Anyone else thinking ‘wow, where did that year go – how is it September already?’
And how is it nearly 2024? What happened to the past few years?
Since the pandemic, time seems to have sped up – and so much, for everyone, has changed. The way we do business, the way we go to work, what we want from our home lives. A couple of years ago I was a head of department for a multi-national business, now it’s just me and my personal support network.
My commute was a 45 minute drive to the office, and now is a nice walk along the canal in the morning (weather permitting, I have to admit to being a bit of a fair weather walker), and my hours much more varied. For me, it’s working – I love the variation of people that I work with, and the ability to call at least some of my time my own.
But how are we dealing with change generally?
For many businesses, the recent pandemic, political and economic changes, to say nothing of the leaps forward in technology (yes AI, I’m talking about you) have made it so difficult to keep ahead of the game, and this is having an effect on business leaders, managers and employees. Some will be absolutely thriving, embracing it all as a new opportunity, and relishing the challenge. For others it’s awful – the constant uncertainty feeling almost paralysing. And sometimes the same person can be in both of those camps in the same day.
For us to understand why people react in such different way, we need to understand what happens to us when we go through change, and how we can support each other to come through the other side of it.
Often, it’s not the change itself that is the problem – it’s how it happens. If it’s forced upon us we often react negatively, as none of us like having things ‘done’ to us. If we don’t understand the reasons, then again we are less likely to engage – either because we are suspicious or don’t see the point.
Understanding how to help people through unexpected and unwanted change is a key skill for all people managers – yet it’s one that many us still need to develop.
If you are struggling with change, join my upcoming webinar to find our more about why we react as we do, and how we can support our teams in going through it successfully.
To find out more, click here: Embracing Change – A Managers Guide