Take Charge of Change

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself

Tolstoy             

Mention the word “change,” and a large number of people will react with horror, anger, or angst. These people are members of a not so elite group of the chronically unraveled. The only change they like jingles in their pockets. In fact, you might be among them. But whether you are or not, chances are some of the members of this group report to you. Steadiness, predictability, and sameness define their areas of comfort. When they are faced with change, especially unplanned change, they can be seen running to the pharmacy where an entire aisle is stocked with aids for the change phobic. These people don’t want or need any of the excitement or new opportunities that may come with experimentation. Things are just fine the way they are, after all. However, the world is not a stagnant place, and stakeholders in the status quo are either experiencing stress, or change initiatives are failing due to a lack of commitment, insufficient training, or confusion about the rationale for change.

     John Steinbeck said that “Change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.” Change may come to individuals like that, but in most organizations, the change is more like a tornado than a gentle wind. Demands of the marketplace, the accelerating pace of globalization, innovative technology, and new alliances—all have created needs for bosses to help their people respond quickly and repeatedly to change. Some people thrive on change; they have trouble when things become too predictable or mundane. Those individuals will need your ideas for developing and challenging their talent. However, this is for those bosses who have direct reports who are change averse or “change challenged.” This not so silent majority would prefer a root canal to any change in their software. To help them, therefore, you’ll need to understand how to manage change and its impact on people, skills that are among the most fundamental aspects of leadership. 

           Managing change is a necessity of leadership; the avoidance of it is its antithesis. For centuries people have understood that the ability to know when to take risks, revolutionize, respond, and adjust separated those who succeeded from those who did not. Hundreds of years ago Dante provided a warning to the leader who might be tempted to think otherwise by describing hell as “the miserable way taken by the sorry souls of those who lived without disgrace or without praise.” Unlike hell, however, risk, change aversion, and the mediocrity that both are likely to engender will not last an eternity. Those leaders who do not adjust and adapt both themselves and their organizations will quickly leave the competitive arena. Successful leaders will take their places. 

          Bridging the gap between what is happening and what is possible is what change management is all about, but to do this, bosses need to understand their own reactions to change and to have the tools for creating a safe environment for experimentation for those in the trenches. Even if you don’t personally suffer from the stress of change, you’ll need to avoid being a carrier. Companies will require champions of and agents for change who will plan the direction the organization will take, overcome resistance to it, give their direct reports the help they need, and implement the change initiatives. All will take courage and commitment.