Managing Change

• The anxiety of it all!
• Fear of change stems from low self esteem
• Low self esteem = doubting your ability to cope
• Change threatens your security if your self esteem is low.
• Those with high self esteem resent change at worst not fear it.
• Both resist change if their personal identity is tied to the status quo.
• Change is enjoyable only if you have no stake in the status quo.

How can you better cope with change?

• Self-initiated change is not necessarily easier - bad habits are hard to give up.
• Fear of the unknown can keep us from taking some promotions or retiring.
• The key to change is to try out the new before giving up the old - like keeping an old computer system going while adusting to a new one.
• It is backwards to think people can first decide to change and then simply do it.
• We need to try it first and only then decide it is OK or at least not too threatening.
• Change agents err in thinking that people are just rational, not emotional too.
• The pressure of change is an intense test of emotional intelligence.
• Too many change agents emphasize communication of rational arguments and facts.
• As if all you need to do is be clear and logical and everyone will be reasonable.
• Asking people to be reasonable means asking them to accept YOUR reasons.
• Involvement in planning change helps but is not as good as actually experiencing the new ways yourself - pilot projects are better than wholesale change all in one go.
• From a psychological point of view, managing change is about helping people maintain or enhance their self esteem through the period of transition.