Hello Change. . .Hello Headache

How adaptable are you to change?  You might think that you take it in stride, that you can handle anything that is thrown at you and you pass with flying colors.  But. . .what happens when it happens to you?  How you respond, as a leader, is very important.

Working in Facilities, you do a lot of strategic planning – planning that almost never actually turns into reality.  However, when it does, it usually involves a lot of people, a lot of meetings, and a lot of "I don’t like this" or "I don’t want to do this" or "why do we need to do this".  All of these reactions are all very natural, and acceptable.  See change is like the grieving process – first, its shock, then comes denial, then comes acceptance, and finally moving on.  You or I don’t have to like the change – we even have the right to walk away – that’s the beauty of a free market economy; but I would like to offer a different point of view.

What if. . .when you heard about the change, you embraced it – maybe on the inside you might be fighting your own emotions of frustration – "why do I have to change", "will I still get this or that", or "I’m entitled to this".  Once again, all very natural thoughts to have; however, when people are involved emotions run wild and we tend to "run away" from the change rather than accept & embrace it.  Be a pacer for the change, be willing to "model" the change you want the organization to make.  Instead of being last to the change party, volunteer to model the change.  I’m not saying that change is easy, but I can tell you, that as a leader or rather an aspiring leader, I have to be willing to make the change first.

What would happen if we embraced this style of leadership when it came to change management?