Technically the days are supposed to be getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere, yet it doesn’t feel like it. There is something about this time of year, where the darkness closes in. Perhaps it’s heightened this year by the rain or the tiredness after another strange year. Or perhaps it’s the fact we are sleeping in more, embracing rest.

Whatever it is, the reality is the earth is still moving around the sun and the days are getting longer. No matter what it feels like. However, this does not mean what we feel is unimportant.

Change is full of feelings and technical truths. And more often than not, telling someone the sun rose and set today 1 minute later than it did yesterday won’t change how they feel. Technical truths often ignore the weather. It’s been cloudy, overcast and rainy the last few days so the light takes a while to reach us. This makes the days feel shorter, not longer.

With organisational change including digital transformation, there are often heaps of clouds, rain, and other things blocking the light reaches us. Therefore, at the beginning the change feels worse, confusing, unhelpful. And our or our teams’ feeling about the change can help us identify these clouds. However, this only happens if we take the time and are willing to listen. Not just politely listen and move on, but listen and sit with the other to learn.

Too often we uphold technical truths only and get frustrated with emotions and the pace of change. Change makers embrace both and view emotions as critical signposts.