Accept That Change is Hard

Since the 1990s the most consistent theme underlying business discussions has been “change.” We talk about being open to change, preparing for change, managing change…all of these are important. But one thing we need to acknowledge is that change is hard. And that’s OK.

When you’ve had some consistency and success for years — whether in relationships, or market power, or work style, whatever — it’s very difficult to change that, even when you know in your heart that things simply cannot continue as they were before. The fact that we may not like that change has a tendency to slow us down and affect our ability to adapt. While the logical part of your brain sees the reality, the more emotional part of your brain tends to focus on the situation you want, and when reality and desire collide, there’s an internal conflict that can be tough to overcome. Getting past that point is essential for success in your new reality, but you have to acknowledge it to get over it.

Deal with the uncertainty by actually dealing with it, not by ignoring it. Be open about concerns you might have and, more importantly, encourage your employees to be open about the concerns they have. Getting things off your chest provides a great emotional benefit.

Take some time to really look at what is changing, and first try to understand what was good about what you had, what worked. As you move forward, try not to leave those concepts behind if they are still appropriate. When change comes you don’t necessarily need to change everything. Try to hang onto the things that still work in this new reality.

Spend enough time on change management that you feel comfortable you have come up with the best solution for what comes next. The more prepared you feel, the more comfortable you will be with that change. Don’t wait until the last minute, and do not just assume things will sort themselves out or someone else will take care of things. You can save yourself a lot of emotional turmoil just by feeling ready.

It’s nice if you can change incrementally, but circumstances do not always allow for that. Revolutionary change and evolutionary change are different, and a major shift in your environment does not always allow for baby steps. Still, if you can identify the need for revolutionary change far enough in advance, perhaps you can start making the initial adjustments early so it does not all hit at once. People can absorb small changes more easily than big ones, so make as many small changes as you can before the big ones are required.

We are often critical of people who are slow to change, but in many cases, we’re not looking at things from their perspective. It’s easy for new employees to come in and say “we should do things differently,” but they have not invested the time and energy to get the organization to where it is today. They also may not have faced serious change before, whereas more experienced people may have experienced the downside of change firsthand on many occasions. Rather than ignoring the emotional effects of change, let’s figure out why people seem so resistant, understand their rationale and acknowledge the difficulty associated with change, and then work together to find the best way to move forward.