Coping with Change

???????????When I was the CIO of a large IT organization, I often have to worry about how to help my staff cope with the rapid changes in technology. It is easy to draw up bold plans for adopting new technologies and do scenario planning to prepare for the future. The best plans, however, will come to naught if the people do not buy in and are not prepared to change their mindsets.

???????????Mindset is basically a state of mind which affects the way people think, feel and act towards a certain situation which they face. We often hear about the difficulty of training older workers to be computer literate. Amongst IT professionals, we also face difficulty in getting the older staff to accept new ways of doing things, like adopting agile methodolofgy, exploring cloud usage, using the latest programming language and so on. The IT organisation also often has to restructure and reinvent itself in order to survive in the whirlpool of technology changes. For example, new units to handle DevOps, Cybersecurity, DevSecOps, AI and machine learning, and so on, need to be set up. Making all these changes are sometimes very difficult when there is resistance to change.

???????????There are many possible reasons for the resistance to change. One of them is the fear of losing dominance. It took several years for some of the older professionals to master the system development methodology. Some may even be acknowledged as experts in the older technology. It is little wonder that they?loathe to adopt the new technologies because they would lose their positions of power in the organization. Some are genuinely concerned with their lack of skills and their ability to cope with the change. However, there are others who are merely complacent and are unwilling to get out of the comfort zone and are thus resisting change.

???????????People will resist change when they do not understand its implications and perceive that it might cost them much more than they will gain. Often, such situations arise because trust is lacking between the people initiating the change and the people who have to execute the change. So it is important that change is managed properly.

???????????I have listed down 7 possible reactions people may exhibit when face with a situation of change:

?1.????In the early stage people feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.

2.????People tend to think first about what they will have to give up.

3.????People feel alone, even if everyone is going through the change

4.????People can only handle so much change at once.

5.????People are at different levels of readiness for change.

6.????People will be concerned they don't have enough resources.

7.????People will revert to old behaviour when the pressure comes off.

In implementing change, steps must be taken to address these reactions in order to change mindsets and minimise the resistance to change.

Some steps the CIO, as a change agent, can take include:

?·???????Communicate the change

It is wise to prepare your staff for change. You need to clarify the scope, timing and reason for the change. Establish a common understanding of the intended outcome of the change, set some measurable goals and explain what rewards there will be when performance targets are met. By having an effective communication plan, you can reduce the resistance to change.

?·???????Get involvement

Those affected by change should be involved in giving feedback, suggestions and recommendations, if possible, before the implementation of the change. Leaders should engage in more active listening to find out the feelings on the ground and help those who are psychologically affected by the change.

?·????????Provide adequate training

?Adequate training is important in raising the chances of the IT professional in grasping new technology and surviving the change. When the professional is equipped with new skills and knowledge, he is less likely to feel helpless when the change is brought about.

?·????????Give support to change leaders

?Management support for those helping to implement the change is important. Mistakes made should be used as learning points. Reprimanding those who made mistakes would make others afraid to try. Progress and improvements should similarly be noted with pats on the back and generous praises.

?·????????Promote a culture of continuous learning

?Faced with rapid changes in technology, many organizations unfortunately choose to outsource to speed the rate of change. However, this would have the negative effect of driving down their survival rate. It is much better to encourage staff to strive to be learning continuously, in order to stay ahead of changes in the environment and in technology. Staff should have the habit of reading news, technology updates and attending training to keep themselves abreast with technology changes.

? Albert Einstein once said, “There is only one constant in this universe, and that constant is ‘change’.” Most people are wary of change because we do not know if we can cope with the change and we are afraid of the consequences if we cannot adapt ourselves to the change. Yet change is our natural state. We grow older day by day and we take in new knowledge daily. We must therefore, learn to thrive on change, harness this dynamic, natural energy and enjoy the many exciting opportunities that change has to offer.??