Are You Ready?

Assessing Change Readiness

Activity Summary

An activity that explores eighteen components of readiness using context,

internal and external resources, and momentum as criteria.

Goals

• To identify and explore various components of change readiness.

• To assess how ready participants are to change their behavior.

• To learn to assess states of change readiness in others.

Group Size

6 to 40 participants.

Time Required

2 hours.

Materials

• Laptop and screen projector or easel with chart paper.

• Masking tape to post flip-chart pages.

• One copy of the Are you Ready? Components for Assessing Readiness
sheet for each participant.

• Writing utensils for participants.

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
Physical Setting

Tables for five to eight people at each. Wall space to post flip-chart pages.

Facilitating Risk Rating

Low.

Preparation

Think about changes you have made in your own life pertinent to the
discussion you expect the group to have and be prepared to give real
examples when appropriate.

Process

1. Present workshop goals, guidelines, and logistics.

2. Ask participants to take 3 minutes to think about actions they have

taken at any point of their lives that involved change. Give some examples
such as:

• You were ready to drive a car.

• You were ready to commit to a relationship.

• You were ready to retire.

• You were ready to take the turkey out of the oven or vegetables off the
grill.

• You were ready to commit to your health.

• You were ready to submit the final report.

• You were ready to change jobs.

3. Provide each participant with a copy of Are you Ready? Components for
Assessing Readiness sheet and a pen or pencil. In small groups at tables,
ask participants to spend 20 minutes sharing the changes they select and
The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
how they knew they were ready to make that change. Ask each group to
select a note-taker and a reporter, which can be the same person.

(25 minutes.)

4. Ask group reporters to share with the entire group while you write a list
of criteria organized into four categories: Context, Internal Resources,
External Resources, and Momentum. Create the list on a flip chart or
whiteboard, or use a laptop and project it onto a screen. Tell participants to
take notes on their handouts.

5. The criteria they come up with will be similar to, and not limited to, the
following:

Context

• Vision

• Skills

• Commitment

Internal Resources

• Willing to risk

• Belief in self

• Energy

External Resources

• Time

• Money

• Support network

Momentum

• Action step

• Acknowledgment

• Learning/feedback

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
6. Answer questions about what the four categories mean. Spend a few
minutes providing some personal examples in each category.

(15 to 30 minutes.)

7. Lead a discussion about how to use clues such as facial expression,

language, and intuition to tell when someone else if ready to take a step or
make a change. Ask some of the following questions:

• What might you see in a person’s face that indicates readiness? (Examples
might be raised eyebrows, a smile, eyes wider open, relaxed, softer facial
muscles, especially around the eyes and jaw.)

• What auditory clues indicate readiness? (Examples might be speaking

more loudly or softly, higher or lower volume, longer or shorter pauses
between words, more clear/crisp or muffled diction, emphasis on certain
words or phrases, faster or slower tempo.)

• How does your intuition help you assess your own or someone else’s
readiness?

• In what tense is a person who is ready more likely to speak? Past?

Present? Future? (The answer is present and future.)

• What are the differences between ready, willing, and able?

(15 minutes.)

8. Ask participants to jot down on their handouts a key personal or work

initiative, project, or developmental goal at the present time.

9. Ask participants to rate themselves according to how ready they feel

they are to move ahead with this goal or make progress toward it. Say that
a rating of 5 means they are ready, a rating of 1 means they are not at all
ready.

10. Ask participants to form dyads, preferably with someone whom they do
not work with on a regular basis.

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
11. Ask participants to take turns and spend 15 minutes each
brainstorming how they can increase their readiness to make the change.
Ask the listeners to pay attention to cues that indicate the speaker’s
readiness. Tell participants to ask for permission from their partners to share
with the large group what they noticed, heard, or sensed that indicated a
state of readiness. They are not to share any information about the content
of anyone’s personal goals. Suggest that pairs ask each other questions for
those components rated 1, 2, or 3 to enable their partners to increase their
readiness. Possible questions appear on the handout and below.

• Whose support do you need?

• What support systems do you already have that you can activate?

• How can you clarify your vision?

• What belief(s) would support you to move ahead?

• What might happen when you succeed?

• What might happen if you do not succeed?

• What training might help you increase your skills or knowledge for this
change?

• What would it take for you to commit to the change?

• What resources can you gather that would help you?

• Which of your key values underlie this change?

• Which of your personal qualities can you count on?

• How could you find more time to do this?

(35 minutes.)

12. Ask participants to end their discussions and to take 3 minutes to list
actions they will take at home or back on the job to increase their readiness
for change.

(5 minutes.)

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
13. Ask participants what they learned that will help them assess their own
readiness for change and that of others. Ask how the ability to assess
readiness can be applied in the workplace or at home. Encourage
participants to share ideas with the entire group.

14. Summarize by asking for volunteers to state what they will do as a result
of what they have learned by this activity.

(10 minutes.)

Submitted by Teri-E Belf.

Teri-E Belf, MA, CAGS, BCC, MCC, is a purposeful and inspired coach, coach
leader/trainer/mentor, author, speaker, and retreat facilitator. She shares
twenty-five years of coaching, eighteen years of HRD management, and
twenty-one years of retreat facilitation experience in her retreats, articles,
and books, including Simply Live It Up, Facilitating Life Purpose, Auto
Suggestions, and Coaching with Spirit.

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
Are You Ready? Components for Assessing Readiness

Components of Readiness

Clues that indicate someone is ready:

One of my goals:

How ready am I? 1 2 3 4 5

not ready very ready

Why did you rate yourself as you did?

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com
Questions to Help Increase Readiness

• Whose support do you need?

• What support systems do you already have that you can activate?

• How can you clarify your vision?

• What belief(s) would support you to move ahead?

• What might happen when you succeed?

• What might happen if you do not succeed?

• What training might help you increase your skills or knowledge for this
change?

• What would it take for you to commit to the change?

• What resources can you gather that would help you?

• Which of your key values underlie this change?

• Which of your personal qualities can you count on?

• How could you find more time to do this?

• Whose support do you need?

• What support systems can you activate that you already have?

My Actions to Increase Readiness

Write some ideas about how you can apply what you have learned to your
work, home life, volunteer activities, and other aspects of your life.

The 2013 Pfeiffer Annual: Training. Copyright ©2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reprinted
by permission of Pfeiffer, an Imprint of Wiley. www.pfeiffer.com