- Change Management, Human Resources
Change is everywhere, change is hard
- The Resources Group, Inc.
Change is inevitable. We live in a world where change is a constant for nearly everyone. Even considering the last two years in a pandemic, everyone in the world has had to deal with a completely new and changing world. Maintaining a positive mindset and focus is challenging when normal day-to-day activities are interrupted, and people are forced to step out of their comfort zone. No matter how big or small the change is, it requires effort, persistence, and support.
Change is hard
Even positive change is hard. No matter how big or small the task is. For example, consider your daily morning routine. Try to make one small change, such as putting your pants on with the opposite leg first. To begin, it will take a lot of effort to really focus and make that change. You’ll stumble, it will take longer to put on your pants, and at some point, you’ll say, “why am I doing this?” Now, with that perspective, consider something larger like workplace change. Your organization will feel these same emotions at work, whether you’re going through digital transformation, organizational change, or process implementation. Getting everyone to do something different is hard; it takes greater focus, understanding, support, and effort from everyone. Recognizing the hard work ahead of what you need to change is important to gain perspective, help inform your change plan, and help understand how your change journey will evolve.
Setting up for failure
You can influence the success of change by planning, having a support system and resilience, etc. But there are a lot of ways that change can go wrong. Here are some resistance factors you need to be aware of during any change, either in your personal life or at work.
- Taking on too much at once. Even small habit change takes a lot of bandwidth and focus. Putting on your pants differently seems relatively easy to do after repetition. However, imagine completely changing your morning routine. Brushing your teeth with the opposite hand, you reorder your routine like taking a shower before eating breakfast or vice versa. With all those changes adding up, it will be easy to stumble into the next point below.
- Falling back to comfort. Adoption of change often comes down to the person’s willingness to change. If you’re not ready or willing to change, there’s a good chance you will not. It’s easy to get into a routine and fall back on old habits, especially when the challenge of change seems daunting. Talking about change is different from actually doing the work change entails.
- Change expands quickly. Focusing on systems is a good way good to stay focused on changing. We usually don’t rise to the level of our goals. Instead, we fall at the level of our systems. If we have sound systems or behaviors in place, change works better and feels like we’re changing one step at a time. What may seem like an easy goal or change quickly becomes many small tasks without the suitable systems in place. Instead, focus on small victories. These can snowball into bigger successes.
- Don’t give up too quickly. Change is not a linear progression. There will be slips and falls—steps forward and steps back. Sustainable change is usually filled with failed attempts, moments of disappointment, frustrations, and so on. This is OK. Persistence is the key. It may be easier to fall back on routine, but change will never happen if we have that mindset.
Change is never-ending… and that’s OK
We are in a time where everyone’s lives can be in a constant state of change, work-life is different, schooling is different, and day-to-day life is different. Ultimately, it’s important to remember that we are all human beings, and we all react differently to change. It’s essential to keep this in mind in all our daily personal life changes to changes within the workplace. Good habits and good change practices overlap. Give yourself some grace.
At TRG, we focus on change within the workplace. We can be your partner through change as we focus on avoiding pitfalls, shifting the mindset, and transforming an organization. Contact us if you’d like our expertise and how we can help your organization thrive through change.
