Latest Book Review: The Other Side of Change, by Maya Shankar

I don't mind admitting it but i'm fast approaching three decades in the workplace. I hadn't realised that until recently, but I’ve officially crossed the threshold of having spent more of my life working professionally than I did in-or before-education. The advancing wrinkles and greying hair testament to a life lived, I guess.

Looking back over my near-30-year career there's one constant that stands out. Change.

Be it my early career days at Red Bull or running the company i've built today, change is the constant I've worked with throughout my career. Its a topic I like to think I'm really well versed in and something I've become particularly skilled at leading and navigating for companies.

Here's the thing, though. I'm not a fan of change. Not when it comes to change that impacts me that is.

Its something I've had to learn about myself and something I've worked on extensively.

This is why Maya Shankar's book was such a revelation to me when I worked through it earlier this year.

A book centred around seven life-changing stories - Shankar expertly leads us through what its like to be on the receiving end of big change and what its equally like to reframe change as positive, even in the wake of something devastating and life limiting.

What I like about the book is the overwhelmingly positive light she shines on change.

She says, "We are constantly evolving, and a major disruption in our lives can accelerate this process. When a big change happens to us, it can lead to profound change within us. The unique stresses and demands of being thrust into a new reality can uncover unexpected - and sometimes astonishing - insights about ourselves and the world around us. These insights, coupled with the experience of the change itself, can transform us in extraordinary ways."

Ultimately this is a book about a shift in mindset. About being able to reframe change - even in the hardest of moments - and find something within it that helps us rise to a whole other level we never thought possible.

As she says late on in the book, "Change naturally jostles our belief tapestry. We are given an opportunity through which to examine faulty ideas or mistaken assumptions we'd never thought to interrogate."

Change can indeed reveal unexpected things to us - a message Shankar repeatedly comes back to through the book. Our ability to recognise these moments and be "intentional about reflecting on what they might be" is key. 

Referencing Adam Grant and his 'Hierarchy of Thinking Styles framework - she nudges people to "stay curious" and "be analytical" about ourselves and what we are experiencing.

As she concludes in the book.... "Change can transform us in unexpected ways. We simply don't know how until we get there." 

"What if we saw the hardest moments in our lives as a chance to re-imagine ourselves, rather than as something to just endure? What potential could change unlock within us?" 

Inspiring and challenging words!