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Article Looking Through the Window of
Change Most of us do not like change. This is so completely true that many are suspicious of anyone
who indicates they do like it. Change
moves us out of our comfort zone. It
unsettles what we had come to think of as settled. Change challenges us to do what most of us do not do very
well—abandon familiar ways of thinking and behaving. The
problem is that just as surely as we dislike change, it will be an even
larger part of the future. This
is not a passing phase we are living through.
It is the new reality of the workplace.
When it comes to dealing with this new reality, we all have the
same choices: learn to manage change or grow increasingly frustrated. Here
are three things to keep in mind as you hone your change skills: 1. Everyone
feels the same way about change. The
people you work with every day share your anxieties.
They worry and sometimes they try too hard to keep the lid on their
fears. Stress is almost
always easier to carry when you share it with someone. CEOs,
VPs, and managers also struggle. They
struggle personally; and, believe it or not, they agonize over what change
does to the people who are the heart of their organizations. 2. Change
is a part of everyone’s life, no matter where they work.
It
is unlikely that you or I could find employment in another organization
where change would be nonexistent. The
rate of change might be different. The
fact of change would be the same. More
and more, companies seek to hire people they consider change skilled.
Change skilled essentially means—a person who has learned to deal
responsibly and constructively with change. 3. You
can become change skilled. Try
to think of it as any other skill you have acquired over the years.
Accept the fact that it will take time.
Be persistent. Try
practicing the following: Consciously
practice being flexible. Eliminate
the following phrases from the way you think about your work: “should” and “shouldn’t,” “right” and wrong.”
Replace them with: this “meets objectives” or “solves problems.” Expect
the priorities to change. Let
go of the idea that change means “you’ve been doing it all wrong.”
Change is driven by the demands of the customer (i.e., the market). Give
the people around you, including your leader, the benefit of the doubt. Change means that sometimes people really “don’t know”
the answer. <End> |
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