A perspective on change

Change is inevitable. That is a reality we need to accept. Resistance to change is also inevitable. That is a reality we should also accept. A lesson I learnt from my experience is that one should not try to undermine or ignore resistance to change. The fact remains that as human beings, we don't like change. We prefer status quo. We prefer to remain in our comfort zone. In personal life and professional alike, we don't like change.

Recently I had the opportunity to read a very interesting post by a senior professional from a different field. She mentioned how she had experienced change in her previous organization and felt alienated due to that. The leadership changed and with it, the culture of the organization underwent change. This was a change she wasn't comfortable with and decided to move on. She felt that she could not continue in that organization because it had changed. I am not in a position to opine on this matter as I was not in her shoes and cannot comment on the situation that she faced. However, it got me thinking.

Work culture changes not only because of the leadership, but also because of the fact that business realities of the day keep changing. As organizations grow, they have new people joining. These people come with new skills and fresh ideas. They come with a new outlook and a different perspective. They bring their own experience and their own culture with themselves. That prompts change. Change is necessary for an organization to evolve. Just as it was necessary for us to evolve from "Homo Erectus" to "Homo Sapiens". Evolution is change. Now, if we look at it from that perspective, doesn't change seem less threatening?

Evolving an organization is no easy task. Change agents create the framework for evolution, but they cannot change people. People change only when they want to. We don't do things because we're told. We do things because we feel compelled to do so intrinsically. A change agent can only facilitate the process, not force it. When any organization wants to evolve, they invest in getting a few change agents on board and initiate the process. This is where the culture of the organization starts to change. Old ways of doing things may not remain relevant any longer and new processes, new rules have to come into place. Old roles are replaced with new ones which require a different skill set, or outlook. One must adapt to survive, or else risk abject failure.

The entire process of change is led by people, not processes. Processes facilitate change, people own it. As professionals, all of us have undergone numerous changes throughout our careers. We are not the same individuals today, as when we had started some years back. We are not even the same individuals today as we had been 6 months ago. Yet, we continue to dislike change as a process, when it comes to the work environment. Why does this dichotomy exist? It exists because people are willing to “adjust” in personal life, but not willing to make the same effort at work. When it comes to work, our willingness to be accommodating reduces out of fear of failure. We feel that by adjusting to change, our ability to do our tasks will be diminished and thereby, we run risk of failure.

That is precisely why managing change is so difficult. We do not resist change itself, we resist the fear of failure. Why do organizations find it difficult to change? They do so because everyone is busy doing change management, and no one is addressing the fear of failure. If we are able to create a safe environment for the professionals who are undergoing change, we will be able to successfully implement it. If we tell everyone involved that no matter the result, their effort is all that will be counted for if they successfully change their processes/ policies/ way of working, etc. This small change in approach, is likely to lead to big changes in results.

I am not an expert on Change Management. I have managed change a few times during my career, but consider myself a learner when it comes to change. My thoughts are expressed as a combination of multiple articles I have read, many observations I have made, several interactions I have had with experienced people and thoughts which I have endlessly debated on by myself.

If anyone benefits from this writing, I am happy to be assistance. If anyone shares their thought, I am keen to learn.