Career
Dealing With Change--Becoming a Change Masterby Peggy Morrow CSP
Change. Its all around us. You dont have to look very far to find examples of how our world is constantly changing. For instance, ten years ago a word-processing program contained 15,000 lines of code written by five people. Today it includes 500,00 lines by fifty people.
Or how about the fact that ten years ago, if you faced a problem, you would have consulted maybe a dozen colleagues. Now, thanks to computer technology and the internet, you can consult thousands.
Whew! Change is not going to go away. In fact, it will just accelerate. Futurist Alvin Toffler predicted that by the year 2000 there will be more change occurring in one minute as there was between all the years 1900-1950. He wasnt wrong!
In order to be successful in your job and guarantee your lifetime employability, you must not only embrace change, but develop a reputation as one who pushes the change process along. This will make you more valuable to our constantly-changing organizations. Here are some techniques to help you develop into a change master.
Learn to expect rather than dread change. This has to do with replacing limiting thoughts with positive, change-enhancing thoughts.
I cant do this, This will never work, I just cant learn this and other negative comments like this are an example of someone who will have trouble embracing change.
Replace them with thoughts like, There can always be a better way, Change is necessary to keep the organization growing and thriving, Change is normal, and Ive succeeded at changes in the past and I will do so again.
By monitoring your self-talk you will be on the first step to learning how to really like change.
Recognize the three stages that you will go through during any change: endings, transition and new beginnings. Think of a change that youve weathered. Can you identify how you went through these stages?
Endings. Some of the feelings that occur in the endings stage are anger, pain, grief, despair and withdrawal. You suffer a feeling of loss of identity, relationships, control and your turf. Many people experience feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy and actually deny reality. They often become blocked from seeing possible alternatives and know intellectually that there is a need for change, but emotionally are unable to let go.
Transition. Here you can experience a feeling of aloneness, confusion, disorientation, distress, frustration and uncertainty. People often categorize this stage with a statement like I dont know what I am feeling, and idealize the way things used to be. They can feel strange, awkward and empty. They make many false starts and are exceptionally cautious in this stage. The experience reluctance and apprehensions but are starting to look forward to what might lie ahead.
New beginnings. It is at this stage that new life springs up, and you feel an emerging sense of belonging, excitement and commitment. Teamwork once again exists, you find yourself learning new skills and letting go of past behaviors and attitudes which dont fit the new realities. Roles and responsibilities get refined and clarified and you feel new energy and a new personal identity.
The key to coping well with change is to recognize and move yourself through these three stages of change as fast as you can. No one wants a person stuck in the endings stage.
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Peggy Morrow is an author, consultant and professional speaker on the subjects of customer service management, teams and time management. To have her work with your group, contact her via her web page at www.peggymorrow.com.
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