Watching the midterm elections in the U.S. brings the word “drama” to mind.  There’s the current dramas of:

• Which political party is going to be in control of the House of Representatives in 2023

• Some 2020 election deniers getting into office who will have control over the voting process in their states

• Who will be running for President in 2024

There’s the recent dramas of:

• Which political party was going to be in control of the Senate in 2023

• All the political ad campaigns that attacked the opposing candidate, and included phrases and images designed to elicit fear, anger, and other strong emotions from Americans

• The scandals breaking around the various political candidates

• Several candidates running for office who are 2020 election deniers (i.e. a Congress Member who voted against certifying the 2020 election results or would have done this if they were in office at the time, publicly said the 2020 election was rigged or stolen, or still publicly questions the 2020 election results)

As change agents and leaders, we are very accustomed to being around drama.  With change comes strong emotions.  Where there are strong emotions, drama is bound to follow.  Whether it’s drama with:

• Stakeholders

• A team

• Our boss or coworkers

• A vendor

• A merger and acquisition or some other aspect of the transformation

Or perhaps it’s drama with:

• Family (especially with holiday gatherings coming up!)

• Your kids

• Friends

• Your partner

The question is, how much do you enjoy getting wrapped up in drama? Ask yourself the below questions to find out.  You may be surprised to find you actually like drama more than you consciously thought you did!

At work, do you:

• Get into a lot of arguments / conflict?

• Frequently fantasize about how to take someone down or actually take steps to bring someone down?

• Spend a lot of time talking about other colleagues without them being present?

• Frequently blame others?

• Often feel overwhelmed, fearful, and/or worry a lot?

At home, do you:

• Get into a lot of arguments / conflict with family and/or friends?

• Often mentally or actually retaliate against a family member or friend who has hurt and/or upset you?

• Spend a lot of time talking about a family member or friend without them being present?

• Frequently blame family and/or friends?

• Often feel overwhelmed, fearful, and/or worry a lot?

The Results, if you answered yes to:

• At least 6 of the 10 questions above, there is a part of you that enjoys getting wrapped up in drama

  • If you’re reading this and saying to yourself, “but that can’t possibly be true!”, unfortunately your behavior says otherwise

• At least 3 and <6 of the questions above, there is a part of you that sometimes enjoys getting wrapped up in drama

• <3 of the questions above, you dislike drama and have figured out how to live your life for the most part without getting wrapped up in it

We all only have so much time and energy.  If you’re spending the majority, or even some of your time in drama, what is it costing you?  What could you be channeling this energy towards instead?

Call to Action

• Want to break free of the drama or lessen its grip on you? Reach out to Rosanne for help so you can be a more effective, productive, fulfilled, and happier change agent / leader.

• Using the comments feature, what is an example where you were surprised to realize afterwards you were actually enjoying the drama of a situation?

• Found this blog useful or know someone this can help? Share it with your network and sign up on the home page to receive the latest blog posts.

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 discovery session. 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.