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.
 

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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 you give up the old - like keeping an old computer system going while you implement 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.

All pages written by Mitch McCrimmon, Ph.D. and copyright © Self Renewal Group 1996-2010

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