Change

What?

Change is a key component of life. Change is inevitable. Instead of waiting for change, initiate the change you want. This change can be in your organization, leadership, education, life, and many more. Change is all around us, nothing is constant. As humans we like consistency, but we can’t always rely on that. As leaders, we may feel the urge to prevent change, after all why fix something that isn’t broken right? Karen McCullough, a former retailer and branding expert, states, “Change in an organization leads to many positive aspects – that lead to retaining a competitive edge and also remaining relevant in your business area. Change encourages innovation, develops skills, develops staff and leads to better business opportunities, and improves staff morale.” (McCullough, 2021) Change is good! Change is a breath of fresh air for your organization.

So What?

Apart from bringing a breath of fresh air to your organization, what are some other reasons to bring change to your organization? Situation Management Systems states three more reasons. 1. Promote the development of new skills, 2. Bolster innovation, and 3. Change allows people to rise. (Situation Management Systems, 2019) Similar to what Karen McCullough said but goes into more detail, especially with the number three. Change allows the people in your organization to develop new skills, ideas and makes staying in the organization more desirable. Putting your staff first and allowing change to happen can help your organization immensely. Some change is good, but consistency is good too. Keeping the things that work and removing the things that don’t, can allow your organization to get stronger with each push towards greatness.

Now What?

In my previous blog, I talked about the flywheel. The flywheel is hard to push at first but slowly over time with each push, it gets easier to push. The same logic can be applied to change. Change happens all the time. It can happen in your organization or personal life. No matter where the change is in your life, it can be approached in the same ways. Change is a slow process. It happens with time. For me, I’m going through some major changes in my life. I’m in my senior year of college, I’m looking for jobs, I’m finishing up my education, I’m going through challenges in my personal life too. All of these things are big changes. Change is good but can be very stressful. I’m finding myself under a lot of stress. I’m trying to balance a part-time job, doctors’ appointments, school, family, friends, and personal matters. This is hard. I’m doing my best to balance it all, but I know over time it will get easier. Since many of these things are new in my life right now, I’m still trying to find the perfect balance. Over time it will get easier, just like how over time pushing the flywheel gets easier too. Change is all about timing and balance. You don’t want to change too much at once and risk overwhelming yourself or your organization, but you also don’t want to change too little at once and make them blend into the background. Find your balance in change. But also remember to not change everything, rather also try bettering things. Sometimes things just need a boost, not a do-over.

References:

McCullough, K. (2021). Why change in the workplace is good! A guide for companies. Why Change in the Workplace is Good! A Guide For Companies – Karen McCullough. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.karenmccullough.com/change-in-the-workplace-a-guide-for-companies/.

Why change is good for the Workplace. Situation Management Systems, Inc. (2019, July 22). Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.situationmanagementsystems.com/blog/index.php/influence-skills-2/why-change-is-good-for-the-workplace/.