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Technical Change and Adaptive Change: Overcoming Your Immunity to Change

Going through the motions is not the defining factor of character change.  For some it is difficult to comprehend why it is they have such a difficult time attaining the necessary skills to thrive in the environment of which they are a part.  There are times when people can objectively show the changes in their behaviors while within a situation; however, they still struggle to feel comfortable in their new surroundings.  What happens in these cases is the person more than likely has made a technical change; however, they have not made an adaptive change.  A technical change is the adjustment made in title or function, and an adaptive change is modification that involves altering more than routine behaviors.  Adaptive change is the alteration of preferences.   An adaptive change involves a transformation of a person’s outlook and beliefs.   This is something that I once found challenging while studying multiple martial arts simultaneously. Taking to the matter the martial arts I have trained for more than a decade, I have had to make adaptive changes before I could fully realize positive growth in the cross-study of the martial arts.  As similar as some of the styles were to one another, some of them had extremely different training styles and attitudes. 

In my experience people believe they can learn the physical skill-sets and thereby they believe they learn the style/art.  In this idea of learning the technical aspects of the art, learning the physical moves of techniques or forms, there is a tendency to believe one has made an appropriate total change, while in reality they have solely made a technical change; doing the form without the actual intent of the style.  To have a total change one must be able to face and overcome both the adoptive challenges and the technical challenges.  The technical challenges, in the sense of learning a martial art, are learning the visual aspects of the form set, leaning the moves to the point where one can, without pause unnatural to the style and form-set, execute the techniques.  The adaptive challenge is to be able to draw on the intended resolve of the style and form-set.  The same challenges are found in business relationships.

 In business, one may progress to a deferent position in the company, given a new title and given new responsibilities.  The change in title and responsibilities represents the technical change.  The technical challenges are to have the title change made official and learning the proper way to execute ones responsibilities.   The adaptive change happens once one becomes completely comfortable and proficient in the new position.  The adaptive challenges are the moments of emotional and mental disequilibrium involved with the overall alteration.  Moving from one comfort zone of which one is accustomed to another, may involve a time period in which one’s orientation will cause the changes made on the technical side to seem unnatural and uncoordinated.   This is caused by the adaptive change not being complete.  A person that is placed in a new managerial position may understand the technical aspects of the career change, they may understand the forms that need to be filled and filed, they may understand their responsibilities and when they need to execute their new tasks and errands; however, what they cannot gather are the subjective value-sets of the new department.  This inability to cope with the idiosyncratic natures of the new position is the adaptive challenge one as to face and overcome before they can fully realize their new position.          

When entering into new relationships make sure to understand all of the challenges you will face, both technical and adaptive.  Realize when you enter into new agreements with others there is more to becoming an efficient part of the bond other than you stating the existence and understanding what technical things that need to be done.  Make sure you are not only able and willing to change your objective natures; also, you must be able and willing to change the subjective natures of your being so you can fulfill the fullness of your new role.  

For more information Winston’s his martial arts academy please visit Internal Magnification.  

Winston Price, Executive Producer, has over a decade and a half of marketing, advertising and public relations experience. He began his business career in 1995 and is a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington. Winston also is a master martial artist and personal trainer with over 2 decades of knowledge and experience. Winston runs his own school, Internal Magnification Martial Arts, where he focuses on helping people reach their personal goals of health and fitness via At-Home personal training with martial foci of Taekwondo, Tai Chi Ch’uan, Hapkido and Ba Gua Zhang. As an executive producer for VoiceAmerica, Winston utilizes his skills in business and personal training to help new and existing hosts maximize their opportunity with the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network by supporting his hosts with the business and personal aspects of creating and developing their show. Winston believes that each host brings their own flavor to the Network. By properly coaching and motivating his hosts, they are able to produce THEIR show with THEIR style and THEIR passion being at the forefront of every broadcast.