Hopefully today’s post will inspire anyone who is resistant to change to embrace it and the wonderful possibilities that it can bring. Throughout life we will face change. It can be personal or professional. Please don’t be confused. Although some of us are more adventurous than others, most of us get that change can be intimidating, especially since we like to feel like we are in control. Change can take that away…if we let it. In February, I joined a new organization that was preparing to migrate to a new Human Resources Information System (HRIS); a new background check vendor, a new employment verification vendor, a new outsourced benefits management vendor; and several new benefits offerings. Since the environment I left was technologically deprived, the thought learning their current systems, while also training for the new system, was a little intimidating, but I took the leap of faith and did not look back.
During my transition and acclimation period, I learned so much about myself. Had I not been open to change, I shudder to think about the amount of professional growth that I have subsequently enjoyed.
My inspiration for this post came from the many articles, comments, and posts that I have seen over the years from people who think that all change is their enemy. And while not all change is good, we typically grow no matter the type of, or reason for, the change. But, before we can experience the positive aspects of change, we must understand why we sometimes resist it. Over the years, I have observed that people’s resistance to change is related to one of the following four (4) mindsets:
- Fear of change
- Minimizing the importance of communication
- Feeling inadequate
- Thinking that our circle of friends should all be like us
Let’s look at each one.
Fear of Change – Let’s face it. Each one of us fears something. When it comes to change at work, we often dig our heels in. Why? Because we’ve done things a certain way for a very long time. We know the process like the backs of our hands and we rarely make a mistake. In our opinion its not broke, so, “Why fix it?” The truth is, we know that our process is actually broken in spots, but we’ve “fixed” the broken parts by performing our own brand of magic. The problem is that only we know our “fixes.” So, heaven forbid we cannot make it to work one day…we will have inserted so many additional steps to cover the brokenness, that no one else will be able to readily navigate our improvised process. And that is dangerous for business. We feel that if we change our processes we will make mistakes and our colleagues will find out that we’re not as perfect as they think we are. We forget that we had to learn the current process that we’ve memorized.
We also often associate change at work with stress: the stress of learning something new; the stress of failing; and/or the stress of becoming obsolete because of the new processes that are being implemented.
Conversely, when we choose to embrace change, we often soon realize that it is not as bad as we thought. We actually become more relevant in our field by upgrading our skills. You see, career is one place where we should strive to keep up with the Jones. We should always be willing to learn a new way of doing things; learn new technologies; and upgrade our skills. This makes us more relevant and more marketable. Since we never know when a business may fold, “right-size,” or decide to go in a new direction, our continued career success is determined by how attractive we are to potential new employers. Otherwise we will likely find it darn near impossible to compete with other career searchers who are well-versed in the latest and greatest way of getting the job done. Furthermore, like it or not, the latest and greatest way of doing things often streamlines processes and has a positive impact on the business’ bottom line…and what business does not like that?
Minimizing the importance of communication – We all know that communication is the foundation to any relationship. So, since work involves interacting with colleagues, superiors, clients, etc., you must know how to communicate well, both in writing and verbally. Your written communications can involve something as simple as writing a simple email to much more demanding types of communications such as conducting and documenting case studies, writing investigative reports, developing procedural manuals, training materials, writing books, etc.
Your verbal communications at work can involve entry-level duties such as taking and relaying messages or serving as the first face of the organization by greeting visitors. You can also communicate verbally on a larger scale by speaking in an informal setting to groups of people; making formal presentations at meetings; leading projects and delegating tasks, etc.
When making formal presentations and leading meetings, you must know how to tailor your communication to your audience. If you communicate at too low of a level, you risk offending your audience and causing them to subsequently disengage with you. If you communicate at too high of a level, you risk intimidating your audience and failing to ensure that they receive your communication in the manner you intended…minimizing the value that your communication is meant to provide.
As a project manager, you must ensure that your team members understand the project’s mission. This imperative understanding is what enables them to collaboratively develop an effective project plan to accomplish the mission and realize success.
If you do not possess well-honed written and verbal communications skills, all is not lost. You can learn how to communicate well. One of the easiest ways to see tangible improvement in your communications abilities is to read and write more. Read newspapers, books, articles, etc. Then, write your own report on what you read. Write about family, friends, work…anything you can think of. Use tools like Grammarly® to check your spelling and grammar. Even the free version will keep you on your toes, so beware, you will be surprised at how quickly your spelling, writing, and verbal communications skills will improve.
Feeling Inadequate – Believe me when I tell you that, we all struggle with questioning if we’re good enough at some point; but, if we don’t know our own value, others won’t know it either. Why? Because we will not exhibit it and we won’t be able to communicate it to others around us. The first step to success is to see ourselves as worthy, capable of achieving the success that we desire and deserve. I may be naïve, but I believed those around me who always told me that I could do anything that I set my mind to do. I also realize that not everyone grew up in an encouraging environment and I fully respect that; however, I encourage you to look at yourself through a different lens if you are having trouble acknowledging your value. We must realize that, just as anger, fear, and other negative emotions are difficult to hide, so is a lack of self-confidence. You see, low self-confidence will cause you to fail to demand the credit that you deserve. It will cause us to stumble and stutter over our words and we will subsequently be perceived as less of an authority in our field than we are. Low self-confidence fools us into saying and thinking negative things about ourselves and causes us to always feel inferior to, instead of, as good as, the next person. Sometimes people look at me as if I have a third eye when I tell them that they should practice speaking positivity into their own lives. You typically will not find me referring to myself as stupid, lazy, crazy, unable, or any other negative term. Now, do I think less than positively about myself sometimes? Of course, I’m human and I deal with the same types of insecurities as any other warm-blooded human being. The difference is, I rarely let the thoughts manifest themselves into verbal expressions because I feel that spoken word, especially negative, carries a power of its own and is a much more difficult opponent. Finally, low self-confidence also causes us to appear less than genuine because we are unable to make and hold solid eye contact with those with whom we interact. Let me share something with you, if you don’t already know it…we must also realize that we are fearfully and wonderfully made with our own brand of unique qualities and characteristics. There is not another one of you or me, so there is a useful purpose for all of us being here. Realize that feelings of inadequacy are another form of fear which we should find a way to conquer. We are intelligent, capable, equipped, innovative, creative, out-of-the box thinkers who have value to add and a positive impact to make.
