Muscle Memory

A while back, I wrote about my determination to run another half marathon, despite a lemon of a right leg. I’m sad to say that It is still a bother. However, I’m determined to restore my health and I’m learning in the process.

My hip seems to be the source of the trouble. When you view it on an X-ray though, it really doesn’t look problematic. I had juvenile RA and when it was active, I started to move differently, possibly even to sleep differently to accommodate the pain it produced.

When I stood looking in the mirror with my doctor, he showed me how the muscles and tendons in my legs had developed differently. This probably goes back 40 years to when the hip pain was its worst. Now my whole body has evolved to avoid a pain that’s no longer there. It is literally taking me YEARS of effort to change these patterns and to retrain the muscles. YEARS.

Resistance to change in your organization is not much different than my hip pain. Your organization will shift to avoid the pain. Over time, your culture will evolve and then strengthen in that accommodation pattern. It too will take YEARS and monumental effort to correct.

Your leadership, support and change management are needed to recognize the pain and to treat it - carefully. Without proper attention, your organization may develop habits, norms and culture that will compound the pain of change for many years to come.