Are you in the Twilight Zone?
As a change agent / leader, how much do the below feelings resonate?
Shock an organization is operating the way they are, and the organization sees nothing wrong with it
Frustration others in your organization aren’t seeing what you see
Unheard when you communicate your perspective
Alone as others in the organization don’t seem to understand you, are treating you as an outsider, and may even be excluding you from important meetings / projects
Self-doubt and wondering if you’re the one with the problem instead of the organization
Resentful at the organization for how they’re treating you
If several of the above resonate, you are most likely in the Twilight Zone which can be a very uncomfortable, hard place to be. What is the Twilight Zone?
It’s when at your core, you know what you’re observing around you isn’t okay, yet it seems no one else or very few even notice there’s an issue
It feels like you’re living in an alternate nightmarish reality that can’t possibly be real, yet it is
And it can feel like someone has taken the world and flipped it upside down so nothing seems to make sense anymore
Take the Covid-19 cases flaring across so much of the U.S. right now. If a resident from a state where Covid-19 is decreasing such as New York, visits a state like Florida where Covid-19 is drastically on the rise, the New Yorker feels like they’re in the Twilight Zone in Florida. The New Yorker knows how important it is to wear a mask in public and socially distance, yet they’re surrounded by several Floridians who aren’t socially distancing, aren’t wearing masks, and seem oblivious of the impending health danger of their actions.
If very little or none of this resonates, great, you’re nowhere near the Twilight Zone. If however it very much resonates, here are five things you can do to start to pull yourself out of the Twilight Zone:
Find support, whether it be a few other like minded individuals in the organization, peers outside the organization, a coach, or a trusted mentor. Share what is going on and how they can help you.
Identify if there is a values mismatch between you and the organization. And I don’t mean the values the organization has in writing, I mean the values they’re actually operating by.
Decide if you still want to be part of the organization or if you want to take action to leave because there is just too much of a values mismatch
Determine how much energy you’re willing to give the organization (once you have decided to stay) and make a commitment to yourself to stick to this. Here are just some examples of what this determination may look like:
The number of hours you’re willing to put in
The level of energy you’ll engage people with (i.e. victimhood, conflict, responsibility, concern, etc.)
What initiatives you will work on
The strategies you’ll use to solve the issues you’re seeing
Practice self-care, which means different things to different people so identify what it is for you, carve out time in your schedule for it, and consistently do it. This is vitally important when you’re in the Twilight Zone when you may feel “beaten down” in your role.
The more support, self-care, and conscious choice you bring to the situation, the easier it will be to navigate through or out of the Twilight Zone.
Call to Action
Want help navigating the Twilight Zone? Reach out to Rosanne so you can get support and consciously choose how you want to respond in the situation.
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About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives. She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary consultation. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.