So, don’t let feelings of inadequacy cause you, a fully-capable individual, to pass up great opportunities, personally and professionally…staying in the background when we know we should be in the spotlight.
Thinking that our circle of friends should all be like us – When we enlarge our circle of friends, we up our game exponentially. We become exposed to new ideas, learn about different experiences, and we are also be introduced to other cultural practices; and we learn that regardless of culture, skin color, socio-economic status, we are all passionate about our family, our faith, and our religious beliefs. Hopefully another tangible outcome of interacting acting with people who may be the product of significantly diverse life circumstances, is that we become more tolerant of each other’s uniqueness and value each other more for our past, present, and future contributions to society.
When I worked for a local county court system, visiting judges from Japan spent several months or more in our court system, as part of a judge exchange program, which allowed them to learn our process of trial by jury. As the HR Manager, I was asked to spend some time with one of the Japanese judges to provide him with insight into the Court’s human resources process. Although I was supposed to teach him something, he taught me about certain aspects of his culture. We also enjoyed speaking about our spouses and how we would try to have dinner together as couples before he left. When it was time for him and his colleagues to head to Washington, DC for the end of their trip, he presented me with a beautiful embroidered cloth, wrapped in beautiful paper as a gesture of gratitude. He told me how he enjoyed our conversation about our cultural differences and about our spouses. He said that our conversation made him feel very welcomed and that I showed interest in him as a person. We even kept in touch for a couple of years, emailing once or twice a year. The positive impact of these types of interactions on our development as professionals is almost incalculable and the positive impact on us as human beings is even more priceless. As a result, we are seen as inclusive and open-minded…just the type of person that many employers want on their team.
So, what should we do to counteract these negative mindsets that all center on a resistance to change? First, when we hear that change is coming, don’t react immediately. There are some instances when going with our gut is recommended, even necessary, but this is likely not one of them. Step back and replay mentally how much additional stress we caused ourselves the last time we reacted immediately and negatively to change. Take a deep breath and will yourself to give change a try and take it one step at a time. When/If colleagues approach you with negative comments regarding the change, simply tell them that, yes, you are a little nervous, but you are excited about the prospect of learning something new. If your change involves an upgrade of systems or work processes, research the platform that you will be expected to utilize. Go to YouTube or Google it to find information that you can read and familiarize yourself with the new process or system. Ask family, friends, associates, or former co-workers if they are familiar with the system or process and ask them for pointers on how to take advantage of all the new system or process has to offer. Keep a list of questions that you have and ask them during training sessions. Document the answers that you receive and keep a binder or notebook that is dedicated to that one work-related subject. This way, you will gradually build a reference manual that you can go back to when needed. When the change is implemented, you will be ready for it. We all know that knowledge is power, so the more knowledgeable you are about the new thing on the horizon, the greater your comfort level will be with it. Knowledge also gives us confidence, so soon, you will have the courage to shine by helping others to learn the new system or process better. You’ll actually become one of their “go-to” people. How ‘bout that?!
If your change involves communicating more effectively, start out by creating a checklist of items that you must communicate to all stakeholders in order to move towards success with your project, assignment, circumstance, etc. Maybe give each of your team members or stakeholders a copy and ask them to hold you accountable to ensure that you give them all of the information that they need. Also, ask them to add items to the list as necessary. This will ensure that you have a comprehensive list that covers all bases. Hold regular check-in meetings to provide all involved with status updates. Create a group in Outlook or your respective email service that includes all team members and/or stakeholders. That way, when they all need to know something, you will not have to spend time looking up email addresses. Everyone will get the exact same information and can provide the entire group with feedback and recommendations for consideration. They will all be included in the group and get the exact same message.
For change that involves feeling confident and equipped for the challenges that you will have to face, think back to other challenges that you faced and how you weathered them. Also, speak positivity into your own life. Do not refer to yourself with negative names. Say positive affirmations about yourself, such as “I am ready, willing, and able.” “I am strong, knowledgeable, and equipped with everything I need for success.” You can acknowledge that you are facing a challenge, but tell yourself that you will emerge victorious, not beaten down.
Change that involves getting to know others outside of your comfort zone can be a bit intimidating, so definitely take things one step at a time. Join a LinkedIn group related to your profession, so that you start to interact with a diverse group of people on-line instead of in person. Then commit to attending one local networking event or a monthly meetup that is related to your profession or to a hobby. Or, take a continuing education class at a local college or university. New opportunities can be borne out of these efforts. And who knows, you might even start to look forward to those interactions.
Remember that anything is more palatable when we take it in moderation. Don’t let a fearful or negative mindset hold you back from letting your light shine so that everyone can see the value that you offer.
Come on. Meet the challenge and confront your fears. Trust me. You’ll be glad you did!
HERES TO YOUR SUCCESS!
