Dealing with Change

The ability to set goals is part of emotional intelligence. Perhaps equally as important,

being flexible with our goals and understanding that things will change—which can affect the direction of

our goals—is part of being emotionally intelligent.

Dealing with change can be difficult. Since most businesses are always in a state of flux, for career success,

it is important we learn how to handle change effectively. But first, why do people tend to resist change?

There are many reasons why:

1. People are afraid the change will affect the value of their skills. For example, if people are

afraid of new technology, this could be because they are nervous their skills on the old technology will

no longer be useful to the company. To combat this concern, use a can-do attitude about these kinds

of changes. Be the first to sign up for training, since we know technological change is a constant.

2. People are concerned about financial loss. Many people worry about how the change will affect

them from a financial perspective. Will it result in lost hours, lost income? If a change is introduced

and you aren’t sure how it will affect these things—and it is not effectively communicated—the best

course of action is to talk with your supervisor to clarify how exactly this change will affect you.

3. Status quo is easier. People get comfortable. Because of this comfort level, change and the

unknown seem scary. Try to always look for new ways to enhance and improve the workplace. For

example, revisiting and improving the process for scheduling can help us from becoming stagnant.

4. Group norms exist. Sometimes team members are happy to change, but the company does not

have a culture that embraces change. Listening to people’s ideas and reacting positively to them can

help create a climate of change. Avoiding defensiveness and “going along with the crowd” can help

combat this reason for not embracing change.

5. Leadership is required. The leadership in our organizations may not provide all of the

information we need, or we may not trust them enough to lead us through a change. Despite this,

change is inevitable, so obtaining clarification around the change expectations can be an important

step to not only understanding the change, but helping the leader become a better leader.