Self-Distancing Change Management Checklist

This process is structured around the key moments in a change initiative where self-distancing has the greatest impact.

1. Before Making Decisions

Use when evaluating options, setting direction or responding to ambiguity.

Perspective Shift

• Have I viewed the situation from a third-person perspective?
• If I were an external consultant, what would I recommend?
• What would future-me think of this decision?
• How would I explain this situation to a colleague not involved?

Bias & Emotion Check

• Which parts of my reaction are emotional rather than factual?
• Am I reacting from fear, ego, threat, or pressure?
• What assumptions am I making that may not be accurate?
• What alternative interpretations could be equally valid?

2. When Managing Resistance

Use during stakeholder concerns, pushback or conflict.

Understanding the Other Side

• Have I tried to see this from the other person’s viewpoint?
• If I were observing their behaviour, what patterns would I notice?
• What underlying fear or need might be driving their resistance?
• What would a documentary narrator say is really happening here?

Reframing the Issue

• What is the real issue behind the surface complaint?
• How would an outsider frame the resistance?
• What part of their behaviour is not about me or the project?

3. When Communicating Change

Use before sending messages, holding town hall meetings or managing expectations.

Audience Lens

• Have I read this message as if I were receiving it for the first time?
• What unintended interpretations might occur?
• How would a neutral third party rewrite this message for clarity?
• What assumptions am I making that employees do not share?

Tone & Clarity Check

• Is the communication empathetic and non-defensive?
• Does it acknowledge uncertainty realistically?
• Does it focus on shared goals rather than organisational pressure?

4. During High-Stress Moments

Use during crises, deadlines, conflict or rapid changes.

Emotional Regulation

• Have I taken a moment to step back from the situation?
• How would I describe this moment if I wasn’t directly involved?
• What story will this moment tell in six months?
• What would the calmest version of me advise right now?

Problem Clarity

• What would an outsider identify as the core issue?
• What is noise vs. what is signal?
• What is the simplest explanation for what’s happening?

5. In Change Reviews, Lessons Learnt and Debriefs

Use at the end of phases, sprints, releases, or after setbacks.

Balcony View Review

• If we watched this change from the balcony, what patterns would we see?
• What helped us move forward?
• What slowed us down?
• What would a case-study writer say about our team?

Constructive Interpretation

• Are we evaluating behaviours, not blaming people?
• Have we separated facts from narratives?
• What insights become obvious only when taking a distanced perspective?

6. Personal Leadership Practice

Use weekly or after key interactions.

Self-Reflection

• What situation did I become too immersed in this week?
• Where could I have used self-distancing to stay calmer or clearer?
• What would future-me thank me for doing differently?
• What patterns in my leadership become clearer when I step back?

(main source: Alicia Nortje, 2020)