally.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

We love that you're listening to our podcast. It's encouraging to know there are people like you thinking not only about self-improvement, but how we can help each other to reach our full potential. If you're hoping to understand more about burnout prevention and managing change, cultivating higher resilience for the people you work with, be Talent's resilience questionnaire can elevate your coaching and development conversations. Please contact me, christian Lees-Bell, to learn more about our suite of talent development facilitation and selection tools, or reach out to me on LinkedIn at Christian Lees-Bell. So how can we break this cycle? How can we manage change fatigue and prevent it from leading to compassion or empathy fatigue?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Do you know what? That's such a great question and I love that you've even pointed out the term empathy fatigue, because we haven't talked about that, but it's a really important point as well. That that's. One of the impacts is that we start to lose compassion for ourselves and others and we also may have lower levels of empathy when we're really tired and frustrated. And to answer the question, one of the most effective strategies is to create a sense of stability, because our brains like predictability. Actually, the most important thing is to create a sense of stability amongst that change. So all the research done on skills and habits and reducing cognitive load has found that routine is really important and habits are really important. And what's so interesting is quite a few clients are now talking to us about habit formation. So I think it's kind of the new thing that clients are really interested in. But actually habits help to reduce cognitive load and they allow our brains to conserve energy for more complex tasks.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So if we have some routine in our day even a lady who I know from where I now live called Pauline, who's beauticians she was saying she was so happy to go back to work, because to go back to the routine and it's such an important point, isn't it, that even Christmas can create a sense of disruption for us and actually to come back to work, to have the standard hours and so on, means it takes away that cognitive load, which is just interesting.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, no, it does make sense. I've spoken to friends who they might have really enjoyed the Christmas holidays and say that they could have a few more weeks off, but actually they're secretly glad to be back at work with that structure and to have a routine. Yeah, definitely, mindfulness and relaxation techniques are also potentially really helpful here. So by practicing mindfulness, we can train our brains to stay present, and that can reduce the amount of stresses as well, doesn't it? Or reduce the impact of stresses?

Dr Amanda Potter:

well, if we think about that lovely episode with jessica livingstone on breathing so I think it was episode 63 that was a brilliant one about really being present and being mindful and using our breathing to really get into the moment. She's the yoga nidra expert that we bring into some events, which is just fabulous and we did a team exercise with Jess, didn't we?

Kristian Lees-Bell:

and I think we all found that, yeah, obviously a great stress reliever, but also just felt a greater sense of being grounded and more focused in the moment. So at least I did. So what can we do about it? Are there any strategies that you can suggest, particularly for the leaders and in the workplace?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Sure. So for leaders, it's really essential to prioritise self-care and to recognise the signs of change or compassion fatigue. So this might involve setting boundaries, delegating responsibilities or just taking time out for exercise, to recharge, to reconnect with family, and it's really important that we create a really supportive work environment because social support and connection, as we know, is one of the precursors to resilience and personal connection is one of the foundations of psychological safety and we know from Antonia's example that actually open communication is really important for success. But it's actually really important to build that connection as well.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

What about organisations, Amanda? What should we be advising companies to do?

Dr Amanda Potter:

Organisations play a real role in managing stress and promoting environments that value empathy and wellbeing, and it's organisations that are driving this really tough change agenda, which is diminishing resilience. But actually, at the same time, they want resilience in their workforce. They want people to be equipped to handle challenges of constant change. So it's almost that they're asking for two contradictory things. On the one hand, they're saying we need you to change and we need you to be agile and we need you to move fast, which is diminishing resilience if it's not well and on the other hand, they're saying be tough, be, be resilient, look after your well-being.

Dr Amanda Potter:

So they want everything so they could think about strategies.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

At Zircon we've implemented the no meeting Fridays, and that for me, has made a world of difference, because on Fridays I catch up and I use the day to do all the thinking and the work that I haven't had a chance to do. Yeah, I found the same thing. To be honest, it took me a few weeks to get used to not scheduling the same amount of meetings on that Friday, but I think nowadays I definitely use that time to create a bit more space for myself to think more deeply, whether that's sort of planning and business development and just reflecting as well. I think it just creates a more intelligent thinking space for me on those Fridays. So, yeah, I think it's those again, those change of habits, that have made a big difference.

