Yesterday was International Nurses’ day which was started back in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses. May 12th was chosen because it is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The theme of this year’s Nurses’ Day is Nurses: A Force for Change.
In line with this theme I have decided to talk about change in this week’s blog. My coaching model is called the Sagove Pyramid. The Sagove Pyramid takes one on an inner journey of self-exploration and an outer journey of self-mastery. When I coach people the first thing I establish, through the inner journey, is whether the person wants change from within or succumbing to external pressure to change. Sometimes when chatting with people who have everything in place I find that they are unhappy because they feel they need to change but don’t know what to do. This is because they are comparing themselves to others. When I show them that they are living according to their values and beliefs and don’t need to change anything the penny drops and they are freed. But, if there is a genuine need for change you need to establish where you are and where you want to go. The key is to take stock of your current life situation and detail your future life situation. During my career in automation and control engineering I learnt the phrase “if you can’t measure it you can’t control it”. A basic example is we control flow in a pipe by measuring the flow using a flowmeter then taking action by adjusting a valve to maintain the flow to a predetermined set point. Another example is you adjusting the mixer in your shower to maintain the ideal water temperature. In this case your skin is the measuring instrument. To control anything we need a control variable (what we are controlling), a set point (the goal or target) and action (what we need to do). Here’s a table displaying some examples:
I’m sure you get the idea. While reading about International Nurses’ Day I discovered that Florence Nightingale made the pie chart famous. The pie chart which is a statistical tool was developed 19 years before she was born but became famous when she presented her findings of an investigation using the pie chart. Remember “if you can’t measure it you can’t control it” thus during your journey of change use charts to plot your progress. When you see your progress graphically you become committed to your action.
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