Six Strategies for Managing Change

by Terry Welford
President

Change disrupts the status quo. It breaks the momentum and continuities that represent the steady stream of our lives and organizations. Change shocks us out of a comfortable place and moves us into discomfort. This is true even for change that we perceive as positive and useful.

When experiencing change, we may feel like a rookie skydiver getting ready for his or her first jump. We may feel like we’ve stepped out of a plane and it may even feel like we’re free-falling. Skydivers learn strategies for maneuvering their bodies, gaining control and falling safely to the ground. Like a skydiver, we need strategies for managing change. Strategies allow us to respond effectively to change, rather than react based on our initial feelings and emotions.

Below are six strategies for managing change effectively.

1. Make the healthy choice. “Change is inevitable; growth is optional.” People have a choice in how they respond to change. Choosing to stay in the negative column has consequences for your health and well-being. When you shift your focus toward seeing the positives of change, you can move out of negativity and into a healthy response.

2. Understand that change is a journey. Most people experience a four-phase emotional journey through change. From Comfort and Control through Learning, Acceptance and Commitment, this journey is natural and inevitable. Understanding how change affects us and others and why we take the actions we do when faced with change enables us to help ourselves and others through change.

3. Change requires creating a “felt need.” In order to better understand the reasons behind changes that may be needed, it is critical to identify the specific internal and external forces that are creating pressure for change. In organizations, for example, technology, government regulation, and customer demands (external), or leadership, vision, and employee dissatisfaction (internal) may be forces for change. By understanding the consequences of not responding to these forces, you are likely to find more success at initiating and sustaining change.

4. Replace the perceived loss with a gain. Many people perceive that change threatens the loss of something important to them – power, independence, security, a feeling of competence, or social connections. This perception of loss makes us likely to resist the change. Managing change successfully involves first understanding which losses are perceived to have the greatest impact and then developing a plan to eliminate, reduce or offset the loss with an opportunity.

5. Communicate. While the importance of systematic and regular communication cannot be overemphasized during normal times, the issue takes on even greater importance during times of change. Sometimes simply sharing more information about an impending change and its likely effects can help reduce people’s fears.

6. Develop resilience. Studies suggest that there is a personal characteristic that people can develop which can strengthen their response to change. This characteristic is called resilience. People have different levels of resilience and their level determines whether they view change as danger or opportunity. The qualities of resilience include: self-assurance, personal vision, flexibility, organizational skills, problem-solving skills, interpersonal competence, social connections and a proactive approach. Resilience is a characteristic that, if developed, can enable you to successfully cope – and even thrive – in the midst of the stress and turmoil of change.