Dr Amanda Potter:

And how interesting if we think about change and transition and the complexity of the problems we're asking people to deal with. They need the space to think. They need to give their brains the space in order to concentrate and to consider the options. Yet if we're pushing them to constantly go into meetings and have that barrage of information, we're not going to do that. We're going to feel overwhelmed. So actually, I think the more we can encourage organisations to do similar things to have no meeting days so that people have that time to think, reflect, take stock and to be creative. To have no meeting days so that people have that time to think, reflect, take stock and to be creative the better organizations will be, because they'll solve more problems.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

Yeah, so true, and you've mentioned that contradiction between, you know, having to manage change, to speed up, to do with complexity, to constantly adapt, but the importance also of being able to find space, particularly for leaders, to reflect and to create and to innovate. So what are the habits that will help organisations to create that pause and sometimes slow down? But I think that's the challenge, isn't it?

Dr Amanda Potter:

How do they slow down to speed up, for example, and I think there's some habits that we should be recommending. Just to finish this podcast, actually Christian, which would be really good for becoming change fatigue. I think that might be the way to close it definitely so.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

What are the things that, particularly a psychologist, we can do and leaders can do to employ neuroscience to help people adapt and to get more comfortable with change? What are the some of the things, amanda, that can really help here?

Dr Amanda Potter:

So, for me, there are a number of things I'd like to think about. The one is breathing, which we already talked about. We talked about Jess Livingstone's podcast episode and really being clear about breathing techniques. We know about the physiological side. We've mentioned many times nostril breathing is another one, and so just making sure we monitor and regulate our breathing and use breathing to control our physiological system, so we can therefore manage the fight or flight response. A second one is around daylight.

Dr Amanda Potter:

For me, daylight is so important. It's so important for our circadian rhythm, for our sleep cycle. Getting daylight early in the morning so that we activate the system, so that then we are primed for sleep at the end of the day, is so important too, and it also is just so good for vitamin D. It's so important for all of us. Most of us are lacking vitamin D, particularly in the winter.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Exercise is so important, again, because it helps to diminish that cortisol, hence your zebra's comment. Yeah, to get that exercise, we need to go walking. Yeah, it's great, isn't it, to have for managing the stress response and cortisol again. But also, when we're exercising, especially if we're outside, we're taking in the panorama, which is removing that tunnel vision, which is brill and sorry, I'm kind of giving you a bit of a list. When we're stressed, we eat junk. When we feel like we're owed something, we eat junk. But actually in those times we need the healthiest green leafy foods and I love the concept that we need 20 different vegetables and seeds. If you think about the zoe research, they suggest to have 20 to 30 different vegetables and to get the right balance each week, each week, right, okay, yeah, definitely and then habits.

Dr Amanda Potter:

You know you're thinking about the neuroscience of habits and actually it would be great to think about what habits could we implement each day. I don't like new year's resolutions actually I'm not a big new year's resolutions person but I do like habits and micro habits. So what habits could we put into place each day that would help with our resilience and our personal strength and our compassion and empathy? What could we put into place that we could be happier, kinder or empathic? So a whole lot of suggestions, but we are putting together a foods and activities and neurotransmitter sheet. Kashaya has been doing it for us and I will see if we can publish that on linkedin or on our website, because that would be good. So a list of all of the transmitters and all the foods and all the activities that can help with the release of the happy transmitters that help us to feel good and cope with change, something we've been producing.

Kristian Lees-Bell:

I will add it to my list to get it published amazing and our listeners would find that incredibly valuable, and thank you, amanda, for sharing some of those great insights and practical tips as well. Also wanted to thank izzy jones emiolaey and Gracie Weston, our interns, who helped with this research, and to our listeners. So if this episode helped you, we'd love it if you consider also sharing it with a friend.

Dr Amanda Potter:

Thank you. Thank you, christian, and that was great fun actually. Great fun researching, great fun sharing. I hope everybody who's listened has found it useful and I would just like to say thank you everyone. I hope you have a wonderful and successful day and year. Thank you very much.

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Dr Amanda Potter

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