Change management isn’t just a business buzzword that people slide into their resumes. It’s a real thing that people really don’t value or understand. Drives me nuts how little people think about how they manages changes, whether it be in an organization or within their own personal lives. Maybe I’m just a neurotic dude who thinks about things way too much, but managing change is a critical to being healthy.
In life there are people who create changes and there are people who have changes thrust upon them. That’s it. When it comes to change management, those are the only two (2) types of people. I’ve been both, as have most people, and I can’t say I prefer one over the other. The reality is that they both have pros and cons. The thing that they have in common is that they both require adjustment. When a change is managed successfully, the adjustment progresses without much resistance. However, when people don’t manage the adjustment, there are strong negative feelings that often derail the adjustment process and when that happens, people naturally look for someone to blame. That blame often turns into hatred.
The problem is that people tend to ignore the entire adjustment process. Those who create changes often remind me of my first swimming lesson. My dad pushed me into the pool and I either swam back to the edge or I didn’t. He didn’t prepare me or give me a lesson. He just pushed into the water. I didn’t like that so much and to this day, I still can’t swim very well. I stay away from pools as much as possible.
People who have changes thrust upon then often resist the adjustment and never adapt to the changes. They ignore them all the while blaming the people who changed things. Because they weren’t well-prepared, they simply bury their heads in the proverbial sand and don’t even bother to adjust. They just avoid the whole thing.
That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that changes are manged. There are a ton of change management philosophies and protocols. However, the truth is that adjusting to changes requires one thing: Communication of what the changed state pragmatically means. That’s it. Anyone who tries to sell a different story is probably trying just to sell themselves as a necessary component. The key aspect to the one needed thing is that people always want to know how the changes are going to impact their day to day lives. If they know the impacts, they can better mentally prepare than if they don’t.
I’ve been part of a lot of changes in my life. The one thing of which I am certain is that if I don’t understand how my life will change, then the uncertainty drives me nuts. If I’m leading a change, I do my best to communicate the day to day impacts so that I don’t drive anyone nuts. When the behavioral impacts aren’t communicated or understood, then someone screwed up somewhere.
Change management isn’t just a buzzword. But it isn’t all that complicated, either. If you’re part of a team that leads change, remember that adjustment is needed and you can either communicate or you can drive people nuts.
juan blea is an award-winning author, project manager, and substance abuse counselor working and living in Santa Fe, NM. Learn more about him and his work at jblea1016.com.
