Handling Change

In today's world, change is our one constant. How many changes have you encountered at work in the last two weeks? Have you also encountered some changes at home or on the way home? (If you are like me, I encounter changes driving home with roads under construction. HA!) As leaders at home or at work there is always someone looking to us for leadership in the face of change. People watch us to see how we respond to changes. Personally or professionally, people are looking for someone to lead them successfully through the many changes that they are encountering in life. As leaders, we have the ability to help others see that embracing change and seeing it as an opportunity can immediately relay an energetic and positive approach which can set the tone for success. When any of us face change, there are natural responses that everyone experiences. However, the length of time that a person experiences these emotions will vary based on their past and their present change hardy experiences or approach. When first presented with a change at work there may be a grimace or sigh. This initial reaction is the first stage of experiencing change. In the change cycle, this is fear. The level of fear or intensity of fear varies from person to person and is usually based on our prior experiences. All of us experience the fear or anxiety stage even if it is for a brief moment in time; we take that deep breath, grit the teeth, or squint our eyes as we contemplate how this change will directly influence us. Ironically, it is because of the discomfort presented by fearful or anxious emotions that cause people to move out of this stage. Embracing change can be scary especially when everything around us seems to be in a constant stage of change. No one area of our life is safe from change. This creates an overload for many and in order to adapt they find one area of their life where they can create a constant. Sometimes this need for continuity may be how they spend their free time, or where they spend their leisure time, the types of foods they eat or the routine they have with others. Embracing change is easier to do when we are secure and for some people they need one area of their life that they can keep secure. However, there are still those people who keep doing the same level of work and expect different results. If we keep doing what we have always done then we will continue to get what we have always gotten. To expect anything different is insane. Change offers us the opportunity to reach higher to stretch more to step out of our comfort zone and to reach for a new level of delight. To improve in life we must look forward and move forward. Improving is much easier to do when we look ahead at our new goal rather than driving forward with our eyes focused on the rear view mirror.